UWA softball sweeps double header against CBU
Published 9:09 am Monday, March 31, 2014
West Alabama softball totaled 25 hits to sweep Christian Brothers in a Gulf South Conference doubleheader at Bland Field on Sunday. UWA won game one 12-4 in five innings and game two 8-5.
West Alabama improved to 20-16 and 7-9 in the GSC, winning three straight. Christian Brothers fell to 5-25 and 1-16.
“I was most proud of our situational hitting today,” said UWA head softball coach Will Atkinson.
“We were able to not only bunt people into scoring position and steal bases, but also follow those up with base hits. Today we were near perfect with our situational hitting. Even when Christian Brothers made outs, we were able to turn them into productive outs. Brock didn’t have her best day in the circle, but battled through it thanks to some help from the defense. Skylar pitched another good game today and Alli and Tucker both did well in relief. At the end of the day we come away with the series win and we will shoot for the sweep tomorrow.”
The Tigers strung together 10 runs on eight hits in the top of the fourth of game one, after entering the inning trailing 2-1. Anna Shartzer hit two doubles in the inning that brought in three runs. Whitney Brown added two more runs on a single, while Jordyn Whiddon and Randa Simpson each contributed RBI singles.
Lydia North put the Tigers on the board in the top of the third on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded. She was hit by pitch again in the fifth marking the 24th time this season. She is now second in the nation.
In the fifth inning, Whiddon added her fifth home run of the year to give the Tigers 12 runs.
Marie Joiner sent in two runs on a single in the second that gave CBU a 2-0 lead. Joiner ended 3-for-3.
Jessica Brock (4-3) pitched through four innings to get the win. She struck out six batters matching her season high for the fourth time. Alli Hall closed the final inning striking out two and allowing one hit. Amanda Wade (0-2) allowed five runs on two hits to take the loss.
The Tigers posted 13 hits in game two, while holding the Bucs to seven. Every UWA batter in the lineup tallied at least one hit with Shartzer and North each getting two.
North led off five consecutive singles by the Tigers in the second. Miriah Chavez and Randa Simpson capped the streak with RBI singles each to put them up 2-0.
Tied 2-2 in the fifth, Whiddon lifted her second homer of the day bringing in two more runs followed by a RBI single in the sixth. Shartzer added her third double of the day that brought in two runs in the sixth to put UWA up 7-2.
The Bucs surged back in the sixth with three runs that included a home run by Kylie Steagall.
Chavez responded with another RBI single in the seventh to send North home and secured the UWA victory.She ended 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run, while North and Shartzer led with two runs each. Marie Joiner and Ali Hare led CBU both finishing 2-for-3. Joiner had one RBI and Hare one run.
Brown and North each tallied runs in both games to push their current hitting streaks to seven, the longest on the team. Whiddon had two hits in each game giving her a six game streak, the longest for her this season.
Skylar Davis (5-3) pitched through six innings allowing seven hits and four earned runs to take the win. Taylor Tucker closed the seventh inning without giving up a hit. Kim Adams (1-10) gave up 12 hits through five and half innings to get the loss.
The series will conclude with game three now on Monday at 11 a.m.