MYRTLE BEACH, SC - The St. Clair County Community College softball team posted a perfect day at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex on Tuesday, defeating Hagerstown Community College 3–1 in the morning before claiming a thrilling 8–7, 9-inning victory over Brunswick Community College in the afternoon. The sweep moves the Skippers to 4–1 on the season.
St. Clair County opened the morning with the kind of performance coaches love: clean defense, efficient pitching, and a handful of timely swings.
Freshman Haylee Hodges set the tone early, carving through the Hagerstown lineup with a five-inning, one-hit gem. She struck out six and didn't allow a run, controlling the tempo from her very first pitch. When she handed the ball to Lillian Osborne in the sixth, the Skippers were firmly in command. Osborne handled the rest, giving up just one hit in two steady innings to secure the save.
After a slow start offensively, the Skippers broke through in the bottom of the third inning when a double from Jenna Maday set up two runners in scoring position followed by an infield single from Makayla Hennessey to load the bases. In the following at bat Annabelle Schneider stole home before Taylor Turkin drove home two runs on a single to left field. The Skippers plated three runs that inning which would be all they needed.
Hagerstown scratched across a run in the fourth, but Hodges and Osborne allowed nothing more, guiding the Skippers to a calm, confident win to start the day.
If the morning game was about control, the afternoon matchup was about grit.
The Skippers stormed out of the gate, scoring three runs in the first inning and two more in the second to grab a quick 5–0 advantage. Addyson Caten, who finished the game with three runs scored, set the tone, while Marisa Raymo, Makayla Hennessey, and Lillian Osborn each delivered key early hits to keep the pressure on Brunswick from the start.
But the game shifted in the middle innings, as Brunswick chipped away and finally leveled the score. By the time the teams reached the seventh tied, the game had transformed into a battle of endurance.
SC4 leaned on Jenna Maday in relief, and she answered the call. Maday threw sixth innings allowing five hits, and just one earned run, picking up the win for the Skippers.
After seeing just three total runs scored in the previous six innings, the bats woke up again in the ninth. Addyson Caten would get the party started by advancing the ghost runner to third on an infield single. After a stolen base by Caten, Marisa Raymo would step to the plate and deliver the deciding blow knocking home both runners on a line drive to the center fielder.
New Brunswick would get one back in the bottom of the inning, but the Skippers would hold them off to claim the victory and move to 3-1 on the early season.
