SOFTBALL KEEPS STREAK ALIVE IN SWEEP OF COLUMBIA

Columbia, S.C.- The softball team looked to stay hot in their most recent contest against Columbia College on Tuesday. The team went into the doubleheader against the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent on a five-game winning streak, including two consecutive sweeps.

Game 1:

It was a quick start for the Lady Bulldogs as both Olivia Housewright and Mackenzie Jackson used doubles to get on base. Courtney Black scored both the base-runners with her single up the middle to give the team a two-run lead. Briana Muller, the AAC Softball Player of the Week, reached base via an error and moved Black to second, where she would score from on Sivan Palacios' single up the middle. Muller represented the last run of the inning and gave Tennessee Wesleyan a 4-0 lead off Allee West's single.

The Lady Bulldogs gained two runs Columbia scored in the bottom of the first back in the second. Housewright again got on base, this time on a walk and moved to second on Jackson's single. A double to left field by Baylee Sutton scored Housewright and put Jackson in scoring position on third. A sacrifice fly by Black scored Jackson to make the score 6-2. Sutton gave the team a 7-2 lead when she crossed home plate off a single by Muller, the score the inning ended with. The fourth inning would end with the TWU leading 8-4, with their score coming off a Sutton blast over the center field fence.

The game came to an early end in the fifth inning as the mercy rule came into effect. The road to getting there began with Shea Lipe's single, getting into scoring position on second via a stolen base. The bases become loaded when Housewright, who reached via a walk, and Jackson's bunt put the batters on base. A sacrifice fly by Sutton scored Lipe and a wild throw off the fly out allowed Housewright to score, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 10-4 lead. The mercy rule came in effect when Black sent a ball flying over the left field fence, assuring the end of the game after five as long as long as the eight-run lead remained intact after the bottom half. The bottom of the fifth saw three outs without a score, giving Tennessee Wesleyan the 12-4 first game win.

The team had 18 hits in the game, led by three hits by Jackson. Housewright, Sutton, Black, Muller, Palacios, Malyssa Jeter and West all had two hits in the game. Black had four RBIs in the win. Calkins got the win on the mound.

Game 2:

A run in the bottom of the second inning put the Lady Bulldogs in a hole before the offense got going. West's walk put the tying run on the bases for Tennessee Wesleyan and after a Lipe flyout moved her to second, Housewright's double tied the game 1-1 as West scored. The scored remained in a 1-1 tie until the sixth inning.

The top of the inning started with Housewright's walk. A sacrifice bunt by Jackson placed Housewright in scoring position on second base before a Sutton single scored Housewright to break the tie. Another sacrifice bunt, this time off the bat of Black, moved Sutton to second before she scored on Muller's single to make the score 3-1.

The game would end up going to extra innings as Columbia scored two runs over the sixth and seventh inning to tie the score at three. TWU made sure it did not last longer than eight innings as Sutton put a runner on first via her walk. Black advanced Sutton into scoring position on second with her single. A Muller connection with the ball resulted in an error, allowing both Sutton and Black to become the game-winning runs. A sacrifice fly by Palacios gave the team some insurance when Muller scored, giving the team the 6-3 win when the bottom half of the inning all recorded outs.

Black and Muller both finished with two hits in the contest. Cheyenne Strong struck out eight batters in the complete game win.

The win moved the Lady Bulldogs' record to 7-1 as they headed into Wednesday's doubleheader against St. Andrews University.