SWEET BRIAR, Va. – The Sweet Briar College softball team (5-5, 0-0 ODAC) swept the Lancaster Bible College Chargers (0-2, 0-0 UEC); taking game one 11-0, and game two 10-9.

Game One
Sweet Briar immediately seized control in the bottom half of the first inning: after senior Kaylie Hudson (Lynchburg, Va.) and junior Ambyre Taylor (Arrington, Va.) both singles and put runners on the corners. First-year Sophia Peterson (Ashland, Va.) then ripped a double to center to drive in Hudson. Peterson stole third, and after sophomore Abi Sawyers (Matthews, N.C.) drew a walk and stole second, a wild pitch allowed Peterson to score and move Sawyers to third; moments later, Sawyers came home on a passed ball with giving Sweet Briar a 3-0 lead after one.

In the third, Taylor again retired Lancaster Bible in order with three more strikeouts, keeping the Chargers hitless and off the bases. The bottom of the third turned into Sweet Briar's decisive explosion. Taylor led off with a single and gave way to pinch-runner first-year Lexie Aiman (Stafford, Va.), who moved to second on a wild pitch before Peterson worked a walk. Sophomore Annie Purvis (Madison Heights, Va.) smoked a double to center to score Aiman and push Peterson to third, stretching the lead to 4-0. Senior Ilka-Marie Kuleba (Endy, N.C.) followed with a sacrifice hit that brought home Peterson, and junior Emma Staton (Buckingham, Va.) singled to plate Purvis, making it 6-0. Sophomore Madeline Schmidt (Fluvanna, Va.) was then hit by a pitch to put two on, and junior Jordan Martin (Wilmington, N.C.) delivered an RBI single to left that scored Staton and sent Schmidt to third. On the same sequence, Martin advanced to second, then later took third and scored on a catching error, while Schmidt crossed on a wild pitch, capping a six-run inning and giving Sweet Briar a commanding 9-0 advantage.

The fourth began with Taylor returning to the circle and continuing her dominance. In the bottom half, Peterson worked another walk and gave way to pinch-runner sophomore Emily Cottingham (Chesterfield, Va.), who moved to second on a wild pitch. Sawyers then drilled a run-scoring double, driving in Cottingham to make it 10-0. Kuleba reached on an error by the second baseman that allowed Sawyers to score Sweet Briar's 11th run.

Taylor closed out the no-hitter in the top of the fifth in emphatic fashion, striking out three in a row to secure the 11-0 run-rule victory. The right-hander finished with a five-inning no-hitter, allowing no runs, no walks, and striking out 14 while facing just 16 batters on 65 pitches.

Game Two
In the top of the first, Lancaster Bible struck first to take the 1-0 lead. Sweet Briar answered immediately in the bottom half as Martin legged out an infield single, and after a fielder's choice put Hudson on, Peterson drew a walk. Sophomore Leila Atienza (Jacksonville, N.C.) reached on an error by the third baseman to fill the bases, and Sawyers followed with an RBI single to left to plate Hudson and tie the game. With the bases still loaded, junior Jordan Dorrier (Buckingham, Va.) drove a two-run single to left, scoring Atienza and Peterson to make it 3-1 Sweet Briar.
In the bottom of the second, Martin stayed hot with a single to left, stole second, and stole third as well. Atienza then reached on an error by the left fielder, allowing Martin to come home and stretch the lead to 4-1.

Sweet Briar added on in the bottom of the third, with Dorrier leading off with a single and senior Anna Smith (Rocky Mount, Va.) following with a single of her own to push Dorrier to third. Cottingham then executed a sacrifice hit that brought home Dorrier, and Martin followed with a single to move Smith to third. Martin promptly stole second and advanced to third on the throw, allowing Smith to score on the play, bumping the Sweet Briar advantage to 6-1.

In the top of the fifth the Chargers were able to close to gap making the score 6-5. The Vixens responded immediately in the bottom of the fifth. Dorrier led off with a single, moved to second on a groundout by sophomore Sydney Gibson (Fluvanna County, Va.), and then Smith singled to put runners at the corners before giving way to pinch-runner Staton. Cottingham grounded out to second but earned an RBI as Dorrier scored, and Staton advanced to second and then to third on a wild pitch. Martin continued with an RBI double to left to score Staton, then Hudson lined an RBI single to left and took second as Martin scored. Another wild pitch sent Hudson to third, and Peterson, back in as a pinch-hitter for Aiman, singled to drive her in, completing a four-run inning and restoring a 10-5 cushion.

Lancaster Bible kept battling in the sixth and seventh, but Sweet Briar was able to hold on to the lead and end the game with a score of 10-9.

Highlights

• Taylor pitched her second no-hitter of her career.
• Martin went 4 for 4 in game two.

What's Next
The Vixens will head to Raleigh N.C. on Mar. 7 to face Methodist University and North Carolina Wesleyan University.  

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