RALEIGH, N.C. – The Sweet Briar College softball team (1-1, 0-0 ODAC) made history today with the program's first-ever win over the William Peace University Pacers (1-1, 0-0 USA South) in game one of the season-opening doubleheader.
The Vixens took game one by a score of 13-9 in eight innings before falling in the second game, 12-4, in five innings.
Game One
Game one on the day saw a scoreless first two innings broken by a three-run outing in the bottom of the third by the home team. Sweet Briar would answer with four runs of its own in the fifth thanks to a passed ball, and singles from first-year
Jordan Martin (Wilmington, N.C.) and sophomore
Kaylie Hudson (Lynchburg, Va.).
Fellow sophomore
Melanie Rees's (Partlow, Va.) single in the sixth brought home two runs to increase the Vixens' lead to three heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Sophomore
Alyssa O'Quinn's (Powhatan, Va.) first home run of her career brought the lead to five, however, five runs scored by William Peace in the bottom of the seventh brought the game to extra innings.
Fortunately, the Vixens got it down in the eighth off an error by the Pacers, a triple from Hudson and a single from first-year and relief pitcher
Ambyre Taylor (Arrington, Va.) to lock down the 13-9 victory.
O'Quinn got the start in the circle and pitched 3.1 innings while striking out three and forcing one flyout and six ground outs. Taylor, who is credited with the win, saw 4.2 innings of action, struck out three batters and forced six flyouts and three groundouts.
Both O'Quinn and Hudson led the team with three RBIs while first baseman sophomore
Kaydin Williams (Richlands, N.C.) totaled eight putouts.
Game Two
Sweet Briar started game two where they left off, scoring two runs thanks to Hudson's sixth home run of her career.
However, six runs scored by William Peace in the first and additional tallies tacked on in the second and fourth innings left the team in a four-run hole.
A single from sophomore
Victoria Tew (Hope Mills, N.C.) which scored Martin and a trip home by Hudson on a play that led to Tew being caught stealing second would bring the score to 8-4 in the top of the fifth.
A four-run bottom of the fifth by the Pacers forced the early end of game two with the score at 12-4.
First-year
Ruby Hite (Clarksville, Va.) was game two's starting pitcher while sophomore
Anna Smith (Rocky Mount, Va.) and O'Quinn saw action in relief.
Hudson led all Sweet Briar hitters in game two with two RBIs while Williams was once again stellar defensively with five putouts.
Highlights
- The Vixens have won the first game of the season for the first time since the team took a 1-0 win over Chowan in 2007.
- Through two games, Hudson leads the team with a .750 batting average while Williams holds a 1.00 fielding percentage with 13 catches for 12 putouts.
What's Next
The Vixens will head to Marymount for a doubleheader on Feb. 23.
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