WILSON, N.C.-Junior outfielder Michole Brown led Barton College with three hits but Erskine College swept Monday's Conference Carolinas softball doubleheader at Jeffries Field by scores of 3-0 and 11-6.
Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Spurrier (Charlotte, N.C.) picked up the win in both games for the Flying Fleet, who departed town 13-8-1 overall and 6-2 in the conference. Erskine has won four consecutive games.
Brown – a local Wilson, N.C., product – finished the day 3-for-5. Junior first baseman Kendall Street (Bertie, N.C.) and sophomore pitcher/outfielder Elizabeth Webb (Wilson, N.C.) were the only other Lady Bulldogs to hit safely in each contest.
Barton will continue Conference Carolinas play with two home twin bills this weekend. Barton entertains Coker College on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Queens University of Charlotte on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Both sets will take place at Gillette Park.
The Lady Bulldogs (16-18 Overall, 2-4 Conf.) had a DII record nine-game win streak come to an end.
GAME ONE: Erskine 3, Barton 0
Spurrier tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout as the Fleet won game one by three. Spurrier recorded nine strikeouts and did not issue a walk in her third shutout and seventh complete game of the year.
The left-handed Brown ended any thoughts of a no-hitter early with an infield single in the third. Barton had its best scoring chance in the fourth after Webb and Street each singled up the middle but Spurrier wiggled out of harm with a strikeout.
Senior Lindsey LaPrad (Summerville, S.C.) put Erskine on the board with a two-run single down the left field line in the third. Erskine added a third unearned run in the fourth on a passed ball.
Junior starter Emily Jordan (Goldsboro, N.C.) was going for her sixth straight win in six appearances but she suffered the loss with no run support. Jordan (8-6) went the distance, allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out three.
GAME TWO: Erskine 11, Barton 6
Erskine won the second game slugfest that featured 28 hits. The Fleet scored 11 runs on 15 hits and seven walks. Barton scored its six runs on 13 hits.
The Lady Bulldogs rallied to tie the score at 6-up with four runs in the bottom of the fourth but the Fleet flew ahead for good with three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
Trailing 6-2, Barton knotted the score with a two-out rally that consisted of five straight Bulldogs reaching base safely on a trio of singles, a double, and a walk. Junior Stacy Wade (Snow Hill, N.C.) highlighted the frame with a two-run single.
Barton got its first two runs on a two-out single by Jordan in the second.
Sophomore Larissa Shannon (Newberry, S.C.) broke the 6-6 tie with solo home run in the fifth. Shannon's team-high sixth blast easily cleared the centerfield fence. Shannon reached base in all five of her trips to the plate and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Shannon walked twice.
Barton received a pair of hits off the bats of Wade, Brown, senior Jessica McFadden (Wilmington, N.C.), sophomore Rebecka Morgan (Huntingtown, Md.) and freshman Samantha Colein (Hyattsville, Md.).
Spurrier (7-3) was credited with her second win of the afternoon in relief of sophomore starter Heather Richey (Abbeville, S.C.), who was called for numerous illegal pitches in her 3 2/3 innings of work. Spurrier once again held Barton scoreless over the final 3 1/3 and added four more strikeouts.
