The Eagles split another double-header Wednesday as they took on Grayson County College in Dennison.
After suffering an 8-0 loss in the opening game of the day, the Eagles bounced back with a 3-2 victory in the second contest.
Christina Martin helped lead NTCC to victory in the second game as she was 2-3 at the plate while Katie Holcomb and Hannah Holovach both had a hit and each scored a run in the win. Ashley Basham had the biggest hit of the day for the Eagles in the win, an RBI double into left-center field in the fourth inning.
A pair of walks and an error on a ground ball to first helped the Lady Vikings take a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of game two, a lead they would maintain until the fourth.
NTCC?s began to come to life in the top of the third as Kix Hutchins reached base with a two-out single up the middle and Amanda Shirley followed by reaching base on a misplayed ball to short. The rally ended there, though, as a routine ground ball ended the scoring threat.
Holovach, who started the game in the pitching circle for the Eagles, got out of a jam in the bottom of the inning as she induced a fly ball to short after giving up a pair of two-out singles.
The Eagles got all of the offense they would need in the top of the fourth inning as Holovach led off with a double to right before advancing to second on a single up the middle by Holcomb. A sacrifice bunt by Jessica Miller moved both runners into scoring position and a passed ball allowed the Eagles to score their first run of the day to tie the score at 1-1.
A double to left center by Basham brought in Holcomb to give NTCC a 2-1 lead and Basham later scored on a ground ball by Shelby Sorrells to give the Eagles a 3-1 advantage.
The Eagles held off a late comeback by the Lady Vikings in the bottom of the seventh as a single and an RBI double cut the NTCC lead to 3-2 but Martin was able to tag Kristin Medine between second and third for the final out to end the game.
Holovach (2-1) picked up the win for the Eagles, giving up two runs (one earned) on nine hits while striking out two and walking three in a complete-game performance.
The Eagles had a rough time in the opening game of the day as they struggled to figure out how to handle Grayson?s Tori Bardi.
Bardi baffled the Eagles from the pitching circle, only giving up one hit on an infield single by Kix Hutchins in the fifth inning. Bardi also punished NTCC at the plate, going 3-3 with a double, a triple and three RBI in the Lady Viking victory.
It was all Grayson from the opening inning as the Lady Vikings scored three to take a quick lead and never looked back. Grayson added one more in the third, two in the fourth and one each in the fifth and sixth innings en route to the win.
The Eagles will be looking to add to their win total Saturday as they host both McLennan and Connors State. NTCC will face McLennan at 1 p.m., McLennan will take on Connors State at 3 p.m. and the Eagles will face Connors State in the nightcap at 5 p.m.
