NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Sweet Briar College softball team (5-9) split its third day of action in Myrtle Beach with a 7-3 loss to the Gwynedd Mercy Griffins (5-0, 0-0 AEC)) in the morning before bouncing back to take down the Blackburn Beavers (4-3, 0-0 SLIAC), 11-3, in six innings in the afternoon.
Vs Gwynedd Mercy
The Vixens fell behind early on in its opening match of the day after the Griffins scored four runs in the first and two in the second for the 6-0 lead entering the top of the third.
First-year
Kaylie Hudson (Lynchburg, Va.) got Sweet Briar on the board with her third home run of the season. Fellow first-year
Anna Smith (Rocky Mount, Va.) scored the team's second run of the inning after converting on an error from Gwynedd Mercy's shortstop.
The Griffins would answer with a run of their own in the bottom of the third, and despite Hudson sending first-year
Alyssa O'Quinn (Powhatan, Va.) home off a line drive to center field, the game would with Gwynedd Mercy on top, 7-3.
Hudson led the team with three hits, including two RBIs, followed by O'Quinn with two hits, one of which was a double.
At the mound, first-year
Brooke Patrick (Chesapeake, Va.) pitched all six innings and recorded one strikeout on 32 batters faced while also forcing 10 flyouts and five groundouts.
Vs. Blackburn
Sweet Briar bounced back in its second game of the day, with first-year
Ilka-Marie Kuleba (Endy, N.C.) getting the scoring going. Her single to shortstop allowed for fellow first-year
Abby Wilkerson (Appomattox, Va.) to cross home plate to put the Vixens up 1-0 heading into the third inning.
Sweet Briar and Blackburn would go on to swap three-run innings in the third and the fourth. First-year
Lauren Jamerson (Buckingham, Va.) send Hudson home on a single to the infield while another infield hit by Wilkerson would allow first-year
Victoria Tew (Hope Mills, N.C.) to score.
The fourth tally for the Vixens would come thanks to Jamerson, who stole home to bring the score to 4-0.
Despite finding their lead cut to just one run heading into the bottom of the fifth, another steal at home plate by Jamerson off a passed ball would give an additional insurance run.
It was all Sweet Briar in the sixth inning, with first-year
Grace Pisenti (Madison Heights, Va.), Hudson, Smith, Tew, Jamerson and first-year
Melanie Rees (Partlow, Va.) all scoring for a huge six-run inning that would end the game at 11-3.
Hudson, Smith, Tew, Pisenti and Kuleba all recorded two hits during the game. Meanwhile, Rees led the team with her three RBI single in the sixth inning.
Pisenti spent all six innings at the mound in this game. She faced a total of 30 batters, recorded eight strikeouts, gave up zero walks and forced five flyouts and three ground outs.
Highlights
- Hudson now ranks fourth in that nation in doubles with seven so far this season while Jamerson is fourth in triples with two.
- First-year Kaydin Williams (Richlands, N.C.) leads the team with a .970 fielding percentage through 33 catches.
What's Next
The Vixens will close out their time in Myrtle Beach tomorrow with games against Fitchburg State and Penn State Fayette at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
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