Mills and Kendra Ross delivered back-to-back triples with one out in the first inning off Lincoln's Courtney Day. Ross drove in Mills and then scored on a wild pitch. With two outs, Mary Beth Pennington and Emily Woolum singled. Melissa Shannon's bloop single scored Pennington and sent Woolum to third. Woolum scored on the first of Lincoln's four errors to stake Boyle to a 4-0 lead.
"That was very important. The last three games we've started slow, and that lead gave us confidence and it also gave us a cushion," Oates said. "Amber had a big day. She was 3-for-4 and she got on base all four times. That was a game she needed, and a game we needed."
That big first inning was also all the help Pennington would need, as she limited the Patriots (10-10, 2-2 ) to four hits while striking out five and walking one.
"She did a nice job, and she's got good support right around her," Oates said.
But her performance obviously did not sit well with her older sister, Lincoln coach Renita Pennington. Immediately after the game, Renita Pennington took her team down by the football field and ran them through a practice. She was not available for comment on her team's loss.
It looked like once through the lineup was going to do the trick for the Patriots Tuesday. After being set down in order the first three innings, Morgan Brown led off the bottom of the fourth with a bunt single and went to third on Ashton Gooch's sacrifice bunt. She then scored on Jenny Jones' ground out to get Lincoln on the board.
The Rebels answered with two more runs in the top of the fifth as Pennington walked and Woolum singled up the middle. They both came home on Hayley Hellyer's two-out double to left-center field to put Boyle up 6-1.
In the sixth, Mills singled and later scored on an error and Ross singled and scored on Woolum's fielder's choice as Boyle led 8-1.
And it could have been worse for Lincoln. Boyle hit into double plays off line drives in the second and third innings, killing even more scoring chances.
Ross was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs, Pennington was 1-for-2 with a run and two walks, and Woolum was 2-for-2 with a run and RBI.
Lincoln tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh when Amber Statham doubled and scored on Kristen Grant's fielder's choice.
Sarah Fitzpatrick was 2-for-3 for Lincoln.
Mary Beth Pennington and Kendra Ross. Courtney Day and Leah Cook. W-Pennington. L-Day. 2B-Kristen Grant (LC), Hayley Hellyer (BC). 3B-Amber Mills (BC), Ross (BC)
Boyle4000220-8-12-1Lincoln0001001-2-4-4
