The Virginia Wesleyan University softball team (26-1-1, 12-0 ODAC) defeated conference opponent EMU winnings 10-2 and 12-2.
Game One:
Morgan Tucker led the offense going 3-for-3, scored one run, and had two RBI. Alexis Hudgens had a day going 2-for-2 with a double, scored one run, and two RBI, and teammate Mackenzie Myers was 1-for-3 with a double, scored one run, and had two RBI.
Lauren Bible recorded her 15th win of the season, she pitched 3.0 innings, allowed two hits, and had one strikeout. Julia Piotrowski came in to finish the game, she pitched 2.0 innings, allowed five hits, and two earned runs, with two strikeouts.
Virginia Wesleyan broke the scoreless tie with an explosive second inning, lighting up the scoreboard for eight runs. The rally began with a single up the middle by Morgan Tucker. Then, three straight walks to Julia Piotrowski, Joslyn Woodward, and Bri Jones brought in the first run of the game. Alexis Hudgens kept the momentum going with a single up the middle that plated a second run to force a pitching change for EMU. Sarah Prosser delivered an RBI single, followed by a two-RBI double by Mackenzie Myers that made it 5–0. Laci Campbell added an RBI single and later stole second, setting up Tucker for a two-RBI single to cap the inning at 8–0.
The Marlins tacked on another run in the third. Joslyn Woodward led off with a walk and advanced to second on a groundout by Bri Jones. Alexus Hudgens came through once again with a double to right center, scoring Woodward and extending the Marlins' lead to 9–0.
In the fifth inning, VWU added one more insurance run. After Autumn Boothe flew out to center as a pinch hitter, Jones reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. A pinch-hitting Brooke Powell drew a walk, and both runners advanced on a passed ball. Riley Curtice then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Jones to score an unearned run and make it 10–0.
The Royals managed to score two runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth, but good defense sealed the Marlins 10-2 win.
Game Two:
Laci Campbell led the offense going 3-for-3 with a triple, and scored two runs, with an RBI, Olivia Knight had a good game, going 2-for-3 with a home run, and scored two runs, with one RBI, Mackenzie Myers was 1-for-3 with a triple, scored one run, and had two RBI.
Hannah Hearl threw a complete game pitching 5.0 innings, allowed six hits, two earned runs, and registered five strikeouts.
VWU broke through in the top of the second inning to get the scoring started as Olivia Knight led off the frame with a single to shortstop and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Julia Piotrowski. After a pop-up by J. Woodward, Bri Jones stepped up with a clutch single to center field to drive in Knight for the first run of the game. Jones then stole second and was brought home on a sharp single to right by Alexis Hudgens. Hudgens also swiped second base before Sarah Prosser capped off the inning with a double to left field, bringing Hudgens in to score to take a 3-0 lead.
The momentum continued for the Marlins in the top of the third. Laci Campbell opened the inning with a single to left-center and showed aggressive base running by stealing second. Morgan Tucker followed with a single up the middle, scoring Campbell and adding another run to the board. Virginia Wesleyan extended their lead to 4-0.
Virginia Wesleyan's offense erupted in the fourth inning. Bri Jones singled to center field and moved to second on a groundout by Hudgens. Prosser reached on a single to shortstop, advancing Jones to third, and then stole second. Mackenzie Myers delivered the big blow with a two-run triple to right center. Laci Campbell followed with a triple of her own to drive in Myers. Morgan Tucker added another RBI with a groundout that brought Campbell home. With two outs, Olivia Knight launched a solo home run to left field. The rally didn't stop there as Piotrowsk singled and stole second before Joslyn Woodward who drove her in with a double to left. By the end of the inning, the Marlins had plated six runs to push their lead to 10-0.
In the top of the fifth, VWU added two more runs to their total. Riley Curtice started things off with a single up the middle, and Haley Sadler followed with a single to right field that led to a fielding error, allowing Curtice to move to third. Samantha Deitsch lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Curtice for an unearned run. Later, Mirandah Jenkins came through with an infield single that drove in Sadler, also unearned. These two runs pushed the score to 12-0, putting a stamp on a dominant offensive performance by the Marlins.
Again, EMU started a rally in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring two runs on three hits to cut the lead to 12-2. However, the Royals could not overcome the deficit, and VWU won 12-2.
