Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Liz White tossed a one-hit shutout, striking out 10, in the opener and Ashlyn Reagan matched her strikeout total whle firing a five-hitter in the nightcap as the Barton College softball team swept host Elizabeth City State University, 6-0 and 7-1, in a non-conference meeting Thursday.
Crystal Britton went 5-for-6 at the plate for the Lady Bulldogs with a pair of RBI in the twin bill, and Rachel Jordan added four hits and four RBI to lead the offense.
With the wins, Barton improved to 15-16-1 on the season, while the Lady Vikings slipped to 7-17 on the year. Five of those losses for ECSU came at the hands of the Lady Bulldogs, who outscored Elizabeth City State 37-3 this season.
White (3-9) enjoyed a perfect game through three innings before walking Kiyana Merritt to lead off the fourth. The sophomore from Windsor, N.C., retired six more batters in a row before Kelsey White broke up the no-hitter with a single up the middle to lead off the sixth inning.
Those were the only two Lady Vikings to reach base in the contest against White, who had a three-hit, 13-strikeout performance against ECSU last season.
Barton gave White all the run support she would need with a three-run third inning. Jordan and Britton both had RBI singles in the frame, and White helped herself with an RBI single as well.
The Lady Bulldogs added a single run in the fifth inning off ECSU pitcher Lilyann Arnold (3-6) on Amber Weaver's RBI single, but Barton failed to fully cash in on four hits in the inning by leaving the bases loaded.
Barton did tack on two more runs in the seventh when Britton and White both singled and scored on a double by Samantha Bass.
In the second contest, the Lady Bulldogs handed Reagan a big lead to work with in the third inning, collecting six hits in surging to a 6-0 lead. Jordan had an RBI double, while Britton, Bass, Sydney Speight and Kendra Kassonie each singled home runs and Megan Kelly forced one home with a bases-loaded walk.
Barton added a seventh run in the fifth inning when Speight singled again, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Jordan.
Kassonie, Jordan, Britton, Speight, and Alex Baylis all had two hits each for Barton.
Elizabeth City State scored its only run off Reagan (8-5) in the bottom of the third when Merritt singled and Arnold followed with an RBI double. Haley Williams followed with a single as well, but Kelly, the left-fielder gunned down Arnold at the plate to end the inning.
From that point on, the Lady Vikings managed just one more hit off Reagan, who at one point struck out four straight batters on her way to a season-high 10.
Barton will return to Conference Carolinas play on Saturday when it travels to Banner Elk, N.C., to take on Lees-McRae College in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
