Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SANFORD – Unfortunately for Polk State Softball, it left Sanford on Tuesday with as many runs as it came with. The Eagles were swept by No. 9 Seminole State College of Florida in a doubleheader with a pair of shutout losses.
The first contest of the day was ugly from the get-go as the Raiders pushed across seven runs in the first inning in a 11-0 victory. Polk State pitcher
Kailey Guethle responded from her tough start with two scoreless innings, but Seminole State pushed across four in the fourth to cap the scoring and ultimately collect the five-inning run-rule victory. Avery Brewer's two-run home run highlighted the inning.
Chelsi Rae' Hebert,
Alma Fernandez, and Kaitlynn Nieves had the three hits for the Eagles.
The second contest was a completely different story, but for the second time in three starts,
Kyra Ward was on the short end of a 1-0 loss. Ward was stellar for the Eagles, yielding just a run on five hits in seven innings of work.
The lone run for the Raiders came in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Malz. Polk State (12-14) threatened to take the lead with two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh.
Seminole State pitcher Tori Beland, however, was able to complete the shutout by striking out Hebert to end the contest.
Baileigh Herrera, Fernandez, Hebert, and
Kanitria Antenor each had hits for Polk State.
Polk State put runners in scoring position throughout the day but was unable to come through with the timely hit. The Eagles have now been shut out six times this season.
"I am glad they responded from numerous miscues in game one to bounce back with a hard-fought effort in game two," Polk State Head Coach
Mark Skapin said. "We couldn't string together hits and left runners in scoring position throughout the day. Going through these moments will only help them deliver when it matters down the line. We have a very inexperienced team as most of our returners didn't play many innings last year."
Since an 11-9 start, Polk State has now lost five of its last six games. The Eagles will look to get back on track on Friday when they host Manchester University JV in the final game before the start of conference play. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
