TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 18, 2019) – Tallahassee Community College dropped a Panhandle Conference softball doubleheader to Chipola College on Monday evening at the TCC Softball Complex. The Eagles lost game one in a slugfest, 20-11, then fell, 9-0, in the nightcap.
One half inning into game one, Chipola led 6-0 and appeared on its way to an easy victory. Instead, the game turned into a near-three hour marathon that featured a combined 31 runs, 29 hits, 17 walks and five hit-batsmen. Tallahassee got on the board in its first at-bat thanks to a two-out error and added two more runs in the second to cut the Indians’ lead in half. Dev Ferguson tripled home Ismay Poot and later scored when River Glenn drew a bases-loaded walk.
Chipola got the three runs back in the top of the fourth only to watch the Eagles plate five runs in the bottom half. When Sara Brugnoli raced home from third on a passed ball to score the final run of the inning, Tallahassee found itself down by just one run, 9-8. Chipola answered in a big way, scoring six times in the fifth to open a 15-8 lead.
Tallahassee didn’t go away quietly. Olivia Russell’s three-run homer in the bottom half made it 15-11 but the Eagles went scoreless over the final two innings. Russell went 2-for-4 and scored twice. Ferguson, Katelyn Hobbs and Monica Marquez had two hits each. Sammie Massaro (4-5) took the loss for the Eagles.
In game two, Chipola starter Brianna Bailey no-hit Tallahassee in a 9-0 win. The Indians jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning and threatened to blow the game wide open in the third, loading the bases with nobody out when the Eagles turned in the defensive play of the night.
Third baseman Monica Marquez fielded Ally Clegg’s one-hopper right at the bag, where she tagged the runner on third and stepped on the bag all in one motion, then threw across to Russell at first to complete the triple play and keep the Indians’ lead at two. Tallahassee, however, was unable to generate anything against Bailey in game two, managing just one base runner – a two-out walk to Ferguson in the third.
Chipola extended its lead to 6-0 in the fourth and added three more runs in the fifth, positioning itself for the five-inning victory. Emma Fowler (2-9) took the loss for Tallahassee (14-21), who has dropped five straight since opening Panhandle Conference play with a game one win over Gulf Coast State College.
The Eagles will travel to Pensacola State College on Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. eastern.
