ASHLAND, Va. – The Sweet Briar College softball team (13-11, 3-3 ODAC) got the program's first win over the Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets (12-10, 1-3 ODAC) this evening with a 4-1 victory in game one of the doubleheader.
The Yellow Jackets came back strong to take the second game, 7-0.
Game One
Through the first four innings, Sweet Briar threatened only briefly, but broke through in the top of the fifth. Sophomore
Abi Sawyers (Matthews, N.C.) broke the deadlock emphatically, driving a first-pitch homer to left field to give Sweet Briar a 1–0 lead. The Vixens continued to apply pressure as junior
Jordan Dorrier (Buckingham, Va.) was hit by a pitch, and sophomore
Annie Purvis (Madison Heights, Va.) drew a walk, and although a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, Randolph-Macon escaped further damage to keep it a one-run game.
The Vixens put the game firmly in hand in the sixth. Junior
Jordan Martin (Wilmington, N.C.) led off with a walk, and after a popout, first-year
Sophia Peterson (Ashland, Va.) singled through the left side to put two on. Junior
Ambyre Taylor (Arrington, Va.) then lined a run-scoring single to left-center, bringing Martin home for a 2–0 advantage. After a pitching change, pinch-runners sophomore
Emily Cottingham (Chesterfield, Va.) and junior
Ciara Nauful (Forest, Va.) entered and immediately factored in the scoring, with Sawyers ripping a run-scoring double to center to plate Nauful before Dorrier grounded out to shortstop to bring Cottingham in, pushing the lead to 4–0.
In the circle, Taylor was outstanding from start to finish, throwing a complete-game seven innings while allowing just one run on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts. She navigated traffic in the fourth and sixth innings but consistently induced weak contact, recording 11 outs in the air and three on the ground on 116 pitches to improve to 9–2 on the season.
Game Two
Randolph-Macon rallied back in the second game of the day to keep Sweet Briar off the bases.
Both Sawyers and senior
Alyssa O'Quinn (Powhatan, Va.) saw action in the circle in game two, and combined for only three earned runs in the game.
Highlights
- This marks the program's first win over Randolph-Macon in school history.
- Both Sawyers and Taylor went two-for-three at the plate in the game, with Sawyers recording two RBIs and one run.
- Taylor continues to lead the conference in strikeouts with 92, while Sawyers moves up to seventh in RBIs with 22.
What's Next
The Vixens will head to Mary Baldwin on April 1st.
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