Koalas Split on Final Day of Regular Season
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Columbia (SC) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
|
St. Andrews | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Columbia (SC) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
|
St. Andrews | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 0 |
Photos courtesy of Scott Miles Photography
Laurinburg, NC- Columbia College Softball hit the road for its final doubleheader on Friday, traveling north to faceoff with St. Andrews. The Koalas came away with a split, falling in game one, 9-1, before bouncing back to close the season with a 5-1 victory.
The Koalas put a bow on the 2023 campaign with an overall record of 19-23 and 10-18 in Appalachian Athletic Conference play.
The Sutton Softball Complex was a friendly home field all year, as the Koalas faired much better at 15-11 versus a 4-12 record in away matchups.
Game one saw a dominant performance from St. Andrews as the Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the second inning. Columbia answered in the top of the third with a Kylie Smith RBI single, but a five-run outburst by the Knights in the bottom of the fifth wrapped things up early.
The Koala offense faired much better in the second game, tallying two quick runs in the first inning.
Columbia continued to play ahead and added some cushion in the third and fifth innings.
Jenna Heath earned her fifth win of the year in the final game of her collegiate career.
Madison Lee paced the Koala offense all season; she finishes her career with a 20 RBI season, a team-high. A fellow senior in the lead-off spot, the slap hitter Mary-Catherine Sanders recorded the most hits on the team with 43; Lee was right behind with 41. Lee and Madison Wadford each hit three long balls throughout the season to claim the top spot. A trio of freshmen also recorded a home run this season as Kyra McCarson went over the fence twice while Rachel McMillan and Hope Azurdia jogged the bases once.
Meghan Dennis, Bailey Strickland, and Heath all won five games in the circle. However, of those three, Heath is the only one graduating. Dennis pitched a team-high 107.0 innings while allowing 58 runs; she struck out 23 batters, culminating her season with a 3.79 ERA.
The Koalas played 42 games, scored 156 runs, and had a team batting average of .280.
Stay tuned to gokoalas.com and all social media outlets for post-season awards and information.