VIRGINIA BEACH -- Mary Shipp added to her status as the national leader in saves on Saturday.

The Virginia Wesleyan College sophomore pitched in the final inning of the Marlins' 5-2 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory over Randolph College's WildCats in the second game of the annual Strike Out Cancer Day doubleheader at Marlins Field.

A crowd of more that 600 was on hand to support the cause and most of those individuals saw Shipp (Virginia Beach/First Colonial) record her nation-leading fifth save of the season. She entered the game in the top of the seventh with the 'Cats (18-11) threatening VWC's 5-1 lead with runners at first and second and only one out. A passed ball moved the runners and one scored when Erin Wehrlhan (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) grounded out.  Shipp struck out the next batter to end the game and take the save.

Shipp also pitched in VWC's 9-0 victory in the first game, working the final two innings of the five-inning contest.  She faced only eight batters, struck out two, walked one, and allowed just one hit.  While Virginia Wesleyan improved to 22-4 overall and to a  league-leading 9-1, Randolph dropped to 18-11 and 5-5.

Junior Kristina Karagiorgis (Ashburn/Briar Woods) posted victories in both contests, improving her season record to 12-3. She struck out four the 10 batters she faced in three innings in the first game, tossing a no hitter before Shipp entered in relief.  Karagiorgis worked five innings in the second contest, mowing down seven batters, scattering five hits, and allowing just one earned run.  She improved her earned run average to 1.05 and her strikeout total to 80.

Senior MacKenzie Creech (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange), sidelined with an injury since March 23, returned for the first time and pitched to seven batters in the nightcap.  She struck out one batter and gave up three hits and one earned run.

Virginia Wesleyan backed the standout pitching with a balanced hitting offense that produced a 22-9 advantage in hitting.  The Marlins trailed only once in the doubleheader, when the 'Cats scored in the top of the first inning in the second game. Wehrhan led off the inning with a single and scored on a Brittney Via (Charlottesville, Va./Monticello) single to left field.

The lead did not last long as Virginia Wesleyan took advantage of three hits, two walks, a batter hit by a pitch, a wild pitch, and a stolen base in the bottom of the inning en route to producing four runs for a lead never lost.

Seniors Tori Higginbotham (Glen Allen/J.R. Tucker) and Season Dailey (Norfolk/Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox), and sophomores Kayla Dost (Bristow/Nokesville Brentsville) and Kayla Malkos (Roanoke/Cave Spring) all recorded three hits each in the twinbill.  Higginbotham, Dost, Dailey, and sophomore Courtney Bogan (Round Hill/Woodgrove) belted a double each.

Hannah Cook (Yorktown, Va./Grafton) led Randolph's eight-hit offense in the second game with a pair of singles.  Hannah Winfree (Yorktown/York) and Patti Vinson (Williamsburg/Lafayette) recorded a double each for the 'Cats in the series.

Winfree took the pitching loss for Randolph in the second game, dropping to 6-1 on the season.  She struck out three, walked three, and gave up 10 hits and five earned runs. Haley Christensen (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) absorbed the first-game loss, striking out one and allowing 12 hits and seven earned runs.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to action on Sunday, April 6, in another ODAC doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.  The Marlins will host Lynchburg College's Hornets, who have received votes in the national poll.  The Hornets split a twinbill at Randolph-Macon College on Saturday and enter the games with a 17-9 record overall and a 5-3 league mark, the latter good enough currently for second place in the ODAC.

--AMDG--