MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Sweet Briar College softball team (11-3, 0-0 ODAC) will leave Myrtle Beach undefeated after winning its games against the Hilbert College Hawks (3-4, 0-0 AMCC), Dean College Bulldogs (3-3, 0-0 GNAC) and University of Minnesota Morris Cougars (2-8, 0-0 UMAC).
vs. Hilbert
The Vixens started the day off with an 8-0 victory over the Hawks in six innings.
After a scoreless first inning of action, Sweet Briar broke through with five runs in the second.
Senior
Victoria Tew (Hope Mills, N.C.), sophomore
Ciara Nauful (Forest, Va.), sophomore
Ambyre Taylor (Arrington, Va.), junior
Ilka-Marie Kuleba (Endy, N.C.) and sophomore
Jordan Martin (Wilmington, N.C.) all crossed home plate to give the Vixens the lead.
A sacrifice fly by first-year
Grace Rokos (Jacksonville, N.C.) brought Martin home in the fourth to increase the team's lead to six.
The Vixens would tack on additional runs thanks to a sacrifice fly from sophomore
Lacey Steppe (Charlotte County, Va.) in the fifth and an error to score junior
Lauren Jamerson (Buckingham, Va.) in the sixth to end the game early at a score of 8-0.
Taylor got the start in the circle for Sweet Briar and struck out five through four innings. First-year
Annie Purvis (Madison Heights, Va.) recorded three strikeouts of her own throughout two innings of action.
At the plate, Tew was three-for-four with an RBI while Martin led the team with two runs scored.
vs. Dean
In game two of the day, Dean took an early lead with two runs scored in the top of the first.
However, the Vixens answered back with three runs of their own. An infield single from first-year
Leila Atienza (Jacksonville, N.C.) brought Rokos home while an outfield single by Steppe brought home Aitenza and Tew to change the score in Sweet Briar's favor.
A four-run second inning widened the lead by five runs as Atienza and Steppe recorded their second RBIs of the game.
Both Rokos and sophomore
Jordan Dorrier (Buckingham, Va.) scored runs in the third and sophomore
Courtney Pribble (Evington, Va.) along with Kuleba crossed home plate in the fourth to bring home the 11-2 victory after five innings.
Juniors
Alyssa O'Quinn (Powhatan, Va.) and
Anna Smith (Rocky Mount, Va.) saw action in the circle. O'Quinn saw two innings of the game while Smith pitched three and recorded two strikeouts.
Steppe was a perfect three-for-three at the plate while Tew once went three-for-four.
vs. Minnesota Morris
The Vixens closed out the triple header with an 11-6 win over Minnesota Morris, kicking the game off with a Jamerson single to left field scoring Martin for the 1-0 lead.
The Cougars tallied two runs in the first and one in the second to earn the 3-1 lead heading into the top of the third.
The third inning saw Sweet Briar take the lead back as Martin, Rokos, Tew and Jamerson all made their way around the bases.
Minnesota Morris pulled ahead, bringing the score to 6-5, after a three-run outing of their own in the bottom of the fourth. However, it would be all Sweet Briar from there on out.
Dorrier earned a right-field double to bring home Steppe in the top of the fifth while a hit from sophomore
Emma Staton (Buckingham, Va.) allowed Kuleba to score in the same inning to bring the gap to two runs.
A four-run seventh inning which saw junior
Kaylie Hudson (Lynchburg, Va.), first-year
Madeline Schmidt (Fluvanna, Va.) Martin and Rokos all scored sealing the 11-6 victory.
Purvis, O'Quinn and Taylor all spent time in the pitcher's circle. Purvis struck out two through 3.1 innings of work while Taylor took down three during her three innings of action.
Martin was four-for-four with three runs scored and a double while Jamerson led the team with three RBIs.
Highlights
- With 11 wins so far this season, head coach Brian Hensley has now become the winningest head coach in program history.
- Martin now leads the conference in runs scored with 21 while sitting second with a .633 on-base percentage.
What's next
The Vixens will open up conference play against Averett on March 18th before hosting EMU on March 22d.
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