While the rain continued to fall across the Ashland campus, the Florida weather held up just long enough on Wednesday (Mar. 9) for the Eagles to finish their evening contests. AU earned a split with a pair of Midwest Regional foes, upending Bellarmine, 6-0, before falling to Southern Indiana, 6-2, in Kissimmee, Fla.
In the first game, the Ashland offense exploded for 11 hits and junior pitcher Emlyn Knerem (Brunswick, Ohio) recorded her second shutout of the season.
Knerem (2-1) took a no-hitter into the top of the seventh inning before Knights second baseman Angel Zimmerman hit a sharp grounder up the middle for a single. The right-hander finished with 11 strikeouts while surrendering just one walk and two seventh-inning hits.
The Eagles opened the scoring in the second inning when left fielder Erica Miller (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) dropped a single into the outfield grass to knock in fellow senior Logan Hursey (Zanesville, Ohio/John Glenn). Junior shortstop Brianna Woody (Cleveland, Ohio/Magnificat) plated two more runs with a single through the left side to put the Eagles up, 3-0. Third baseman Alyssa Kelley (Mentor, Ohio) added the final run of the second inning, putting her second of three singles into the left field grass.
For the Knights (10-7), junior Amanda Meyer (3-4) was tagged with the loss, giving up four runs in her two innings of work.
Freshman Kourtney Yarnall (Canton, Ohio/Perry) went 2-for-4 in the contest with a seventh-inning RBI triple. Hursey had a multi-hit game, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI.
In the second game, AU plated two early runs, before watching the lead slip away in the late innings.
After throwing a complete two-hitter in the opener, Knerem started and threw four innings, giving up five hits and two runs.
With the score knotted at two in the top of the fifth, USI left fielder Reva Bourgasser broke the tie for good, driving in the go-ahead run.
Hursey (0-3) made her first relief appearance of the season, throwing the final three innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on three hits and three walks.
AU managed 10 hits, but finished just 3-for-17 with runners on base.
USI designated player Stephanie Bittner led the way with two hits in three at-bats, scoring three times.
Miller, Kelly, and Hursey all had two hits for the Eagles in the nightcap.
With the split, the Eagles are 2-4 on the Spring Break trip, and will allow tomorrow's forecasted storms to pass through before resuming their Rebel Spring Games schedule on Friday (Mar. 11). AU will face Wheeling Jesuit (5 p.m.) and Edinboro (6:30 p.m.) in the Friday double-dip.
The Eagles' next win will mark the 700th career win for head coach Sheilah Gulas (699-361).
AU
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