CLERMONT, Fla. – The West Virginia Wesleyan Softball team completed their fourth-straight doubleheader sweep at THE Spring Games with wins over Lake Erie (2-0) and Mercy College (6-3).
Hannah Hudson and
Kendall Stoffel both pitched complete games for the Bobcats to help extend the winning streak.
Game 1 vs Lake Erie
Grace Hightower led off the bottom of the 1
st with a double to right to put an early runner in scoring position. The Storm were able to work out of the early trouble with three-straight outs to end the inning.
Hannah Hudson sat the Lake Erie lineup down in order once again with two strikeouts and a lineout in the top half of the 2
nd. In the bottom half,
Morgan Norris chopped a one-out single up the middle but that's all the Bobcat offense could muster in the inning.
LEC saw their first baserunner of the game in the top of the 3
rd when Adrianna Sluga drew a one-out walk. Hudson finished the inning with a strikeout and a lineout to
Morgan Norris. The Bobcats struck first in the bottom of the 3
rd with
Grace Smith singling
Jenna Christopher home after Christopher led the inning off being hit by a pitch. That would be the only run Wesleyan would put across as
Alli Robinson and
Andie Dizon popped up in the infield to end the inning with WVWC leading 1-0 after three.
The Storm went 1-2-3 once again in the top of the 4
th inning. In Wesleyan's side of the 4
th, they were able to give Hudson run support, plating
Taylor Swartz on an RBI single from
Kiley Turner. Swartz was able to get in scoring position from an error and swiping second base, setting the stage for Turner's RBI. Lake Erie started the top of the 5
th with a single and was able to get her in scoring position but left with nothing after popping up to Hudson for the third out.
Neither team generated much offense for the rest of the game, including
Hannah Hudson setting the Lake Erie down in order in both the 6
th and 7
th inning to secure the 2-0 win.
Lillian Campbell was the only LEC batter to get a hit off of Hudson and Adrianna Sluga drew a walk. Carly Rowland pitched well for the Storm, going six innings and allowing two runs (one earned) off of five hits. Rowland did not walk a batter and struck out four.
Grace Smith led the Bobcats, going 2-3 with an RBI.
Kiley Turner went 1-2 with that one hit being an RBI single.
Hannah Hudson pitched a gem, going the distance and striking out six with one walk and one hit to pick up her fourth win of the season.
Game 2 vs Mercy College
The Bobcats were able to put together three runs with two outs in the opening inning.
Morgan Norris walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, eventually being brought home by
Taylor Swartz on a double in the left-center gap.
Andie Dizon singled and put runners at first and third for
Alli Robinson where Robinson took full advantage with a 2 RBI double to left. Mercy scored two runs in their half of the inning, both being on errors by the Bobcats defense.
Both teams put runners in scoring position in the 2
nd inning but couldn't put more runs up on the board. Wesleyan gave themselves a small cushion in the top of the 3
rd with
Taylor Swartz singling and stealing second, eventually scoring on back-to-back errors by the Mavericks. With one out,
Andie Dizon was able to get to third on the two errors and a wild pitch. The Bobcats would only get the one run and nothing else as they grounded out and popped out to close the top half of the inning. Stoffel sat the Mercy lineup in order in the bottom half, keeping the Wesleyan lead at 4-2 after three innings.
In the 4
th inning,
Morgan Norris doubled
Megan McMackin and
Alyssa Rohr home to open the Bobcats lead to 6-2. The Mavericks put together very little offense in the bottom of the 4
th, ending the inning on a groundout. In the 5
th and 6
th innings, both teams didn't assemble much of any offense. Mercy made it interesting in their last at-bat in the 7
th inning, plating a run and having another runner in scoring position with two outs. Stoffel escaped the late offensive surge by the Mavericks, claiming Wesleyan's eighth-straight victory.
Cayla Crawford knocked in the lone RBI for the Mavericks as two of their runs were a result of Bobcat errors. Crawford also went 3-4 to lead the Mercy offense. Angelina Oquendo took the loss, going 3.2 innings and giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks.
Morgan Norris and
Alli Robinson both had 2 RBI to lead the Bobcats.
Taylor Swartz also finished with an RBI.
Kendall Stoffel pitched a complete game, giving up three runs (one earned) off of seven hits and walking three. Stoffel struck out seven batters as well.
Up Next For The Bobcats
Wesleyan is set to play Ferris State at 9 a.m. and Illinois-Springfield immediately after at 11:30 a.m.
Â