VIRGINIA BEACH -- Randolph-Macon College's softball team had barely finished celebrating a couple of home runs that pulled the Yellow Jackets closer to the host Virginia Wesleyan College Marlins on Wednesday when Tori Higginbotham knocked momentum in a different direction.

The junior All-American ripped a solo home run over the center field fence to knock the Jackets back and evoke the cheers of the home crowd at Marlins Field.

Her homer helped Virginia Wesleyan post a 7-5 victory in the opening game of the key Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) doubleheader, which featured the current undefeated leaders of the league.  Virginia Wesleyan remained undefeated in the ODAC at the end of the afternoon as the Marlins swept the Jackets with a 3-1 victory in the second game.

While Virginia Wesleyan improved to 21-4 overall, and to 9-0 in the league, the Jackets fell to 19-4 overall and to 4-2 in the ODAC.  VWC has now won 13 consecutive games, while the sweep snapped a 15-game winning streak for the Jackets.

Higginbotham (Glen Allen/J.R. Tucker) was at the center of the sweep as she finished the series hitting at a torrid .713 clip, ripping the ball for two singles, a double and two solo home runs.  Her homers increased her season total to a career-high nine, the second highest single season total in VWC history, and her career total to 20, three shy of tying the program record.

It was all part of impressive offensive showing by the Marlins, who outhit the Jackets 21-11, including 9-3 in the second game. Junior Kelly Keys (Manassas/Osbourn Park) contributed to the effort with a 4-for-6 showing at the plate, with a double, while juniors Lindsay Inzana (Chesapeake/Grassfield) and Season Dailey (Norfolk/Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox) both hit .500.

Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in the series, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the opener.  All four runs were scored in the third inning with the help of four hits and a Jacket error.  Inzana connected for an RBI-double in the inning and Dailey belted a two-run single down the left field line.

The Marlins expanded their lead to 6-0 with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, which started with a Higginbotham double to center field.  Sophomore Kristina Karagiorgis (Ashburn/Briar Woods), Inzana and Dailey all followed with singles to help the scoring.

Randolph-Macon did not fold however, as the Jackets erupted for five runs in the to of the sixth inning to pull within a 6-5 score.  The Jackets connected for four hits in the inning, including a two-run homer by Sharese Jarvis (Cobbs Creek/Matthews) and a three-run home run by Katie Woody (Ashland/Patrick Henry).

Virginia Wesleyan repadded its lead with Higginbotham's home run in the bottom of the inning and iced the win with defense, allowing the Jackets a lone single in the top of the final inning.

Karagiorgis was the winning pitcher for VWC, improving to 8-2 with an effort that included seven strike outs.  She scattered seven hits in six innings and gave up four earned runs.  Junior Mackenzie Creech (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange) pitched the final inning for the save and gave up only a single.

Heather Lewis (Glen Allen/Deep Run) lost for only the second time in 13 innings after working the entire game for the Jackets.  She struck out one batter and gave up 12 hits and four earned runs.  Michalann Camp (Courtland/Southampton Academy) and Jarvis led R-MC hitting with two hits each.

Creech returned to the pitching circle for the Marlins in the second game and pitched the distance, facing 25 batters in seven innings.  She struck out three batters, walked one and allowed just three hits and an earned run en route to improving to 10-2 on the season.

Kristen Dize (Onancock/Nandua) absorbed the loss for the Jackets, dropping to 6-2. She fanned one batter, walked two and gave up nine hits and two earned runs.

Virginia Wesleyan took the lead in the first inning when Inzana clobbered her second double of the day to center field.  It scored Keys, who singled earlier to the left side.

R-MC came back to tie the game in the top of the third when Christa Simon (Richmond/James River) connected for a double to center field, scoring Lauryn Nanny (Chester/Thomas Dale), who singled earlier.

But, the tie was short-lived as Virginia Wesleyan reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the same inning.  The Marlins loaded the bases with consecutive singles by Higginbotham and Keys, followed by an error that put Karagiorgis aboard. A fielder's choice by Inzana sent home the run for a 2-1 lead.

Virginia Wesleyan's defense, and Creech's pitching, handcuffed the Jackets the rest of the way as R-MC drew a single walk in the fourth, fell 1-2-3 in the fifth, managed only a single in the sixth, and dropped 1-2-3 in the seventh.  The Marlins extended their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Higginbotham led off with her second four-bagger of the day.

Inzana's three hits in the two games extended a current hitting streak to 11 straight games. Dailey had recorded hits in nine consecutive games and Higginbotham has hit safely in six straight contests.   

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Thursday, March 28, as the Marlins host the Eagles of the University of Mary Washington in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. at Marlins Field.

--AMDG--