The E-gals grabbed their third win of the Softball Beach Bash on Wednesday, holding off a late comeback from Eastern to win 4-3.
Apollo took advantage of an Eagles defensive miscue to establish its lead in the first, going up 1-0 after an error by sophomore Madeline Schulte at short. The next inning a leadoff single and another error led to a run scoring on a wild pitch.
The following at-bat a safety squeeze by senior Olivia Crawford scored a Sydney Saalwaechter that made a beeline for home to give the E-gals a 3-0 lead. Apollo didn’t take its foot of the gas in the third either, scoring once again via the long ball from junior K’Asia Palmer to make it a 4-0 game.
While Apollo’s offense was dialed in, so junior Emmie Bullington in the circle. She tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, walking four and striking out five before Saalwaechter entered the game in the fourth.
After holding Eastern scoreless in the fourth they were able to get to Saalwaechter for two runs in the fifth, cutting the lead to 4-2. Saalwaechter ended the day having allowed two runs on four hits while striking out one, before Palmer came in to close out the game.
Palmer did give up one run in the top of the sixth that made it a 4-3 game, but Palmer got a crucial double play after a leadoff single in the seventh and earned the save for Apollo having allowed just three hits while striking out one.
Palmer also led the way at the plate, recording two RBIs while junior Morgan Julian was the only E-gal to record two hits on the day. Apollo moves to 5-4 overall with the win, as they will close out the spring break tournament with a matchup against Central Hardin at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
