Eagles Fall Short In Championship 5-4 But Earn AAC Tournament Runner-Ups
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reinhardt
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 0 |
|
Brenau (GA)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reinhardt
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
|
Tennessee Wesleyan
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Reinhardt
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 1 |
|
Truett-McConnell
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
KINGSPORT, TN. - The Reinhardt Eagles Softball team had a busy Saturday night as they had 3 back-to-back games. The first game of the day began at 5pm versus the Truett-McConnell Bears where the Eagles took the game 10-4 to put the Bears out of the tournament. Then the Eagles were matched-up versus Brenau University in the semi-finals and Reinhardt won 9-0 to advance to the 2023 AAC Championship game. This game began late into the night but the Eagles ultimately fell short to the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs 5-4 to be the 2023 AAC Tournament Runner-Ups. Although the Eagles placed 2nd in the tournament, they received an automatic bid into the NAIA Nationals Tournament due to Reinhardt being placed at No. 1 at the end of the regular season to claim the title as the 2023 AAC Softball Regular-Season Champions.
Game One: Reinhardt 10, TMU 4
Game one of the day was versus Truett McConnell in an elimination match-up. Reinhardt was the first team to get on the scoreboard with a hit from Taylor Wade in the 2nd inning. Then with a single from Alexis Teems and a homerun from Emily Loveless in the 4th inning allowed the Eagles to stretch their lead to 6-0. The Eagles were able to get even more runs on the board in the 6th inning when Alexis Teems hit a single and Kylie Freije had a double hit to go up 8-0. The last run for Reinhardt came in the 7th from a hit by Taylor Wade. Although TMU was able to score 4 runs over the last two innings, the Eagles moved onto the next round with a 10-4 win.
Leaders:
- Emily Loveless and Taylor Wade had a great offensive game. Loveless had a homerun, 4 RBIs, and scored a run. Wade had 2 hits, 1 RBI, and scored 2 runs.
- Alexis Teems and Kylie Freije also added an RBI.
- Alexis Teems, Taylor Wade, Emily Loveless, and Kyra Lightner recorded a stolen base.
- Bella Krauth was the winning pitcher with 2 strikeouts, 64 total strikes, and allowed 8 hits.
Team Comparison:
Runs: 10-4 RU
Hits: 13-8 RU
Errors: 4-1 TMU
Game Two: Reinhardt 9, Brenau 0
This was a semi-finals match-up versus the Brenau Tigers. While the first few innings were scoreless, the Eagles got their bats going in the 4th inning. They were able to score 3 runs in 3 different innings to end the game early after the 6th inning with a score of 9-0. Molly Stevens and Emily Loveless each had a triple with 2 RBIS. Alexis Teems, Eryn Lee, Alexis Griffith, and Emily Loveless all recorded a single hit. Winning this game resulted in the Eagles playing Tennessee Wesleyan in the Championship game.
Leaders:
- Emily Loveless led the offense, getting on base all 3 at-bats with 2 hits, 3 RBIs, and scored 2 runs.
- The Eagles had 6 different players to record 2 hits each.
- Molly Stevens had 2 RBIs, while Eryn Lee, Alexis Griffith, and Alexis Teems recorded an RBI.
- Alexis Teems, Taylor Wade, and Alexis Griffith each stole a base.
- Ally Adriano was the winning pitcher with 3 strikeouts, pitched 48 strikes, and only allowed 4 hits.
Team Comparison
Runs: 9-0 RU
Hits: 13-4 RU
Errors: 2-0 BU
Game Three (Championship): Reinhardt 4, TWU 5
Reinhardt was set to play Tennessee Wesleyan in the Championship game. Reinhardt was able to get 2 runs on the scoreboard in the top of the 1st inning due to an error by TWU's 2nd baseman. Then in the 2nd and 4th inning, TWU went on a run to score 5 runs to Reinhardt's 2. Then with the Eagles looking to close in the run differential, Reinhardt's Emily Loveless hit a 2 RBI homerun in the top of the 5th inning to be down only 5-4. Unfortunately, the Eagles weren't able to score any more runs so TWU took the game 5-4 to win the 2023 AAC Softball Tournament.
Leaders:
- Emily Loveless led offensively with 2 hits including a homerun, 2 RBIs, and scored 2 runs. Taylor Wade had 2 hits and scored a run.
- Kylie Freije and Kyra Lightner also had a hit.
- Alexis Griffith recorded a stolen base.
- Whitney Shepherd pitched for the Eagles with 1 strikeout, pitched 54 strikes, and allowed 8 hits.
Team Comparison:
Runs: 5-4 TWU
Hits: 8-6 TWU
Errors: 3-1 TWU
Up Next: The Reinhardt Eagles softball team will be playing in the NAIA Nationals Tournament. Opponents, dates, and times are TBA.