The Transylvania softball team and Thomas More College Saints took turns shutting out the other Tuesday afternoon as the teams split a pair of games Tuesday afternoon at Thomas More Field.

In game one, Thomas More pounced on the Pioneers with a five-run fifth inning to end the game early with an 8-0 victory against the Pioneers.

Transylvania rebounded in the second game of the day with a 6-0 shutout win against Thomas More to end the trip up north on a high note. The Pioneers moved to 12-6 overall with the pair of results.

Game One

Despite the eventual one-sided score, the first tussle between the Pioneers and Saints remained relatively close through the first four and a half innings. Junior Renae Morton got the start for the Pioneers, who gave up one run in the first inning on an RBI double.

Thomas More found more success in the bottom of the third inning as the Saints scored on an RBI double and a wild pitch to take a 3-0 lead.

The Pioneers put runners into scoring position in both the top of the fourth and fifth inning but were unable to find the first run of the game.

Thomas More dropped the other shoe in the fifth inning as the first five batters of the inning reached base. Four straight hits resulted in a 6-0 lead for the Saints, and the game came to a close three batters later on a passed ball.

Sophomore infielder Brittany Mumford, sophomore outfielder Shelby Gambrell, and freshman catcher Janelle Hynes each collected a hit in game one, with Mumford notching an extra-base hit.

Game Two

In the Northern Kentucky nightcap, the Pioneers crafted a second game completely different from the first as they eventually returned to the favor to the consummate hosts.

Runs remained elusive for the Pioneers as they did in game one, but defense became the Pioneers' calling card in game two.

Sophomore pitcher Jordan Kramer led the charge from the circle as she pitched with consistency and a shutout attitude. Kramer worked the first five innings and blanked the Saints to the tune of zero earned runs, four hits, and one strikeout.

Offensively, the Pioneers remained stifled until the fifth inning when they let the scoring loose. In a 0-0 situation, Hynes led off the fifth inning with a walk. The Pioneers received help when an infielding throwing error put two Pios aboard with no outs.

A wild pitch allowed Hynes to come home for Transylvania's first lead of the afternoon, and an RBI single from her sister, freshman infielder Janette Hynes, scored junior pinch runner Destiny Garcia for a 2-0 Transy advantage.

Mumford followed with a base hit, and Thomas More obliged Transylvania with its second fielding error of the inning to load the bases. Sophomore outfielder Shelbi Poehlein took advantage with a bases-clearing double to finish off the scoring for the inning and a sudden 6-0 lead.

Morton checked in to close down the last two innings for the Pioneers with three strikeouts to seal up a 1-1 day at Thomas More.

The Pioneers had eight hits to five for Thomas More in the second game of the day. Eight different players for the Pioneers collected hits in the win, with Gambrell and Poehlein having the extra-base hits.

Kramer picked up her third win of the season for Transylvania.

The Pioneers next return to action on Thursday, March 30 when they visit the Centre College Colonels in Danville, Kentucky. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.

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