NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Season Dailey connected for two of her biggest hits of the season on Sunday to guide Virginia Wesleyan College's softball Marlins to one of its biggest sweeps of the season.

Dailey, a rookie from Norfolk (Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox) belted a game-winning home run in a 4-3 victory over host Christopher Newport University and came back in the second game to knock out another home run and a double in a 4-2 win over the Captains.  Dailey, who now leads the Marlins with three home runs, hit 3-for-6 in the twinbill, which pinned the first two home field losses of the season on No. 22-ranked CNU (14-6).

VWC (16-2) trailed 3-1 after three innings in the first game, but started a comeback with a solo run in the fourth and another in the fifth to tie the game.  Chelsea Henline (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) doubled to score the Marlins' run in the fourth, sending in Jaclyn Quinn (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) who led off the inning with a walk.  In the fifth, Leanna Prather (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) led off with a signle, stole second base, moved to third when Breanna Pettit (Onancock, Va./Nandua) singled, and scored on a Quinn ground out.

After a scoreless sixth by both teams, the Marlins stunned the Captains in the top of the seventh when Dailey rocketed her homer into left.  CNU had the bottom of the inning to try to tie or take the lead, but the Captains fell 1-2-3 to end the game.

Rookie Marlin pitcher MacKenzie Creech (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange) tossed a complete game and faced just 28 batters.  She struck out five, walked one and allowed four hits and no earned runs en route to improving to 8-1.  CNU pitcher Elizabeth Holte (Richmond, Va./Atlee) dropped to 5-3 after working seven innings.  She struck out two batters, walked one and gave up nine hits and two earned runs.

Kristina McLaughlin (Virginia Beach/Ocean Lakes) led CNU hitting in the first game going 2-for-3 and Jesse Atkinson (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover) topped the Captains with a 3-for-4 effort in the second game.  VWC outhit Christopher Newport 18-10 in the twinbill, including 4-for-6 showings from Prather and Henline and a 3-for-6 effort from Quinn.

Sophomore Christina Crawford (Norfolk, Va./Granby) pitched four innings for the Marlins in the second game and improved to 8-1, striking out two batters walking four and allowing four hits and one earned run.  Creech took over for the final three innings and allowed just two hits as she recorded the save.  She struck out three batters.

Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the third, which began with another Dailey home run to left.  Prather followed with a single and stole second base.  Rookie Tori Higginbotham (Glen Allen, Va./J.R. Tucker) took a base when she was hit by a pitch and Quinn belted a single to left to score both of them.

The Marlins stretched the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth, which started with a lead-off single from Henline.  Dailey moved her to third with a double to left and a Prather single scored the run.

Christopher Newport averted the shutout in the bottom of the inning when Atkinson singled and scored on a single by Chelsea Mitchell (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis).  The Captains added another run in the bottom of the fifth, but could not find any more scoring the rest of the way.

Whitney Haller (Chester, Va./Cosby) took the pitching loss for CNU, dropping to 7-2.  She pitched the complete game and struck out eight batters.  She also gave up nine hits and four earned runs.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Tuesday, Mar. 22, in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference twinbill at Sweet Briar College at 2:30 p.m.

--AMDG--