BLUEFIELD – It was an exciting afternoon of Appalachian Athletic Conference softball, Wednesday at Graham Rec Park as the Bluefield University Rams and Columbia College Koalas squared off on the diamond. CC took the opening game 7-6 in 10 innings, and then scored late to take the nightcap 7-5 for the doubleheader sweep.
GAME ONE
COLUMBIA 7, BLUEFIELD 6 – 10 Innings
BU's Hallie Cox pitched five-plus innings of one-hit ball before the Koalas struck for six runs in the fifth inning to erase the Rams' 1-0 lead. Bluefield did not quit, as the Rams scored five times in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. The teams battled into the 10^th inning when Columbia, starting the frame with a runner on second, took the lead. Bluefield failed to score its runner in the bottom of the inning.
Alexis McDuffie and Chara Wootten were each 3-for-5 and Wootten batted in a pair of runs. Cox had five strikeouts in the circle, and MacKenzie Franklin pitched the final five-and-a-third innings for BU and struck out four.
GAME TWO
COLUMBIA 7, BLUEFIELD 5
Columbia took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and Bluefield jumped on top with three in the bottom of the third thanks to a two-run double by Macy Martin and a CC error. Columbia tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth and moved head 6-3 with a three-spot in the fifth. BU rallied in the fifth. A run scored on a sac fly by Kristina Sanchez, and Wootten powered a solo home run to bring Bluefield to within a run. Columbia added an insurance run in the top of the seventh.
Gianna Sloan-Lebron had a pair of hits and scored two runs. Wootten and McDuffie were each 2-for-3.
The Rams host Reinhardt University for a pair of games Thursday morning at 11:00. at Graham Rec Park.