MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Belmont softball team (6-4) kept its tournament hot streak rolling with a pair of wins to open the University of Memphis hosted Blues City Classic. The Bruins edged Mississippi State (6-4), 4-3, to open the day before falling to UMKC (5-7) in the nightcap by the same score.
Game one saw the Lady Bulldogs become the first team to put runs across the plate in the top of the first inning with the help of a sacrifice fly and a homerun to go up 2-0. Mississippi State added one more run in the top of the third behind a solo homerun before the Bruins began to wage their comeback. Junior Kim Johnson (Tucson, Ariz.) opened BU's half of the inning with a triple to right before sophomore Kat Hollingsworth (Carrollton, Texas) singled up the middle to send her over the plate.
Belmont rallied once again in the bottom of the fifth. Johnson got on with a single before Hollingsworth tripled to pick up an RBI. Sophomore Kirbie Ferrell (Pasadena, Texas) followed with a single to center that sent Hollingsworth over the plate, knotting the score at 3-3. Strong pitching by freshman Taylor Moon (Vestavia, Ala.) helped keep Mississippi State off the board in the sixth, opening the door for BU to notch the gamewinner in the bottom of the same. Sophomore Heather Turner (Rosenburg, Texas) reached on a throwing error and stole second and junior Ashley Hammer (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) followed, reaching first on a passed ball that helped Turner cross the plate in the aftermath. Rookie right-hander Carolyn Snodgress (Torrance, Calif.) collected her second save of the season as she helped to keep the Lady Bulldogs off the board and secure the 4-3 win.
In the nightcap, it looked as if the Bruins would roll to a second win after collecting a pair of runs in the top of the first courtesy of a Hollingsworth single up the middle and a homerun by junior Mia Vierra (Palmdale, Calif.). Belmont kept the Roos off the board for two innings before they finally scored one run in the bottom of the third inning. Both teams continued to battle through the midpoint of the contest before UMKC exploded in the bottom of the fifth and sixth adding a trio of runs to take a slim 4-2 lead.
BU rallied in the top of the seventh, hoping to knot the score and force extra innings. Johnson singled to left and advanced to second before Hollingsworth followed with one up the middle to send junior Kayla Brown (Beech Grove, Ind.), who was pinch running for Johnson, was sent home. Unfortunately, the Bruins were unable to tally another run and were edged 4-3.
For the day, Hollingsworth batted .714 with two runs, five hits, a triple, a double and a homerun. Johnson finished hitting .500 with a run, three hits and a triple. Inside the circle, Moon notched her first win of the season while Snodgress tallied her second save of the season. Snodgress and junior Brittanie Albright (Franklin, Tenn.) recorded two strikeouts apiece.
Belmont returns to action on Sunday, wrapping the tournament with two more games. The Bruins face off against Nicholls State at 11 a.m. and Samford at 2:30 p.m. in their final contest of the day.
