Skyhawks Swept by Kentucky Christian in Friday Doubleheader
WEST POINT, Ga. – After winning a pair of games the day prior, the Point University Skyhawks found themselves on the other end of a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon, falling 6-5 and 6-2 to the Kentucky Christian University Knights at West Point Park.
Game One:
Point built an early advantage behind timely hitting, jumping in front 4-0 through two innings. The Skyhawks opened the scoring in the first when Anna McMahan lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Chelsey Hogsed for a 1-0 lead. An inning later, Point strung together quality at-bats, capped by a two-run double from Hogsed that split the gap and pushed the margin to 4-0, putting the hosts firmly in control.
Kentucky Christian began to chip away in the third, taking advantage of defensive miscues to get back into the game. Two unearned runs, including an error cut the Skyhawks' lead to 4-2. The visitors then seized momentum in the fourth, plating three runs to move in front.
Point answered immediately in the bottom of the fourth to pull even. After MaKenzie Gilliland reached, Alexa McCoy drove a double into the left-center alley, scoring Gilliland and tying the game at 5-5. That swing briefly reset the contest and gave the Skyhawks new life heading into the late innings.
Both teams traded zeros in the fifth and sixth, with the Skyhawks' staff working around traffic and the defense settling in after a four-error start to the day. Reliever and two-way performer Taylor Gajdik was a bright spot, contributing 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI while also tossing 2.2 innings in the circle with three strikeouts. Hogsed added a strong offensive effort as well, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to fuel the early surge.
The decisive moment came in the top of the seventh. With the game still knotted at 5-5, Kentucky Christian's Rebecca Engler lined a triple to right field, bringing in the go-ahead run and giving the visitors a 6-5 lead. Point was held off the board in its final at-bat, as Kentucky Christian's starter Sara Bays closed out a complete-game effort.
Both teams finished with eight hits, but Kentucky Christian capitalized on six stolen bases and four Point errors while stranding nine runners to edge out the Skyhawks. Point left only three runners on base in the narrow defeat.
Game Two:
Point University rallied late but could not erase an early deficit, dropping a 6-2 decision to Kentucky Christian.
The decisive frame came in the third, when Kentucky Christian broke a scoreless tie with a manufactured rally. After traffic on the bases and a Point miscue opened the door, Engler delivered an RBI single to get the visitors on the board. Alyna Ruiz followed with a two-run single to right, capping a three-run inning that put the Skyhawks in an early hole they were never able to fully overcome.
Trailing 5-0, Point broke through in the fifth inning by putting together quality at-bats to get on the scoreboard. After setting the table, the Skyhawks capitalized when McMahan lifted a sacrifice fly to left, bringing home Sarah Hinely for the team's first run of the day. The productive out cut the deficit to four and briefly shifted momentum back toward the home dugout.
The Skyhawks threatened again in the seventh and mounted their best offensive inning of the game. Pinch-hitter Avery Lee came off the bench and delivered a jolt with a triple to right, putting a runner in scoring position with nobody out. Hinely followed with her second hit of the afternoon, a run-scoring single that plated Lee and trimmed the lead to 6-2. Point continued to pressure late, but Knights pitcher Abby McPherson closed out the complete game to seal the Kentucky Christian win.
Offensively, Hinely led Point with two hits, one RBI and one run scored, factoring into both Skyhawks tallies. The Skyhawks finished with six hits as a team and showed late-game fight, but five errors proved costly and helped fuel Kentucky Christian's scoring opportunities. Point pitchers allowed only four hits and struck out four, but free passes and defensive miscues extended multiple innings for the visitors.
The Skyhawks look to bounce back when they hit the field at West Point Park this Wednesday, February 25 to host a pair of home games against Milligan University at 12:00 and 2:00pm.
