Softball Opens Season With Two Wins

The Pensacola State softball team kicked off their 2019 season in Clearwater, Florida this past weekend. The Pirates went 2-2 and picked up wins over Richard Bland and Santa Fe. Continue reading below for individual game recaps.

PSC 4 Richard Bland 2

The Pirates took home a 4-2 victory over Richard Bland (Va.) on Friday morning. In the top of the third Madison Myers led off with a single and immediately stole second base before Ashley Valencia drove a ball up the middle to plate the first run of the game. Eventually Valencia scored on a ground ball by Alexis Guzman to make the score 2-0. The next inning Madisen Nelson doubled to start things off and scored on a single from Kat McGlamry. Later in the inning an RBI single from Myers extended the lead to 4-0. In the bottom of the fifth Richard Bland capitalized on an error to score their first run and added another in the seventh before the Pirates closed out the game. 

Myers was 3-for-3 in the game with an RBI and three stolen bases while Valencia was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Shayne O'Connell pitched a complete game and struck out 12 while scattering five hits. 

PSC 2 State College of FL 6

In their second game of the day PSC dropped a tough 6-2 decision to the State College of Florida. The game was knotted at two in the bottom of the sixth when an RBI double kicked off the scoring for the Manatees and they took a 6-2 lead and held on for a win. The Pirates got on the board first in the third inning when Kaeleen Koehler doubled to plate Destiny Pacetti. A home run tied the score in the fourth and the Pirates regained the lead in the fifth when Ashley Valencia tripled to right center to drive in a run. State College of Florida tied the game in their half of the inning and eventually took the lead in the sixth courtesy of a double and some defensive miscues. 

Santa Fe 0 PSC 2

Shayne O'Connell threw a complete game shutout while striking out 11 batters to lead PSC to a 2-0 victory over Santa Fe. Both teams had strong pitching performances but a 2-run homerun from Ashley Valencia in the fifth inning sealed the win. Alexis Guzman was 2-for-2 with a walk.

ABAC 3 PSC 1

In the final game of the weekend the Pirates plated a run in the first inning when Madison Myers used her speed to lead off with a single, steal second, advance to third on a ground ball and then score on a sacrifice fly from Kaeleen Koehler. Abraham Baldwin used a couple sacrifice bunts and a single to tie the game in the second and took the lead in the third courtesy of a hit by pitch and error. Savannah Foster had a solid performance on the mound as she struck out 10 and only allowed one earned run. Ana Reyes was 1-for-2 in the game with a double. 

The Pirates will return to action this weekend when they host a tournament on Friday and Saturday. They will kick things off with a doubleheader versus Roane State on Friday starting at 1.00 pm.