ANDERSON, S,.C. - The Coker softball team opened its conference slate on Saturday against Anderson splitting two games with the Trojans, suffering a 6-3 loss and winning a dramatic 8-6 game in extra innings at Smethers field.

During the first game both pitchers settled in by putting up zeros on the board until the fourth inning when junior Emily Monteith hit a solo home run to break the scoreless tie. The shot put the Trojans up 1-0 and was Monteith’s seventh home run on the season. One out later first baseman Lora Daniel smashed a two-run home run to increase the Anderson lead to 3-0. With the cushion, junior pitcher Casey Deer was dealing and saw her team increase the Trojan lead to 6-0 after three Trojan singles and a Coker error in the fifth inning.

Coker was able to get their bats going in the sixth inning and after an Anna Oswald (Lexington, S.C.) three-run homer, the Lady Cobras found themselves down 6-3. With eight strikeouts Deer, with some help from the Trojan defense, was able to put the game away and grab the 6-3 win. The complete-game win improved Deer to 2-0 on the season.

The second game started off on a good note for both teams until the second inning when a Sarah Price (Little Rock, S.C.) solo home run put the Lady Cobras up 1-0. The Trojans went into the sixth inning with a 3-0 deficit but this would soon change after a Meredith Knox solo home run, her third on the season. Later in the inning after three Anderson singles Kinsley Durham gave the Trojans their first lead of the game on one swing of the bat. Her 13th RBI of the season gave Anderson a 5-3 lead. The sixth inning rally saw six all-important hits from the Anderson offense.

The seventh inning proved to be an unfortunate one for Anderson after Coker evened the score yet again, at 5-5, following defensive mistakes and control problems from the Trojans. In extra innings Coker jumped out to a 6-5 lead off of a Haleigh Rogers (Ward, S.C.) single, but the run was neutralized by a Kelsey Durham double that left the game all knotted up at 6-6. The top of the ninth saw Coker’s Brittany Owens (Johnsonville, S.C.) hit a two-run home run over the left field wall which left Anderson looking at an 8-6 deficit. In the bottom of the ninth, with a much needed rally, Anderson hit into a double play, stranding one runner on base and the tying run at home plate.

The Lady Cobras take the field next on Sunday when they host Belmont Abbey in a conference double-header. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Related Items: Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score