Modglin And McNiff Homer In Griffins Defeat Against Coe

TUCSON, Ariz.—Things were looking well early for the Griffins softball team on Wednesday afternoon, however, Coe College erased a seven-run deficit and went on for the 12-11 win.

Fontbonne (0-10), scattered a season-high 16 hits and they were led by Emelia Modglin, who extended her hitting streak out to three after going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, four RBI and hitting her second homer on the season.

The 1-3 hitters in Maddie Cooksey, Courtney Kedroski and Alleigh Kruse did a lot of damage, combining to go 8-for-15, tallying six runs scored and two RBI. Emily McNiff, also homered, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI of her own, while Maddy Strickland and Kayla Winkler contributed an RBI apiece.

On the rubber, Strickland came on in relief of Brianna Durant and took the tough loss as she went 1.2 innings, allowing two runs and struck out two.

Coe College (4-8), also totaled 16 hits on the afternoon. Allie O'Brien, Megan Weber and Sara Czachowski each had three hits, while O'Brien led them in the RBI department (three). Freshman reliever Bailey Smith got the win as she held the Griffins to four runs (three earned) on eight hits.

In the first, Cooksey led off with triple and she scored on Kedroski's RBI single. After a single and a pair of stolen bases, Modglin ripped a single to left, scoring Kedroski and giving Fontbonne a 2-0 advantage. The team tacked on two more RBI from Strickland and Winkler, putting the Griffins ahead, 4-0.

The bats stayed hot in the second as consecutive singles from Kedroski and Kruse had the team in business. Then, Modglin took Anna Simon's offering over the right field fence, clearing the bases and now Fontbonne was on top, 7-0.

The Kohawks got two of those runs back in the home half but Fontbonne responded in the third. McNiff led off with a walk and she raced around to score on Cooksey's RBI triple. Two batters later, Cooksey touched home on a fielding error by Coe, extending the lead back out to 9-2.

However, in the bottom of the third, the Kohawks chipped away at the deficit. They totaled five runs on four hits, including hitting two homers, highlighted by Simon's 3-run shot and they now trailed 9-7.

Fontbonne answered with a homer of its own. Cardwell reached base on a one out walk and she scored on McNiff's second home run in 2018, giving them an 11-7 lead.

The Kohawks added another run in the inning, though Fontbonne was still on top by three. In the home half of the fifth, Coe put away the game for good.

Taylor Huber got things started with an RBI single. After a pitching change, a fly-out and a walk, O'Brien plated two with a triple to right, tying the game up at 11-11. Weber followed with an RBI single to center and that gave Coe its first lead of the game.

The Griffins put the tying run on base in the seventh, however, an inning ending double play dashed its comeback hopes as the Griffins fell, 12-11.

The team closes out its trip to Arizona tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m., against Hiram. At 2:30 p.m., they'll square off against No. 5-ranked Trine.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the softball team.