JOHNSON, VT. – The Johnson State College softball team picked up a pair of North Atlantic Conference (NAC) wins over Lyndon State College 14-1 and 7-3 on Saturday afternoon.
The Badgers cap off their season on a high note, moving to 4-18 (3-9 NAC), while the Hornets drop to 0-22 (0-12 NAC).
Johnson 14, Lyndon 1 (5 innings)
The Badgers tacked on three early runs as Abby McRae (Milton, Vt.) swiped two bases in the first inning before advancing home on a double steal attempt by Jennie Moore (Peachem, Vt.). Hannah Leroux (Albany, Vt.) added a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Moore later in the inning. Cecilia Chamul (East Concord, Vt.) added an RBI single to score Anna Bingham (Island Pond, Vt.), giving the Badgers a 3-0 advantage. Woodward was able to work out of some early trouble on the mound by striking out two after Shelby Sheridan scored on a Badgers error.
Johnson was able to break the game open with a five run second inning. After Allison Dennis (Groton, Vt.) and McRae came around to score on a pair of Hornets miscues, Kaitlyn Woodward (White River, Vt.) lined a 2 RBI double to left center field to give the Badgers a 7-0 cushion. The Badgers increased their lead to eight as Mary Richardson's (Vernon, Vt.) sacrifice fly to center field scored Woodward.
The Badgers added to their lead, scoring 6 runs over the course of the third, fourth, and fifth innings. Woodward's three run home run over the center field fence in the fifth inning capped a seven RBI effort for the sophomore.
Woodward allowed one run (zero earned) on two hits, two walks, and six strikeouts to pick up her third victory of the season. Sheridan was tagged with the loss, allowing 11 runs (eight earned) on 11 hits and two walks while fanning two.
Johnson 7, Lyndon 3 (4 Innings)
The Badgers got on the board in the first inning of the second contest on a sacrifice fly from Woodward to plate McRae. Lyndon's bats answered back in the bottom half of the frame. An RBI single from Hannah Choiniere knotted the score at one apiece before a 2 RBI knock from Brooke Dolloff gave the Hornets a 3-1 advantage.
Working around some early showers that interrupted the action after the first inning, both sides came up empty in a scoreless second frame. Johnson answered back in the third inning to tie the score at 3-3. Leroux hit an RBI single to score Bingham who had reached base on a Lyndon error earlier in the inning. With the bases loaded later in the inning, Dennis was credited with an RBI after being hit by a pitch to tie the score. The Badgers were unable to do any more damage in the inning and left the bases loaded.
The Badgers broke ahead in the fourth inning on another RBI double from Woodward plated Bingham and Moore. An Emily Graves (Montpelier, Vt.) single later in the inning allowed for Leroux and Woodward to score, giving Johnson a 7-3 lead. In an unfortunate turn of events a Lyndon infielder was injured on the play diving after Graves' hit. Without any substitutes to put in the game the Hornets were forced to forfeit and Johnson was awarded an abrupt victory.
Leroux was credited with the win after allowing three earned runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three. Sheridan took the loss for the Hornets after giving seven runs (six earned) on seven hits, six walks, and three strikeouts.