SWEET BRIAR, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College's softball Marlins had the bats cracking consistently in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference sweep of the host Vixens of Sweet Briar College.

VWC (18-2, 5-1) not only outhit Sweet Briar 36-4, but also hit the ball hard and far.  The Marlins produced 15 doubles, a triple and three home runs overall.  Junior Jaclyn Quinn (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) led the hitting parade with two doubles and a home run.  Rookie Andrea Shannon (Newville, Pa./Big Spring) added a double, triple and home run and rookie Tori Higginbotham (Glen Allen, Va./J.R. Tucker) belted a double and homer.  Rookie Kelly Keys (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) banged out three doubles, and junior Heather Bishop (Virginia Beach/Ocean Lakes) and rookie Paige Pritchett (Gordonsville, Va./Orange County) busted out two doubles each.

While the Marlins beefed up their batting averages with the big day at the plate, pitchersMacKenzie Creech (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange), Christina Crawford (Norfolk, Va./Granby) and Ashley Probasco (Plymouth, Mass./North) all improved their pitching statistics.  Creech and Crawford both improved to 9-1, working three innings each.  Creech struck out six of the 10 batters she faced, and allowed nothing, and Crawford fanned seven of the 11 batters she faced, and walked just two Vixens.  Probasco pitched in two innings in each game and struck out one batter.

Anna Newberg (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) and Mandi Catlett (Spotsylvania, Va./Spotsylvania) took the pitching losses for Sweet Briar.  Nikki Thompson (Axton, Va./Magna Vista) and Newberg recorded a hit in each game for the Vixens.

Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Saturday, Mar. 26, at 1 p.m. at Randolph College, and again on Sunday, Mar. 27, at Lynchburg College at 1:30 p.m.  Both dates are ODAC twinbills.

--AMDG--