Young Harris bats sizzle in doubleheader sweep

Sports, TeamFYNSports, YHC Softball
Young Harris softball

Young Harris College collected 29 hits as the sixth-ranked Mountain Lions swept a softball non-conference doubleheader from No. 25 University of Alabama in Huntsville at Bob Jones High School Wednesday afternoon, March 11.

The Mountain Lions won the opener 12-11 before scoring 10 unanswered runs in the nightcap to take a 10-3 win.

Young Harris improved to 19-3, while the Chargers fell to 15-8. Young Harris opens its Peach Belt Conference schedule Saturday, March 14, when they face the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at E.D. Rivers Field.

Maddie Urquiola Young Harris

Maddie Urquiola

In the opener, the Mountain Lions scored five times in the second inning to take a 5-2 lead. Maddie Urquiola drove in the first run with a bases-loaded walk before Emily Harris drove in another with a single through the left side. Morgan Curley drew a bases-loaded walk before Carly Rigsbee drove in the final two runs with a single to right-center,

The Chargers battled back to take a 6-5 lead in the third, but YHC put up a four spot in the fourth inning to take a 9-6 lead. Haylie Shope drove in the first two runs on a double to center before Katelynn Hodges and Urquiola had run-scoring hits.

Jill Torres gave the Mountain Lions a 12-6 lead an inning later when she smacked a three-run homer to left field. It was her third long ball of the season. UAH got five runs back in the bottom half of the inning to get within a run at 12-11.

Shope (8-0) earned the win in the circle, while Sam Davis pitched three scoreless innings to earn her first save.

Jill Torres

Jill Torres drove in six runs Sunday.

Torres led the Mountain Lions’ 13-hit attack with three hits, while Harris, Michelin Bingham, and Hodges had two hits each.

UAH jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning of game two. The Mountain Lions got two of the runs back in the third as Curley had an RBI double to left-center field and Rigsbee drove in a run on a ground out.

The Mountain Lions broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning to take a 7-3 lead. Urquiola started the rally with a three-run homer to left-center field and Bingham and Torres added RBI singles. It was the team-leading sixth homer for Urquiola in 2020.

YHC added three insurance runs in the sixth. Bingham smacked a two-run homer – her fourth of the campaign – to center and Hodges drove in the final run with a double to right-center field.

Sam King (5-1) collected the win in the circle as she struck out five in six innings.

The YHC offense had 16 hits. Harris and Bingham led the way with three hits, while Rigsbee, Torres and Hodges added two hits apiece.

To view the full Young Harris softball schedule, click here.

 

Photos courtesy of Young Harris College.

Young Harris softball sweeps doubleheader

Sports, TeamFYNSports, YHC Softball
Young Harris Softball Shope

Haylie Shope picked up two wins and Jill Torres drove in six runs as the sixth-ranked Young Harris College softball team swept a doubleheader from Emmanuel (Ga.) College on Sunday afternoon, March 8, at E.D. Rivers Field.

Young Harris YHC Haylie Shope RBI

Haylie Shope picked up two wins Sunday.

The Mountain Lions improved to 17-3, while the Lions fell to 9-9. Young Harris travels to Huntsville, Alabama, Wednesday, March 11, for a 1 p.m. Central time doubleheader against the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

In the opener, Shope (7-0) tossed her second no-hitter in as many days as Young Harris won the first game 8-0 in five innings. Torres’ bases-clearing double down the right field line in the bottom of the sixth helped the Mountain Lions rally for a 6-4 decision.

Young Harris broke open the first game with a five-run third inning. Morgan Curley and Carly Rigsbee had RBI singles, while Michalyn Bingham drove in a run with ground out. Torres then added a two-run homer to right field to give YHC a 5-0 lead.

Jill Torres

Jill Torres drove in six runs Sunday.

The Mountain Lions added three runs in the fourth to make it 8-0. Torres added a sacrifice fly and Biz Walters drove in another run with a single.

Rigsbee and Shope each led the Mountain Lions with two hits. Shope didn’t allow a hit in five innings as she struck out four while walking two.

In the second game, Emmanuel took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth before the Mountain Lions got a run back in the bottom half of the inning as Walter drove in a run with an infield hit.

An inning later, Emily Harris and Curley each singled and Bingham reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases before Torres blooped a double just inside the right field line that cleared the bases and gave Young Harris a 6-4 lead.

Walters led YHC with three hits, while Harris, Curley and Maddie Urquiola collected two apiece. Urquiola also drove in two runs.

Shope recorded the final four outs to get the win in relief.

Young Harris softball sweeps home doubleheader

Sports, TeamFYNSports, YHC Softball
Young Harris Softball Shope

Young Harris College collected 23 hits and scored in every inning but one as the sixth-ranked Mountain Lions claimed 14-0 and 12-1 home wins against Shaw University on Saturday, March 7, at E.D. Rivers Field.

Both games were decided in five innings.

Young Harris YHC Haylie Shope Softball

Haylie Shope tossed a no-hitter in game one Saturday.

The Mountain Lions improved to 15-3, while the Bears fell to 3-12. Young Harris will face Emmanuel (Ga.) College in a 2:30 p.m. home doubleheader Sunday, March 8.

In the opener, Haylie Shope tossed a no-hitter as she improved to 5-0 in the circle. She struck out seven and only allowed two runners to reach base, one via a walk and the other reached on an error.

Shope aided her own cause with an RBI double in the first before Carly Rigsbee broke the game open with a grand slam over the trees in center field to give the Mountain Lions a 6-0 lead an inning later. Morgan Curley’s two-run homer to center highlighted an eight-run fourth inning. Jill Torres, Shope, and Maddie Urquiola also had RBI hits.

Emily Harris, Curley, Michelin Bingham, Shope, and Biz Walters each collected two hits for YHC, while Rigsbee drove in four runs and Rigsbee knocked in two.

The Mountain Lions added three more long balls in game two. Shope stroked a two-run blast to left-center field in the first, while Torres deposited a two-run homer in the second over the center field wall. Rigsbee smacked a two-run homer to right in the third inning.

Curley, Torres and Shope each collected two hits. Rigsbee drove in four more runs, while Torres added three RBIs.

Sara King (4-1) earned the win in game two and struck out eight.

Mountain Lions softball ranked sixth in latest NFCA poll

Sports, TeamFYNSports, YHC Softball
YHC Softball

The Young Harris College softball team fell to No. 6 in this week’s National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.

The Mountain Lions, who had spent the past two weeks at the top spot, went 1-3 last week. They split a pair of games against then-20th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University and lost twice to Lees-McRae College at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational.

The Mountain Lions (13-3) will play four games this weekend at the YHC Tournament. YHC will face Shaw University in a 10 a.m. doubleheader Saturday, March 7, at E.D. Rivers Field. Young Harris will also face Emmanuel (Ga.) College in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader Sunday, March 8, to wrap up the event.

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