Stevenson, Benge Come Up Big for Chargers in Extra-Inning Win
Aaron Frey
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 8:29 PM
Athletics
Galesburg, IL
With the Carl Sandburg College softball team down to its final out in Game 2, Haley Stevenson (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) delivered a game-tying single in the seventh, and Madison Benge (Stronghurst, Ill./West Central) hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the eighth to help the Chargers earn a split with Spoon River on Wednesday afternoon.
The Chargers (18-18) dropped the opener 11-3 in five innings before coming back from four separate deficits to win Game 2 6-5 in eight innings.
GAME 1
Spoon River 11, Sandburg 3
Spoon River 250 31 — 11 15 0
Sandburg 000 30 — 3 5 4
L: Emily Adams 4 IP, 0 K, 1 BB
Key Moment
The Snappers sent 10 batters to the plate in the second, scoring five times on seven hits for an early 7-0 lead.
Sandburg Standouts
Benge and Lauryn Campbell (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) connected on back-to-back fourth-inning homers to account for the Chargers’ scoring. After an Emily Bloomer (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) single, Campbell hit a two-run shot to center and Benge followed with one of her own two pitches later.
GAME 2
Sandburg 6, Spoon River 5 (8 innings)
Spoon River 100 012 10 — 5 10 3
Sandburg 100 012 11 — 6 13 3
W: Lexi Juergens 2 IP, 1 K, 0 BB
Key Moments
- After Spoon River plated a run in the seventh for a 5-4 lead, the Chargers rallied to force extras. Grace Wilmington (Chillicothe, Ill./Illinois Valley Central) reached on a one-out error, and Julia Vosburgh (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock) drew a two-out walk. Stevenson came through with a line-drive single over shortstop to tie the game.
- With a runner placed on second to start extra innings, the Chargers loaded the bases with one out on a sacrifice bunt and back-to-back walks. Benge then sent a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Cora Neal (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth-Roseville) for the game-winning run.
Sandburg Standout
Vosburgh reached in all four of her plate appearances, going 3 for 3 with a run scored. The freshman catcher singled in the second and fourth, doubled in the sixth and walked in the eighth.
Other Top Chargers
- Erin Flairty (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) 2 for 5, run
- Bloomer 2 for 4, walk, RBI
- Benge 2 for 4, double, run, RBI
- Stevenson 2 for 3, run, RBI
UP NEXT
The Chargers (7-1 Arrowhead Conference) will travel to face Highland in a key conference doubleheader at 3 p.m. Thursday.
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