Pirtle and Mills tie school records but Harding falls at Delta State
Harding Athletics
Nathan Looney
CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Harding softball team dropped a non-conference doubleheader at Delta State Tuesday. The Lady Bisons fell 3-0 in the first game and fell in a walkoff 9-8 in the second game.
In game two, Peyton Mills hit her 28th career home run to tie the school record and Kyndal Pirtle tied a school record for most hits in a game when she went 5-for-5.
Harding falls to 13-11 overall.
Delta State improves to 16-9 overall.
Game One Key Innings (Delta State 3, Harding 0)
– Delta State scored two on two hits and a Harding error in the bottom of the first inning. Jordan Jones doubled in a run and Kelly Byrd scored on an error.
– The Lady Statesmen added another run in the third when Kelly Byrd hit a solo home run.
Game One Key Statistics
– Each team had four hits.
– Delta State was led by Kelly Byrd who went 2-for-2.
– Nicole Fullilove got the win for Delta State to improve to 8-6. She threw the complete game shutout and had five strikeouts.
– Emma Dwyer received the loss and falls to 2-4. She went six innings, gave up two earned runs and had three strikeouts.
Game Two Key Innings (Delta State 9, Harding 8)
– Delta State got things started in the second when Kailyn Lofton hit a two-run home run to center field.
– Harding got on the board in the third when Peyton Mills singled in a run. The Lady Bisons added another run when Amanda Fields reached on a fielder’s choice in which Kyndal Pirtle scored.
– The Lady Statesmen had a three-run home run by Jordan Jones in the third inning to make it a 5-2 game.
– Kyndal Pirtle hit her third single of the game in the fourth inning which drove in Lauren Bazan. Lindsey Duncan also scored in the inning on a wild pitch.
– Harding added two runs on back-to-back solo home runs by Peyton Mills and Amanda Fields. Peyton Mills led off the inning with a solo home run. It was the 28th in her career which ties her with Amanda Berdon and Kimmy Hendricks. It was Mills second home run of the season and it was Fields fourth.
– Mary Mills Lochala drew a walk with the bases loaded in the sixth to make it 7-5.
– Kelly Byrd doubled in a run for Delta State in the sixth to pull the Lady Statesmen to within one, 7-6.
– Harding added another run in the seventh when Hanna Jones reached on an error and Kiley Persons scored on the play. Kyndal Pirtle had her fifth hit in the game when she singled to left field.
– With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Kelly Byrd tied the game when she singled to right field. The next batter Jordan Jones drove in the winning run from third when she singled to left center.
Game Two Key Statistics
– Harding had 12 hits in the game and left 10 runners on base.
– Delta State had eight hits, three by Kelly Byrd.
– It was only the second time a Harding player has had five hits in a game. Courtney Derrick had six hits against Henderson State in 2016.
– Emily Baker got her first win of the season for Delta State. She pitched 1/3 of an inning and had one strikeout.
– Pyper James received the loss and falls to 3-3 on the season.
Next Up
– Harding will be back in action this weekend when it hosts Oklahoma Baptist in Great American Conference action. The four-game series is scheduled to begin Friday at 2 p.m.