NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Chowan Softball team opened their 2022 season on the wrong side of a pair of 5-3 losses in the opening day of the Newberry Invitational on the road on Saturday.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 3, Concord 5

FINAL | Chowan 3, Newberry 5

RECORDS | Chowan 0-2, Concord 1-1, Newberry 2-0

LOCATION | Newberry, S.C. (Smith Road Complex)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORES

Paige Wilhelm led the Hawks at the plate with three hits and two RBI.  Hannah Eden, Kaitlin Brunelli, and Jesse Gentry tallied two hits each.  Brunelli posted a double and a home run to go with three RBI.  Gentry tallied two doubles.

Megan Vincent took the tough loss in game two as the Wolves walked-off in the bottom of the seventh inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Chowan vs Concord

Chowan would get on the board in the bottom of the first inning as Hannah Eden drew a walk and moved to second on an error.  Following a ground out, Kaitlin Brunelli doubled home Eden for the first tally in the contest.

Concord rallied in the top of the second to even the score at 1-all on two hits.  The Mountain Lions posted three runs on three hits and a pair of free passes to take the lead 4-1 in the top of the third.

The Mountain Lions added a run in the top of the fifth off a Chowan miscue.

The Hawks tallied a run in the bottom of the fifth as Meredith Morgan produced a one-out walk to start the inning.  Elizabeth Heller picked up a single before Paige Wilhelm produced a single to left allowing Morgan to score, 5-2.

Chowan posted the final run in the contest in the bottom of the sixth inning as Serena Riley posted a one-out triple to right field.  Courtney Lamb singled home Riley to close the gap to 5-3.

The Hawks had a chance to knot the contest up in the bottom of the seventh as Hannah Eden and Paige Wilhelm posted a pair of one-out singles.  Kaitlin Brunelli loaded the bases with a walk before the end of the inning.

Chowan at Newberry

The nightcap moved quickly in the opening innings of the contest until Newberry broke the scoreless contest with a run in the bottom of the fourth on a pair of hits.

The Hawks responded in the top of the fifth as Jesse Gentry doubled with one out to spark the rally.  Meredith Morgan singled before Mya Horne drew a walk to load the bases.  Paige Wilhelm singled to left to score the pinch running Cailyn Nowell.

Chowan would take a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth as Kaitlin Brunelli hit a two-run home run following a walk by Hannah Eden.

The Wolves responded in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run to start the inning, 3-2.

Newberry took advantage of a Chowan miscue to start a rally in the bottom of the seventh.  The Wolves would hit a walk-off three run home run to hand the Hawks a 5-3 defeat.

UP NEXT

Chowan will wrap up the Newberry Invitational against Concord at 11am and Newberry at 3pm on Sunday, February 6.