Blue Raider Softball Triumphant in Doubleheader Sweep of Missouri Baptist

COLUMBIA, Ky. – At Marilyn D. Sparks Park, the Lindsey Wilson softball team improved its season-long win-streak to four games with a two-game sweep of Missouri Baptist University.

Za'Kiya Sizemore and Alexis Garayzar shined at the plate with a combined six hits, five runs batted in, and three home runs, while Abigail Cruz and Grace Adams each pitched complete-game efforts as the Blue Raiders jumped to 6-4 overall on the year.

Game One | Lindsey Wilson 4, Missouri Baptist 3

A pinch-hit RBI-single by Tanlee Hudgins in the bottom of the seventh inning propelled the hosts to their first win of the day. The clutch at-bat followed a lead-off double by the eventual winning-runner Madyson Jones.

The events leading up to Hudgins' heroics began way back in the first inning, courtesy of the long ball.

After back-to-back strikeouts in the bottom of the opening frame, it was looking like Lindsey Wilson had its work cut out for them with the Spartans starting pitcher, Alexandria Cafolla, but Garayzar quickly put those feelings to rest with a crack of the bat and home run to straight-away center. Then, only a single at-bat later, Cheyenne Sandoval connected on her first solo blast of the season to bump up the Blue Raiders' lead to 2-0 just like that.

Missouri Baptist got one back in their second plate appearance off an infield miscue, and for the next two innings, the scoring went cold.

In the bottom leg of the fifth inning, the home side rekindled its offensive spark off the bat of Sizemore. The senior sized up a pay-off pitch with two outs and sent it over the scoreboard in right field toward the Cumberland Parkway.

The Spartans seemed to find a boost of their own in the next half-inning, and one run at a time they pulled back to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh. However, in that bottom frame, it was the freshman duo of Jones and Hudgins having the last laugh.

In the circle, Cruz surrendered two earned runs on six hits and retired three Spartans on strikes. She also allowed one walk but stuck around the entire game to earn her second win of the season.

Game Two | Lindsey Wilson 5, Missouri Baptist 3

The Blue Raiders opened up the nightcap with a similar start to that in game one. Just as she did in the first inning earlier in the day, Garayzar locked in and smacked a moon shot in the trees beyond the left field fence. The only difference with this home run was that Sizemore was aboard on second base with a lead-off double, making Garayzar's third of the year a two-run bomb.

Lindsey Wilson's upperclassmen would team-up again in the bottom of the third inning, with Sizemore dropping another extra-base lead-off hit before being plated later in the frame by a Garayzar groundout.

Despite the 3-0 cushion, the Blue Raider defense remained on its toes for anything Missouri Baptist had to offer, but thanks to an outstanding pitching performance by Adams, the Spartans did not end up extending much to the host's fielders.

In the fifth inning, Sizemore tallied her third hit of the game with a single up the middle. She was followed by a hit-by-pitch to Brylee Pickerell and a walk to Garayzar to juice the bases of Sandoval. The junior battled hard at the plate and ultimately batted in Sizemore with an infield dribbler.

The visitors applied some pressure in the top of the sixth inning with a pair of runs to make it a 4-2 contest. Lindsey Wilson responded with an RBI-double by Hudgins in the next half-inning to add some insurance, 5-2.

Missouri Baptist continued its late threat into the final inning and even tacked on a third run before Adams closed the night and forced a flyout to McKenna Ingram in left field to end the game.

Adams finished her first-career complete-game with four strikeouts and six hits allowed.

Lindsey Wilson faces a quick turnaround with a non-conference doubleheader at Georgetown College on Saturday afternoon. The twin bill with the Tigers is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CST.