HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College's softball Marlins clinched the top spot in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tuesday with a sweep of host Eastern Mennonite University.

Playing under the lights at James Madison University, the Marlins (25-10) knocked off the Royals 12-9 in the first game and 13-6 in the nightcap.  The victories improved VWC's ODAC record to 15-1, with a regular-season ending doubleheader at Bridgewater College on slate Wednesday, beginning at 3 p.m.  Bridgewater, the second place team, is 12-4 in the ODAC.

The Marlins connected for 28 hits in the two games, led by senior Brianna Bertovich (Richmond, Va./J.R. Tucker), hitting 6-for-9, with a double and six RBI.  Sophomore Tori Higginbotham (Glen Allen, Va./J.R. Tucker), the ODAC's leading hitter, maintained her lofty spot by going 6-for-10 at the the plate, with a triple.  She also scored seven runs.

Sophomore Kelly Keys (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) and rookie Kristina Karagiorgis (Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods) both connected for four hits and seniors Heather Bishop (Virginia Beach/Ocean Lakes) and Jaclyn Quinn (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) added two each.  Keys collected three RBI, Karagiorgis belted a double, triple and home run, scored five runs and posted seven RBI, Quinn nailed a double and Bishop blasted a home run.

Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in either game, taking a 3-0 lead in the opener and stretching it into an 8-2 lead in the top of the fifth.  EMU (23-11, 7-9) came back with a five-run fifth to pull closer, but Virginia Wesleyan knocked the Royals back again in the sixth with a four-run surge to open up a 12-7 lead.

It was a little tighter in the second game as the Marlins led just 3-2 after four innings.  But, a solo run in the fifth on Bishop's home run made it a 4-2 lead that exploded in the next two innings. The Marlins connected for eight hits in the last two innings, including a triple and double from Karagiorgis, to score nine times to put the game away.

Sophomore MacKenzie Creech (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange) pitched the win for the Marlins in the opener, facing 19 batters, striking out three, walking one and scattering four hits and three earned runs.  She improved to 9-5 on the season. Sophomore Lindsey Izana (Chespeake, Va./Grassfield) pitched to six batters and Karagiorgis stepped in to finish the last 2.2  innings.

Karagiorgis pitched the distance for the Marlins in the second game and struck out 11 of the 30 batters she faced.  She allowed nine hits and five earned runs.

Four batters notched two hits each for the Royals in the first game, led by Sara Jenkins (Stanley, Va./Page County) with a home run.  Courtney Allman (Mt. Solon, Va./Fort Defiance), Lisa Lee (Buckingham, Va./Buckingham County) and Jenkins all homered once for EMU in the second game.  Jordan Aylor (Madison, Va./Madison County) took the pitching loss in the second game and Lee absorbed the loss in the first game.

--AMDG--