Softball Takes Two from LaGrange in USA South Play

Carly Creef
Carly Creef

LaGrange, Ga. - Junior Carly Creef went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in game one, while freshman Jasmine Edgren drove home the only run of game two to help North Carolina Wesleyan's softball team earn a pair of USA South wins at LaGrange College on Sunday by 11-1 and 1-0 scores. The sweep helped the Bishops rebound from two losses at Piedmont on Saturday and evens their record at 7-7 on the season, 4-4 in league action.

In Sunday's opener, the Bishops plated four runs on just one hit in the second inning. The big blow came from the bat of junior Brittni Jones, who belted a two-run double that scored Creef and Jessica Hodges.

Wesleyan went on to score seven runs over the next three frames to end the game in five innings. Highlights included a two-run homer by junior Maria Seay in the third, as well as an RBI-triple by sophomore Kendra Hoes in the fourth.

Junior hurler Leanna Fann (3-4) earned the win in the circle, allowing one run on six hits in the complete game effort. Creef, Jones, Hoes and freshman Logan McNinch each recorded two hits, while Creef added a pair of stolen bases.

The nightcap featured a pitcher's dual between Wesleyan sophomore Kelsi Bailey and LaGrange's Kara Patterson. Scoreless through five complete, the Bishops plated the game's only run in the top of the sixth when Hodges singled, advanced to second on a sac-bunt by Jones, and came around to score on Edgren's two-out single up the middle.

It was all Bailey (3-1) needed, as she completed with two-hit shutout by retiring seven of the final eight batters she faced. Offensively, Hodges finished with two of Wesleyan's five hits.

Previously on Saturday, the Bishops rebounded from an 8-0 loss in game one to take a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh of game two. The Lions, however, rallied for a trio of runs on five hits in their final at-bat, the last coming with the bases loaded and ending the contest, 7-6, in favor of Piedmont.

Wesleyan hosts its first home series of the season on Wednesday afternoon when league-leading Christopher Newport visits Edge Field. First pitch is slated for 3:00pm.