Emmanuel and Mount Olive to Meet in Softball Championship on Monday
DUNCAN, S.C. – The midnight hour has yet to strike for eighth-seeded Emmanuel as the Lions advanced to the 2021 Conference Carolinas Softball Championship game against second-seed Mount Olive on Monday at Tyger River Park.
Emmanuel, appearing in their first Conference Carolinas Softball Championship, advanced to 3-0 in the championship and solidified their spot in the championship game with a win over Mount Olive in the first game on Monday. The two teams will meet again on Monday at 12 p.m. with the "if necessary" game following.
In the elimination bracket, King used the long ball to walk-off against Belmont Abbey before falling to Mount Olive in a slugfest in the final game of the day.
Tournament Central (LINK)
WINNERS' BRACKET GAME
#8 Emmanuel 5, #2 Mount Olive 2
Emmanuel used the small ball approach to plate their first run of the contest before posting five hits in the inning to lead 4-0 in the first inning.
The Lions added a run in the second on an error to lead 5-0.
Mount Olive used an error to get on the board in the third inning and cut the deficit to 5-2.
Kaitlyn Pickens allowed two hits in the final four innings for Emmanuel to hold off any comeback.
ELIMINATION BRACKET GAMES
#4 King 2, #3 Belmont Abbey 1
King’s Rikkelle Miller hit a walk-off home run down the left field line to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning to advance the Tornado in the elimination bracket.
King used an extra-base hit by Carly Turner to take an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Belmont Abbey answered in the third inning with an extra-base hit by Payton Whitley to knot up the contest.
Nikole Counts limited the Belmont Abbey base runners until the seventh inning as the Crusaders put two runners in scoring position. Counts kept the score even with a strikeout.
Alannah Browne kept Belmont Abbey in the contest, limiting movement on the base paths until Rikkelle Miller’s home run in the seventh.
#2 Mount Olive 20, #4 King 10 – five innings
Mount Olive scored the second-most runs in championship history by pounding out 18 hits in a five inning slugfest. Kylie Emanuele registered six RBIs and Madison Morgan posted five RBIs off three hits each in the contest for the Trojans.
King’s Rikelle Miller hit a grand slam in the third inning and Carly Turner hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to lead the Tornado.