NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC – The Malone University softball team defeated Clarks Summit University on their second day of the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in two five-inning run rule victories. The Pioneers pitched a shutout in both games, winning 14-0 and 12-0.
 
The Pioneers hold a 4-1-1 record overall and Clarks Summit falls to 0-6 as a team.
 
GAME ONE RECAP:
The Pioneer offense was clicking right away in the bottom of the first inning. Bailey Byers led off the frame with a double to right center field and Erika Johnson bunted for a hit to follow with Byers scoring on the attempt at first. Lexi Betz smashed a long homerun over the left fielder's head to make it 3-0 without recording an out.
 
Pitcher Kelsey Byers struck out the side in the top of the second, and Malone tacked on four more in the bottom half. Consecutive singles by Emily Betts and Amber Burick led to a Bailey Byers sacrifice fly to right field. Erika Johnson drove Burick in with a slap single to left. Later in the inning, a two-out single from Mikayla Kesel brought in two and made it 7-0.
 
Amber Burick's first career RBI came in the third inning on a single to make it 8-0 Pioneers. Lexi Betz's two-out two RBI double gave Malone a double-digit advantage.
 
After allowing the first two batters to reach, Kelsey Byers rung up the next three to end the inning in the fourth. The Pioneers tacked on four more with an RBI double by pinch hitter Layla Woolf, a two RBI triple from Bailey Byers and she eventually scored on a throwing error.
 
Glendalynn Bergdorf entered the circle in the fifth inning to seal the 14-0 win without allowing a hit.
 
GAME TWO RECAP:
Playing as the away team in game two, Malone continued to rake at the plate as a team. Lexi Betz knocked a leadoff double into right center and April Howser followed her lead by hitting a single to right center. They both would eventually score after six of the first seven batters recorded hits in an inning where all nine got to the dish. Mikayla Kesel, Emily Spada, Elizabeth Dyke and Adrianna McKinney all picked up hits in the barrage.
 
The Pioneers added an unearned run in the second inning to make it 5-0 through two innings. Pitcher Kelsey Byers entered the circle once again for game two and picked up five K's in her first two innings of work.
 
For the second time in the game, Malone batted around in the top of the fourth. Elizabeth Dyke drove in two with a single to center field. Mackenzie Frantz recorded her first career hit as a Pioneer to bring Dyke home later in the inning. After a single from Burick, Lexi Betz picked up her fifth RBI of the day with a single to left to widen the gap.
 
Elizabeth Dyke and Mackenzie Frantz continued to do damage at the plate with an RBI single from Dyke and two RBI double from Frantz in the fifth to claim a 12-0 advantage.
 
Jensen Miller closed the game by preserving the shutout by forcing the Defenders to leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
PIONEER POINTS:

• In the doubleheader, the Pioneers batted .450 (27-for-60) as a team while also holding Clarks Summit to just .189 (7-for-37) at the dish.
• Amber Burick was 3-for-3 in game one with an RBI and three runs scored. Bailey Byers, Erika Johnson, Lexi Betz and Mikayla Kesel each had a multi-hit game in the 11 am contest. Betz was the team leader in game one with four RBIs and Byers right there with three from the leadoff spot.
• Elizabeth Dyke was 3-for-4 in the second game with four RBIs and two runs scored. Six different Pioneers had an RBI in game two, including Mackenzie Frantz with three in her first Malone appearance at catcher.
• Lexi Betz, Mikayla Kesel and Amber Burick had multiple hits in both games. Betz was 4-for-6 with a homerun and two doubles. Kesel continued her hot start to the 2021 season by going 4-for-5 with a triple. Burick used her speed to gather five singles in seven at-bats.
• Kelsey Byers combined for eight shutout innings of work with 16 strikeouts and scattering five hits. Byers is now 4-0 on the season.

 
UP NEXT:
Malone softball concludes their spring trip to North Myrtle Beach with a doubleheader versus Mississippi University for Women on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 11 am.