The Lady Lakers softball team played host to the Edison State Chargers on Friday and earned their first win of the season in game 1 by a score of 13-4. Lakeland got started early as Casey McHugh led off the home half of the 1st ining with a walk. After Gina Grandini sacrificed her to second base, Lindsey Fergus and Tatianna Matuz followed with walks to load the bases. Bailey Cravens then followed with a 2-run double to get the Lakers on the board. Madison Tatka later picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice. The Lakers struck again in the 3rd as Grandini led off with a single. Later in the inning, Matuz doubled to put the runners on 2nd and 3rd before Cravens and Tatka picked up RBI's on fielder's choices giving the Lakers a 5-0 lead. The Chargers struck back for 3 runs in the top of the 4th to cut the lead to 5-3. The Lakers would add another run in the 5th inning when Fergus doubled and then was singled home by Tatianna Matuz. In the 6th ining, Lakeland exploded for 7 runs to close it out. The big blow came off the bat of Matuz again as she hit a walk off grand slam.
On the mound, Megan Wallace earned the win tossing 4.1 innings allowing 4 runs on 5 hits. Georgia Biggs earned the save pitching 1.2 inings in relief.
Tatianna Matuz went 3-4 and collected 5 RBI's. Gina Grandini and Bailey Cravens each added two hits in the win. Cravens also added 3 RBI's. The Lakers picked up 11 hits as a team in game 1.
Game 2 was tied 4-4 after 6 innings. With a tie score, it was decided to try and get the last inning in before darkness. Unfortunately Lakeland gave up 3 runs in the top of the 7th. In the home half they scored 1 run and were still batting when the game was called due to darkness.
Morganti Mentions: "It felt good to get the win. I'm happy for our players. It was nice to finally get outside on our home field. We were able to get good pitching and played well defensively. We were able to move runners with our short game and drove the ball with two outs - and in some instances with two strikes - to plate runs. That needs to be our mindset when we step on the field."
Next Up: Saturday's games at Edison State have been postponed due to inclement weather. The Lakers are scheduled to travel to Heidelberg University on Wednesday (3/23) for a 4:00 pm doubleheader.