Gulf Shores, AL – In the UC softball team's first road trip of the season, the squad traveled to the Gulf Shore Invitational, going 1-1 on day one of action. The #24 Patriots first faced off against LSU Alexandria, winning 14-4 and then dropped game two to #4 Southeastern, 4-1.

Emily Bryant had a standout day, going 4-7 from the plate, scoring four times herself and racking up three RBI. Maddie Sickau also recorded three RBI, hers off a pair of hits and scored twice.

Kaiti White and Talli Burgess combined for the win in game one. White went 5.1 innings, striking out three and giving up four runs. Burgess entered the game when it was 6-3, and kept the Generals at bay for her second save of the season. Morgan Radford started game two with Burgess again coming in as relief. Radford went 4.2 innings without giving up an earned run and striking out a batter. Burgess went 2.1 innings, striking out one and did not give up a hit.
 
GAME ONE: PATS ERUPT IN SEVENTH OVER GENERALS, 14-4
In the team's first game where they were the guests on the scoreboard, UC came out firing. Hailey Wood led off with a walk and then advanced to third off one wild pitch that rolled all the way to the backstop. Carly Oliver brought Wood in to score off a sac fly to left field. Makenzie Keatts got on from an error, ending up on second base. Bryant earned an infield single that allowed Keatts to score for the 2-0 lead. One more run was added when Sickau singled through the left side, scoring Bryant.

LSU Alexandria answered back in the first with a run of their own to make it 2-1 off a pair of singles.

The Pats got going again in the third inning, this time Keatts leading it, getting on from an error and then moving to second. She was able to score off a single up the middle from Bryant, but the runs did not stop there. The next batter was Sickau, who launched the ball over the left field fence for her first homer of the season, bringing in two more runs. The home run extended UC's lead to 6-1.

White struckout two in the bottom of the third for a three up, three down inning. Then in the fourth inning., the Generals got two runs back off a home run, cutting the lead to 6-3.

Both offenses were quiet until the sixth inning then LSU Alexandria recorded back-to-back singles which brought Burgess into the game with one out. A single into right field scored one run, and another run tried to come around to score. But the arm of Makenzie Pawlak to Meryn Livingston at the plate was too quick, stopping another run from scoring. Burgess then struckout the next batter to leave the score at 6-4.

The seventh inning proved to be the Pats' inning, putting up eight runs off seven hits with 12 batters coming to the plate. Keatts led it off with her third home run of the year. A walk to Bryant and a single for Sickau put runners on second and first. Turnbow laid down the sacrifice bunt and Bryant read the situation perfectly, not hesitating around third and sliding in safely at home. A single for Pawlak and a fielder's choice for Livingston loaded the bases for Paxton Hoop. She laced the ball through the right side, scoring Sickau and keeping the bases loaded. Kaysee Dale came in to run for Livingston and the next hitter allowed Pawlak to score and put Dale at third. Back-to-back singles from Oliver and Keatts scored two more runners. Bryant then got a single herself but she was able to score two more to make the score 14-4 with one half inning left.

Burgess was lights out in the final inning, putting them down in order and striking out one.
 
GAME TWO: FIRE DEFEAT THE PATS, 4-1
The game was a pitchers duel, with neither team scoring until the fifth inning. The defense for UC stepped up in big ways through those innings.

The Fire thought they had momentum in the first inning with a leadoff single. But Hoop gunned down the baserunner trying to take second. Then with runners on first and second, the ball was hit to Bryant who stepped on third and fired to first for the inning ending double play.

Once again in the third, Southeastern tested the arm of Hoop, trying to take second, but again Hoop fired to second and caught the runner before she reached the base.

In the fifth, the Fire led the inning off with a walk and got them going to score four runs in the frame for the first runs of the game. UC committed two errors in the inning, making all of the runs unearned.

But Cumberlands was unbothered and recorded their first hits of the game in the next half inning. Bryant led the inning off with a single to left field and then used heads up base running to score. The left fielder overthrew the second baseman, trying to cover second allowing Bryant to slide all hte way around to third. The throw to third got away from the third baseman and Bryant took off for home, but then got in a rundown. Bryant evaded the tag and the ball got away and she got up and slid into home to put UC on the board. Two batters later, Pawlak roped the ball to left center field for a double, keeping the momentum going. However, she was stranded on second.

Both teams retired the remaining batters in order, leaving the score at 4-1 in favor of the Fire.

The split for day one gives UC a 14-2 record on the season.

The team will return for day two of the Gulf Shores Invitational tomorrow, Saturday March 4. UC will play Houston-Victoria at 10AM ET and then follow it up with a game against #23 Webber at 12:15PM ET.

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