Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College softball team backed up solid pitching efforts by Hannah Jones and Liz White with 23 hits on offense in rolling to a pair of five-inning victories over visiting Saint Augustine's University on Sunday, 14-0 and 10-1.
White helped herself by going 5-for-7 in the two-game set, scoring four times and driving in four runs. Sophomore Brittany Jacobs drove in three runs in each half of the doubleheader, and Kaitlin Staley added a three-RBI game in the opener for the Bulldogs (3-3).
Saint Augustine's (0-5) had 10 hits in the two games combined, with Marley Parker, Meranda Zanni, Korey Hill and Haili Pettifer each accounting for two.
Game 1: Barton 14, Saint Augustine's 0 (5 inn.)
Jones (2-1) recorded her first collegiate shutout in the opener for Barton. The freshman from Huntersville, N.C., gave up six hits and did not walk a batter while striking out four.
The Lady Bulldogs manufactured a run in the first inning, as White led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and later scored on a wild pitch by Zanni (0-2).
Barton loaded the bases on consecutive singles by Jones, Taylor Bowden and Sidney Speight to open the second inning, then saw Staley empty them all with a double to the fence in left. Staley scored on a groundout to short by Jacobs, putting BC up 4-0 after two innings.
The Lady Bulldogs did not score in the third – the only inning in either game in which it failed to get at least one run – but made up for it in the bottom of the fourth, erupting for 10 runs on six hits and three Saint Augustine's errors.
White produced a two-run double early in the frame, and drove in another run with a single her second time through the order in the inning. Barton nearly batted around twice, sending 15 hitters to the plate.
Jacobs earned an RBI on both her trips to the plate in the inning, and Staley contributed an RBI single during the assault.
Saint Augustine's had its best chance to score off Jones in the top of the first, getting a two-out double by Zanni and single by Pettifer. However, Jones struck out Korey Hill looking to end the threat, and the Falcons did not get another runner into scoring position in the game.
Game 2: Barton 10, Saint Augustine's 1 (5 inn.)
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a quick start again in game two, scoring three times in the first off Saint Augustine's starter Marley Parker (0-2).
White doubled to center to lead off the frame, Crystal Britton walked and Megan Kelly beat out a bunt single to load the bases with no one out. White scored on a fielder's choice grounder to first base by Samantha Bass, Britton came home on a wild pitch, and Kelly crossed the plate on an RBI grounder by Jones.
In the bottom of the second, Burton produced a one-out triple to right field, and White followed with an RBI single to left-center. White would later score on a sacrifice fly by Bass, putting the Lady Bulldogs in front 5-0.
Rachel Jordan extended Barton's advantage to 6-0 with a home run to dead center field to open the third inning, her first of the season. However, the Falcons got that run back in the top of the fourth with their only score of the day, as Parker doubled to lead off the frame and came home two batters later on an RBI single by Pettifer.
Barton put itself in position to end the game via the eight-run rule after adding four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Bass drew a one-out walk, and both Jones and Jordan followed with singles to load the bases. Jacobs then delivered the big hit in the inning, a double into the left field corner that drove in all three runners. Ashley Burkett brought home Jacobs on an RBI groundout, completing the BC scoring.
White surrendered just four hits in the game and walked one while striking out six to earn her first pitching win of the year in three decisions.
Barton will play its next seven game on the road, beginning with a tripleheader next Saturday in Murfreesboro, N.C. The Lady Bulldogs will play host Chowan University in a single game starting at 10 a.m., followed by a neutral-site doubleheader against West Chester University beginning at noon.
