Coastal Carolina University’s softball team and the University of Wisconsin-Madison went head-to-head in a nail-biting showdown for their second game against each other in the Chanticleer Showdown tournament.
Abby Henderson set the tone early for the Chanticleers, racking up two strikeouts and forcing a groundout to escape an early Wisconsin single. Coastal’s offense, however, struggled to find its rhythm, going three up, three down in the first two innings.
The Badgers broke through in the 4th, capitalizing on an error to grab a 1-0 lead before a stolen base extended it to 2-0. Coastal was in a tough spot late in the game toward the 5th inning.
Momentum shifted in the bottom of the 6th inning when Keirstin Roose crushed a deep shot to center field, cutting the deficit to 3-2. The bats stayed hot as catcher Maddy Jennings ripped a double, followed by McKennah Metzger’s clutch double RBI to tie it up at 3-3.
With the crowd on its feet with this raging momentum, Reese Collier stepped up and delivered an RBI single, giving Coastal its first lead of the game, 4-3.
Wisconsin threatened with a leadoff triple in the 7th inning, putting the tying run just 60 feet away. However, Coastal’s defense was on alert when Delaney Keith made a highlight-reel catch at third, followed by Brie Normandin with the final out.
Harrison Crawford, who is engaged to Jennings, was excited to see the softball team’s comeback.
“The girls have been on a hot streak here lately. They’ve got a lot of good momentum going into [the Sun Belt Conference], and I’m ready to see how their season plays out,” Crawford said.
Coastal split the series with Wisconsin 1-1 this weekend, and the next games will be back-to-back against the University of Connecticut at St. John Stadium.
