Nashville, Tenn. - Senior catcher Jessica Lokeinsky (Cooper City, Fla.) recorded her first career multi-home run game to lead the Stetson softball team (26-19, 8-6 Atlantic Sun) to a doubleheader sweep at A-Sun rival Belmont (7-39, 3-13 A-Sun) Saturday afternoon at Aquinas Field. Lokeinsky hit a game-winning solo shot in the top of the eighth of the nightcap as the Hatters won 6-4; Stetson won the opener 7-1 and hit four home runs in the doubleheader overall.
Stetson took a 4-1 lead in the nightcap into the bottom of the seventh, but the host Bruins got an RBI groundout and then a two-out two-run single off the bat of second baseman Cassie Bollin that tied the game 4-4 and forced the Hatters to extra innings for only the second time this season. Lokeinsky almost immediately put the Hatters back on top, driving a 1-2 pitch from Devon Schmidt with one out in the top of the eighth over the center field wall for a solo home run, her second of the game.
Senior pitcher Amanda Lindsey (Byhalia, Miss.) singled one batter later and came around to score an insurance run when freshman right fielder Chelsea Whalley (Calgary, Alta.) drove her in with an RBI single to center field. Belmont got the tying runs on base with one out in the bottom of the eighth but Lindsey pitched out of the jam to send the Hatters home happy. Lindsey uncharacteristically allowed 13 hits, two walks and four runs in eight innings but struck out seven and earned her second win of the day.
The Hatters looked to be headed to an easy win with a 4-0 lead by the third inning. Lokeinsky had an RBI double in the top of the first and smashed a two-out two-run homer in the third while Lindsey led off the second with her seventh home run of the season. Belmont center fielder Kelley Cash had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to get the home team on the scoreboard prior to the seventh inning rally.
Stetson scored two runs in the first inning of the opening game without a base hit and rolled to a 7-1 win from there. Senior center fielder Amy Joyce (Lake Mary, Fla.) walked, stole second, was sacrificed to third and scored on a wild pitch while sophomore shortstop Chelsey Trotto (Lantana, Fla.) came home on an error.
Another wild pitch in the top of the third plated sophomore Brittany Knipp (Land O'Lakes, Fla.), who had come on to pinch run after senior designated player Katie Lawrence (Hilliard, Fla.) led off the inning with a double. Back-to-back walks set the stage for Head Coach Frank Griffin to call on junior Rachel Lowe (Okeechobee, Fla.) for a pinch-hitting appearance; she came through in a big way with a three-run home run, her second of the season, to center field off Belmont starter Courtney Elrod.
Freshman second baseman Jordan Cleghorn (Ball Ground, Ga.) drove in Stetson's seventh and final run with an RBI double in the fifth. Senior righty Nicole Peltz (Navarre, Fla.) relieved starter Lindsey in the bottom of the inning and went the rest of the way. Bollin ruined the shutout with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh; she had two hits for Belmont.
Lindsey struck out six in four one-hit innings of shutout softball to earn the win; Peltz had three strikeouts in relief. Trotto had two hits in the opener; Joyce stole a base in each game and raised her Atlantic Sun-leading total to 28.
The Hatters are back at home for their final six games of the regular season, starting Thursday when Mercer visits Patricia Wilson Field for an A-Sun doubleheader. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.; Live Stats and Hatter Vision are available as always for home games at www.GoHatters.com.
