ALBERTVILLE, Ala. – The Montevallo softball team had a strong opening day at the Chillout, taking down Kentucky Wesleyan (4-0) and Shorter (4-3) on Friday.
GAME ONE
Taylor Lloyd was exceptional on the mound, notching a complete game shutout en route to her first win of the season. Lloyd racked up 11 strikeouts, while only allowing five hits, one walk and two hit-by-pitches through seven innings.
Montevallo struck first in the contest in the bottom of the third inning.
Kiley Christopher singled and
Kennedy Hussey walked to put two on with no outs.
Ariana Pinder ultimately hit a sacrifice fly to score Christopher and put Montevallo up 1-0.
The Falcons continued to add to the lead in the next inning.
Kendall Channell got the inning started with a double and
Molly Pendley reached via an error to put two on with no outs. Pendley and pinch runner,
Madison Fargo executed a double steal attempt well, as an errant throw led to Fargo scoring the second run of the day.
Kiley Christopher brought in Pendley and
Becca Benton walked and ended up scoring later in the inning to put the Falcons up 4-0.
The Panthers threatened in the top of the sixth, with two on and no outs, but Lloyd provided three straight outs to keep the Panthers scoreless. Kentucky Wesleyan added one more hit in the top of seventh, but were unable to find anything else, as the Falcons took home the 4-0 victory.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 4 | Kentucky Wesleyan 0
Records: Montevallo 2-1 | Kentucky Wesleyan 0-1
Location: Sand Mountain Park | Albertville, Ala.
GAME NOTES
- Montevallo opens its second consecutive tournament of 2025 with a win.
- Taylor Lloyd earned a complete game shutout victory.
- Lloyd racked up 11 strikeouts.
GAME TWO
Montevallo used a combined effort on the mound to take the win in game two.
Berkley Mooney got the start and went 4.2 innings. The freshman allowed three runs, two hits, and four walks, while striking out four.
Kinsley Byrd earned her first win, as she pitched 1.2 innings, allowing three hits and no runs.
Rachel Whiddon sat down the final two batters to secure her first save of the season.
Montevallo struck first once again at the Chillout, as
Kennedy Hussey hit an RBI-single to score
Madison Fargo, giving the Falcons a 1-0 advantage.
Shorter responded in the bottom of the fifth, with a bases clearing triple to take a 3-1 lead.
The Falcons fought back in the top of the sixth, as
Riley Tyree opened the inning with a leadoff triple.
Bentlee Stiner hit a sac-fly to score Tyree and cut the deficit to, 3-2.
The Hawks saw a batter reach third in the bottom of the sixth, but the Montevallo defense held strong to keep Shorter off the board.
Pendley provided a leadoff single and stole second base to start the seventh inning rally for Montevallo. After a Fargo sac-bunt,
Kennedy Hussey hit a sac-fly to bring Pendley home and tie the game. The Falcons were not satisfied with tying the game, as
Emma Hawkins kept the momentum going with a two-out single. Pinder followed that up with a single of her own and an error by the Panthers ultimately led to Hawkins scoring and giving Montevallo a 4-3 advantage.
The Panthers looked to respond putting a runner in scoring position with one out.
Rachel Whiddon came in and sealed the deal for UM on the mound, inducing a groundout and strikeout to secure the 4-3 win for Montevallo.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 4 | Shorter 3
Records: Montevallo 3-1 | Shorter 0-3
Location: Sand Mountain Park | Albertville, Ala.
GAME NOTES
