HARTSVILLE, S.C. – After opening their season winning three of their first four games, the Coker softball team suffered a pair of losses to Newberry College on Sunday afternoon in collegiate softball. The Cobras lost game one 13-4 and lost game two 7-4. Coker falls to a 3-3 record, while Newberry improves to 5-7.
GAME ONE
In game one the Wolves of Newberry used a seven run first inning to jump start their offense and eventually roll to a 13-4 win in five innings.
Shelley Jeffcoat (1-1) earned the win on the mound allowing four runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts in five innings of work. Coker’s Becky Dillon (West Palm Beach, Fla.) (2-1) suffered the loss, as she allowed 11 runs on 12 hits in two innings of work.
At the plate, Lindsay Cruz and Amber Holley each had two hits with three RBIs for the Wolves, while Chelsie Hilbourne was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Felicia Taylor also drove in two runs and Codi Kelly had three hits with two runs scored.
For Coker, Stacy Burr (Darlington, S.C.), Sarah Rountree (Plantation, Fla.) and Gina Easler (Edgefield, S.C.) each had two hits, with Burr driving in a run and scoring run and Rountree scored two runs.
GAME TWO
Game two saw Newberry jump out to a 7-0 lead through the middle of the fourth inning, but Coker scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and another run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-4. Unfortunately that would be as close as the Cobras would get as both teams remained scoreless over the next two innings.
Holley (3-3) picked up the win for Newberry. She threw a complete game allowing four runs on 10 hits, while Jordan Atkinson (Bishopville, S.C.) (0-1) took the loss. She also tossed a complete game allowing seven runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts.
Hilbourne was the leading hitter in game with a pair of hits, including her second home run of the day, three RBIs and two runs scored. Ashley Roof and Kayla Latham also drove in two runs for the Wolves.
For the Cobras, Easler had two hits with an RBI, while Burr, Katie McElveen (Hartsville, S.C.) and Bri Jacobs (Bolton, N.C.) each drove in a run. The only other Cobra with multiple hits was Sydney Weatherford (Scranton, S.C.) with two hits and a run scored.
Coker returns to the diamond on Thursday, Feb. 24 at home against North Greenville University in a non-conference doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.