Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C.-Barton College senior Amanda Schatz homered in game one and produced a pair of hits in game two, but it was not nearly enough to match the firepower delivered by Queens University of Charlotte on Friday. The Royals ripped seven home runs in the two-game set to sweep the Lady Bulldogs, 6-4 and 12-2, in a Conference Carolinas softball doubleheader at Gillette Park.
Emma Schultz had two home runs and five RBI to pace the Royals (10-13, 2-2) in game one, while Kaitlyn Cheek blasted three homers and drove in seven runs to lead Queens in game two.
Rebecca Morgan had a pair of hits in game one for Barton (4-14, 1-7), while Schatz, Crystal Britton and Alex Baylis each had two hits in the second contest.
Queens took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the first game when Megan Lathbury drew a bases-loaded walk from Barton freshman starter Liz White (1-4), forcing home Whitney Britt. White struck out the next batter, Robyn Levine, to end the inning and avoid further damage, but the reprieve was short-lived.
Schultz led off the Royals' third inning with a homer to right field, and one inning later, blasted a three-run shot over the fence in left, giving Queens a 5-0 cushion. All three runs in the fourth were unearned, as a two-out error by the Bulldogs extended the inning. Barton committed three errors in each game of the twin bill that helped account for nine runs.
With one out in the Barton fourth, Schatz lined a 1-0 pitch from Queens starter Ashley Rollins (3-4) off of the scoreboard in right-center, cutting the deficit to four. The Bulldogs continued to rally in the fifth inning, using a sacrifice fly, a passed ball and a wild pitch to score three times despite getting just one hit in the frame.
Barton might have had an even bigger inning, but with runners at the corners and no one out, Crystal Britton was called out on interference for stepping out of the batter's box on a swing. The unusual call was made twice in the game, once against each team.
With its lead down to one, Queens wasted no time adding an important insurance run in the top of the sixth. Samantha Martinez led off the inning with a double into right-center, moved to third on a single up the middle by Lathbury, and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Schultz. The Royals threatened for more, but Lathbury was thrown out at third base following a line-drive to center.
QUC reliever Kaitlyn Bodine, who entered the game as the Bulldogs were making their comeback in the fifth, gave up just one hit over 2 1/3 innings to earn her first save of the year.
The second contest was much closer than the final score would indicate, as the Royals scored six unearned runs in the seventh inning to pull away.
Barton held the initial 2-0 lead after the first inning. Britton singled up the middle to lead off the frame, and Baylis followed by beating out a bunt. Both runners moved up a base on Rachel Jordan's sacrifice. Britton then scored on a single to left-center by Schatz, and Baylis came home on a grounder to first by Morgan.
The Royals cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the second when Bodine produced a two-out double and Lathbury singled into the right-centerfield gap. Queens regained the lead at 3-2 one inning later when Schultz singled to open the frame and Cheek homered to dead center field off Barton starter Pittman (1-6).
Bodine opened the Queens fourth with a solo home run to right. A walk by Lathbury and a single by Schultz set the stage again for Cheek, who blasted a full-count pitch from Pittman over the fence in left-center, giving the Royals a 6-2 advantage.
Barton had its chances over the next two innings, but base running miscues stopped both opportunities. In the fifth, infield singles by Britton and Baylis put runners on a first and second with one out, but Baylis was then called out for leaving first base early on a pitch. In the sixth, Schatz and Morgan led off the frame with consecutive singles, but after advancing a base on Liz Webb's groundout, Schatz was gunned down at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch.
Any drama left in the game disappeared in the seventh. A pair of errors led directly to one run, but also kept the inning alive for Cheek, whose third home run of the game and seventh of the season was a grand slam over the fence in left-center. Britt followed with a solo shot, her fourth hit of the game and fifth home run of the year.
Lyndey McCurry went the distance on the mound for Queens, scattering seven hits, walking one and striking out one to improve to 4-5 on the year.
The doubleheader was Barton's much-delayed home debut for 2013; and the start of a 16-game home stand over the next two weeks. The Bulldogs return to action on Sunday when they entertain league foe King College in a 1:30 p.m. twin bill at Jeffries Field.
