Rocky Mount, N.C. - Sophomore Carly Creef went 5-for-5 on the day, while senior Meredith Mills drove in seven runs to help lead North Carolina Wesleyan softball to a doubleheader split with Emory & Henry on Monday afternoon at Edge Field. The Bishops were 7-1 winners in the opener, but the Wasps rebounded for a 15-6 victory in the nightcap.
In the opener, Wesleyan scored single runs in the first, second and third innings for a quick 3-0 lead. Freshman Carla Matthews got things started in the first with a lead-off homerun to left field, while Ashley Tharrington score unearned in the second and Paige Pritchett singled home Creef in the third.
After a rocky first, NCWC starting pitcher Leanna Fann sat down 15 straight batters before a homer by EHC's Jenae Morrissey in the sixth got the Wasps on the board. Up 3-1, the Bishops added four insurance runs in their half of the frame, with the big blow coming on a two-run single by Mills.
In addition to Creef going 3-for-3, Pritchett finished 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
With the win, Fann moves to 5-1 in the circle this season. The sophomore hurler allowed only four hits on the day and struck out seven over seven complete.
In the nightcap, the two teams entered the fourth inning tied 1-1. EHC looked to gain control with a six-spot in the top of the inning to go up 7-1, but the Bishops answered with five runs of their own in the bottom portion of the frame. Mills again provided majority of the fireworks with a two-out grand slam homer to left center that made the score 7-6.
The Wasps, however, enjoyed another big inning in the fifth by plating eight runs on eight hits and two critical Bishop fielding errors. Wesleyan, unfortunately, was unable to muster another comeback en route to the five-inning defeat.
Freshman Kelsi Bailey suffered the loss and now stands at 2-2 on the season. Offensively, Creef and Mills had two hits apiece.
Wesleyan (7-3) will host a non-conference twinbill with Salem College this Saturday. Game one is slated for a 1:00pm start at Edge Field.