Brenau Faces First Defeat of the Season

Gulf Shores, AL - Saturday was the Golden Tigers' second day at the Gulf Coast Invitational, and the first day they have had to accept defeat, this season. Brenau University's softball team lost to Saint Gregory's University (OK), who received votes in the national ranking, and #9 Trevecca Nazarene University (TN). However, Brenau did not waste much time to get refocused; they finished the day on a positive note by beating William Woods University (MO), which gave them a record of 1-2, for the day.

In the first game, against St. Gregory's (19-6), the Golden Tigers were swept away by the Cavaliers. St. Gregory's managed to put themselves on the board in the 1st inning, with 1 run. It was not until the 5th inning, before the Cavaliers managed to earn another run. At the bottom of the 5th, Brenau was down by 2 runs, just trying to get on base. Before the game was over, St. Gregory's managed to sneak in 1 more run, earning them a score of 3-0, and giving Brenau University their first loss of the season.

During the game, Jacqueline McWhorter (Columbus, GA) and Morgan Smith (Covington, GA) both went 1-2, with a single. Anna Maness, a sophomore pitcher (Seagrove, NC), increased her total number of strike outs by 4.

In the second game of the day, #18 Brenau University went head to head with #9 Trevecca Nazarene University (12-1). At the top of the 3rd, Brenau led their opponents with 1 run. The Lady Trojans replied back in the bottom of the 5th, by earning 2 consecutive runs. In the 6th, Trevecca continued to use the momentum in their favor, and scored their final 3 runs of the game. Brenau did not give up though, the Golden Tigers put up a fight at the top of the 7th, by scoring 3 more runs, but they fell short by 1. The game ended with a score of 5-4, Trevecca presented Brenau with their 2nd defeat of the day, and the season.

Tiffany Schandera (Columbus, GA) led the Golden Tigers offensively in that game, by delivering 2 hits at bat, a homerun, and a double. Both Jenny Shepherd (Martinez, GA) and Jana Bryant (Marietta, GA) went 1-2 at the plate, with a single. Ellen Black (Toccoa, GA), Katie Bolin (Danielsville, GA), and Sally Duggan (Huntsville, AL), all earned 1 hit at bat, with a single. On the mound, Shepherd brought the heat, earning 4 strike outs, and Maness delivered 2.

The Golden Tigers went 2-2 in pool play, at the Invitational, and soon found themselves in the gold bracket playing against William Woods University (10-2). Brenau did not like the taste of defeat, so they made it a point to start off strong in the 1st inning, scoring the 1st run of the game. Both teams earned 2 runs each in the 2nd inning, giving Brenau a lead of 3-2. In the second half of the game, the 5th inning to be exact, fans watched as the Golden Tigers began to break away from their opponents. Brenau scored 3 runs in the 5th, and 3 more in the 6th! With William Woods down 9-2, the Lady Owls tried to fight their way back onto the scoreboard, earning 3 runs. However, those runs were not enough, and the Brenau University Golden Tigers won the game 9-5, giving them an overall record of 14-2.

In the match, against the Lady Owls, it was evident that Black produced from the mound and at bat, she delivered 1 strikeout, went 1-3 at the plate, and earned a single. Shepherd and Smith also contributed to the win; Shepherd got 3 hits, 2 doubles, a single and 1 RBI, while Smith pulled out 2 hits, a homerun, a single, and 2 RBIs. Kristina Reynolds (Bogart, GA) went 2-4, with 2 doubles, and 3 RBIs. As for Taylor Kelly (Toccoa, GA) and Taylor Shrader (Henagar, AL), they both received 1 hit each.

The Golden Tigers will continue to advance within the gold bracket of the Gulf Coast Invitational. Their next game is set to be played on Sunday, March 13th, at 3pm.