Rocky Mount, N.C. - On Mondays this summer, the NCWC Department of Athletics will be counting down the top-10 moments of the 2014-2015 season. This week, our #9 moment features "Softball's Sweet Sweep" of LaGrange College on Senior Day.
#9... SOFTBALL'S SWEET SWEEP (APRIL 12, 2015)
On Sunday, April 12th, N.C. Wesleyan's softball team was set to host a pivotal USA South doubleheader with LaGrange College. Prior to the first game, head coach John Brackett honored the five senior members of his squad: Laura Roberts, Kendra Hoes, Carla Matthews, Logan McNinch and Sarah Roberts.
After splitting the previous day's twinbill with Huntingdon, the Bishops needed a sweep of the Panthers on Sunday to qualify for the USA South Conference Tournament and continue their season. They did so in thrilling fashion, posting a pair of walk-off wins that each featured a two-out rally in their final at-bat.
In the first game, the Panthers led 3-0 entering the bottom of the fourth before RBIs by Roberts and Matthews got Wesleyan to within one. In the bottom of the seventh, a trio of two-out singles by Jasmine Edgren, Hoes and Matthews loaded the bases for Sarah Roberts, who delivered a two-run single to centerfield that emptied the Bishop bench.
The second game saw Wesleyan take a 5-2 lead into the seventh thanks to RBIs from freshmen Sarah Bowyer and Kaitlyn Checkan. The Panthers, however, rallied in the seventh with three runs on four hits, three of which came with two outs. Playing by international tiebreak rules, both teams were held scoreless in the eighth, but LC scratched a run in the ninth for a 6-5 lead.
With their season on the line, Hoes and Matthews found themselves on first and second with two outs in the ninth. Freshman Peyton Hyler tied the game with a single to center that plated Hoes, and sophomore Tiffany Manning followed suit with an RBI-single that brought home Matthews with winning run.
The improbable sweep of the eventual tourney champion ignited one of the most memorable celebrations that Edge Field has ever seen!
PREVIOUS WEEK
#10... BISHOPS IN BARCELONA (JANUARY 2015)