John Tessmer | Lindenlink Contributor
*Photo courtesy of www.lindenwood.edu*
With the cold February weather upon us, it was very important for the LU softball team to begin the season down in Florida with the Eckerd College Tournament; as they haven’t had a chance to play on campus this season.
“It is important to get on the field, start practicing and get the feel of a real game. It also gives us a good chance to see what everybody can do. We kind of play everybody as much as we can just to start seeing who can be our starters when our conference starts in March,” stated head coach Don Loberg.
In the Eckerd Tournament, Lindenwood faced off against teams from the Sunshine State Conference; most of the teams had already played five or six games prior to the Lion’s one.
In the first day of the tournament on Friday, the Lady Lions faced Florida Southern College and Lynn University.
The Lions beat Florida Southern 2-1. Alexandra Newcomb’s two run single in the first was all the team would need behind the pitching of starter Megan Newman and closer Kendall Ryndak. Newman gave up two hits over five innings, with an unearned run going to Ryndak in the sixth.
In the second game, after scoring in the top of the first against Lynn University was all Lindenwood would score in the ball game. They went on to fall to Lynn University with a score of 1-7.
On Saturday, the Lions had only one game. Playing the University of Tampa in a very tight ball game and trailing by six runs after three innings, the Lions finally got one run on the scoreboard in the fourth. They followed with three more runs in the fifth and were within two runs of taking the lead. In the seventh, Lindenwood threatened to tie the game. After scoring a run on a double steal with two outs, the Lions could not capitalize as Ryndak struck out with a runner on second.
Sunday, the Lions faced Eckerd College and the Florida Institute of Technology.
Lindenwood blew out Eckerd College 12-4 early in the day with every Lindenwood starter scoring at least one run. Kristen Felker held the win, while giving up just three runs over four innings.
Following, LU beat Florida Technical Institute 3-0 with freshman Morgan Colvis earning her first collegiate victory giving up just three hits and Kendall Ryndak earned her second save in as many days
Finishing the tournament with a 3-2 record, LU Women’s Softball will travel to Rochester, MN for the MIAA/NSIC Crossover Tournament on Feb. 22nd with their first home game coming on March 2nd at noon against Blackburn College.
