Reivers fare better in Florida, still look to crack win column during spring trip

Sophomore Michaela Epp faced 25 batters in the Reivers double-header with College of Central Florida.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPTIVEPHOTONS.COM
Sophomore Michaela Epp faced 25 batters in the Reivers double-header with College of Central Florida. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPTIVEPHOTONS.COM

Ocala, Florida

Day 2 of the Reivers Barnstorming tour of Florida brought another Top 15 opponent with it.  After facing #1 Florida Southwestern on Monday, IW faced 11th ranked College of Central Florida.

Unlike Day 1, the Reivers responded after a big crooked number was hung by the Patriots early in the match-up.  After Madysen Kim homered for the 2nd straight day to tie the game early at 1 apiece, CoCF batted around in the bottom half of the 2nd as IW faced another big deficit.  

Centerfielder Lily Gregory doubled in Freshmen Natalie Gunn & Emily Jacobs in the Top of the 3rd, while Sophomore Shortstop Tyla Lee blasted a 3-run homer that scored Gunn and Gregory to close out the visiting team's scoring.  3 Reiver pitchers were tagged for at least 4-runs a piece in the game.

The Patriots jumped out quickly again in Game 2, but Sophomore Sydney Reamer settled down as the Reivers clawed their way back into a 1-run game on homeruns by Reamer and Lee.  Lee's homerun nearly hit the batting pavillion beyond leftfield, nearly 300 feet away from home plate.  Central broke the game back open in the 5th with 4 more runs before Michaela Epp closed them out with 2.2 innings of stellar relief.  On the day, the Reivers managed just 2 hits other than the long balls.

Central Florida moved to 32-8 with the victories, while the Reivers dropped to 7-9, a mark reflective of the difficult weather the Reivers have faced this spring.