CHARLOTTE, N.C.- In what is becoming somewhat of a pattern, the Royals softball team rallied late in two games against Limestone College Thursday evening at Park Road Park. What is different with the Conference Carolinas contest is the rallies lifted Queens over the opponent and come away with two wins.
Queens (4-12/2-0 CC) battled through seven scoreless innings with the Saints (2-15/0-2 CC) in the first of two games. Queens recorded the first hit of the game, in the third, and Limestone didn't connect until the fifth.
In the top of the eighth the Saints put across the plate when Felicia Fritz singled. Fritz was picked off at second and the inning closed when Mallory Kuykendall struck out swinging.
It was do-or-die time for Queens and they rose to the occasion. Carrie Beth Richie (Fayetteville, N.C., Northwood Temple Academy) stepped to the plate and hit a double down the leftfield line, allowing for Chantel Dodge (Shalimar, Fla., Choctawatchee) to score from second. Each team starts the eight with a runner on second base. In one play, Queens cut the lead in half.
Keeya Turner (Fayetteville, N.C., 71st )did what she has been doing well for most of the season, sacrifice bunting. Turner was out, but Richie advanced to third.
Mary Lee Giurintano (Greensboro, N.C. , Glenn ) singled to center field, earning the RBI as Richie touched home. Now Queens was just down by one. A sacrifice play by Amanda Bowman (Kernersville, N.C,, Glenn) to advance Giurintano and Alisha Waldrop (McDonough, GA , Luella ) reached on an error, allowing Giurintano to score for the win.
The victory is the first time Queens has won the first game of a doubleheader this season.
Dodge picks up the win from the circle while Kristy Witten gets the loss. Dodge struck out 11 compared to Witten's five.
Richie had two of Queens' four hits and Felicia Fritz registered two of the four for Limestone.
The second game started out with Limestone scoring three in the first off of three hits and one error.
It took Queens three innings to get their bats back after the intermission. Turner started the inning off with a triple to the left field fence. Batting second, Giurintano singled, earning an RBI. In the next two at-bats Giurintano stole second and third, putting her perfectly in position for Kari Kmetic's (Milwaukie, Ore., Putnam)double. Kmetic's third double of the season drove in two runs, tying the game for Queens.
Another triple by Turner followed up with a Guirintano single gave Queens a one run cushion in the fourth.
In the sixth Limestone's Jenna Guse singled to get on base followed up with a walk by Kayla Hamalainen. Kelsey Kuykendall doubled, driving in both Guse and Hamalainen to put the Saints back up on top. The inning ended when Kuykendall was called out for runner interference.
Bowman hit her first double of the season to drive in the tying and go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth. Waldrop singled on the next at-bat, bringing Bowman home for a two run advantage.
Dodge came in to relieve Brittany Stephens (Charlotte, N.C., Hickory Grove Baptist) from pitching after she faced one batter in the seventh. For the game, Stephens had three strikeouts. Dodge earned the first save if the season for Queens.
Giurintano was 3-3 for stolen bases in the game and is 7-7 on the season.
Queens tallied eight hits and gave up 13.
The Royals will play again on Friday in the Francis Marion Tournament.
