LEESBURG, Fla. (Softball) – Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) softball continued Sun-Lakes Conference play over the weekend with Florida Gateway College (FGC).

Friday was a double header between the Lakehawks and the Wolves at The Hawks Nest. On Saturday, the teams traveled back to Lake City, Fla. for the series conclusion at Florida Gateway College.

The Lakehawks took one game of the three from the Wolves.  

Game One – Lake-Sumter 3, FGC 4

Lake-Sumter and Florida Gateway opened the series with a double header at The Hawks Nest.

The Wolves took a 1-0 lead from the top of the first. In the bottom half of the inning, the Lakehawks took the lead back.

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Emma Chisholm reached on a single to left field. Kaleigh Thomas followed with a walk.

Alexis Adams stepped up with a single to the opposite side of the field to score Chisholm and advance Thomas to third.

In a first and third situation, Adams attempted to steal second to draw a throw from the catcher, allowing Emily Gable, pinching running for Thomas, to score.

The Lakehawks led 2-1 going into the second inning. With two hits, the Wolves tied the game up at 2-2.

Payton Parkes took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth with one swing of the bat. She blasted a triple off the center field fence and advanced home on an overthrow from the centerfielder.

The Wolves tied the game back up at 3-3 in the top of the sixth with a solo homerun.  

In the top of the seventh, with two runners on base, a sacrifice fly scored one from third allowing the Wolves to take the lead 4-3.

In the bottom of the seventh, Macie Bourgholtzer reached with a two-out single, but the Lakehawks were unable to manufacture another run to keep the game alive.

Jordyn Anderson, Amy Bak, and Kaitlyn Duquette all saw time in the mound in game one. Duquette recorded the loss with the final 1.2 innings pitched.

Anderson tossed two innings, allowing two runs on three this. Amy Bak threw the bulk of the game with 3.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts.

Game Two – Lake-Sumter 13, FGC 5 (5 innings)

Florida Gateway took a one run lead in the game two in the top of the first before Parkes hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the first to tie the game.

Ellis reached on an infield error and scored on a hit from Adams up the middle. Lake-Sumter took the lead 2-1.

The Lakehawks put three more on the board in the bottom of the season with a three-run homerun from Parkes, her second of the game. Six consecutive base hits to follow extended their lead 9-1 after two innings.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, Thomas scored Bourgholtzer from third with a single to left field. A sacrifice fly from Adams scored Parkes.

Anderson came next with a single to score two more runs bringing the Lakehawk lead to 13-1.

The Wolves put four runs on the board in the top of the fourth, but were cut short at the mercy rule mark. Lake Sumter took game two in five innings 13-5.

Savannah Ellis recorded her tenth win of the season on the mound with 4.1 innings pitched.

Elizabeth Auciello entered the game in the top of the fourth to help Ellis out of a jam. She got the final out of the fourth and recorded the first out of the fifth inning before Ellis came back in to close out game two.

Game Two – Lake-Sumter 1, FGC 5

Game three was a close matchup between the Lakehawks and the Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third when Florida Gateway's Karis Smith hit a two-run homerun, taking the lead 2-0.

Thomas led off the fourth inning with a double. She scored the Lakehawks' first run on a wild pitch.

The Wolves extended their lead by one in the fifth and then another two-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth secured their lead.

Lake-Sumter went three-up three-down in the top of the seventh, recording their second loss of the series to Flrorida Gateway.

Starting pitcher Duquette recorded the loss with 2.1 innings pitched moving to a 5-7 record on the year. She allowed two runs on five hits with two strikeouts.

Bak pitched the remaining 3.2 innings. She allowed three runs on four hits with three strikeouts.

With one win, the Lakehawks improved to 25-22 overall, 11-10 in conference. Lake-Sumter currently ranks second in regular season Sun-Lakes Conference play.

In their six matchups, Lake-Sumter and Florida Gateway went 4-2, with the Lakehawks taking the series for the season.

Up next for the Lakehawks

Lakehawk Softball will continue Sun-Lakes Conference play with St. Johns River State College (SJRSC) on Friday with one game in Palatka, Fla. at 3:00 p.m.

Saturday's double header will be at The Hawks Nest at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Livestream video will be available to those who cannot attend.

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