Brooke Shell Gets Grace Hit Record In Doubleheader
Brooke Shell Gets Grace Hit Record In Doubleheader
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Grace Sports Information-
Brooke Shell Gets Grace Hit Record In DoubleheaderWINONA LAKE — In her first season with the Grace College softball team, outfielder Brooke Shell etched her name into the school’s record books with the most hits in a single season. With a single to center field in the second game of Grace’s doubleheader with Spring Arbor Thursday in Winona Lake, Shell notched her 65th hit of the year to take over the top spot in team history. Grace won 4-2 in the opener behind a four-hitter from Olivia Winget on the mound, but slipped 3-2 in the second half of the twin bill. In the opener, the Spring Arbor Lady Cougars (14-26, 5-11 Crossroads League) hopped onto the scoreboard first with a pair of runs in the top of the third. Grace was swift in response with five hits and two runs in the bottom of the inning. Shell hit her NAIA-leading ninth triple of the year to score Jordan McKinley, and Lacey Little singled up the middle on the next at-bat to tie the game at 2-2. The Lady Lancers (17-27, 8-8 CL) repeated their effort with two runs in the fourth inning, doubling their lead to 4-2. Alex Shipley plated on a fielders’ choice, and Shell’s sacrifice fly brought in Tiffany Featherston. Winget took care of the rest on the mound, holding Spring Arbor hitless over the final three innings. The Cougars managed just four hits in seven innings as Winget struck out eight batters. Danielle Wellman and Shipley finished 2-for-3 from the plate, and Shell drove in a pair of runs. The Cougars again struck first in the second game with a four-run second inning, as Grace committed two errors, allowing Spring Arbor to score three unearned runs. Wellman provided a response with a two-run single in the third inning, allowing Shell and Little to race home. Shell provided her record-breaking moment with a single to center field in the third inning. Her 65th hit of the season eclipsed Evelene Clemons’s previous record of 64 hits during the 1994 season. Featherston added Grace’s third run in the bottom of the fourth to close the Cougars’ lead to one run, but the Lady Lancers were not able to strike again. Shipley took the loss on the mound despite yielding one earned run in seven innings. Both Spring Arbor and Grace tallied nine hits in the second game. Shell notched three hits in four at-bats for Grace, Featherston was 2-for-3, and Wellman drove in two runs. The Lady Lancers wrap up the week by hosting the NCCAA Midwest Regional Championships at Miller Field today, as the three-team, double-elimination tournament kicks off at 3 p.m. against Oakland City.
