Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College senior Liz White tossed a three-hitter and junior Kelsie Conner provided the go-ahead runs with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Lady Bulldogs beat one of the best teams in the Southeast Region, Catawba College, 7-2 in the second half of a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday at Jeffries Field.
Junior Taylor Bowden added a clutch two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth off three-time All-American pitcher Carley Tysinger to help Barton pull away to the win over the Indians, which dropped out of the NFCA Division II Top-25 national rankings earlier in the day.
Barton freshman pitcher Hannah Jones took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of game 1, but Catawba scored three runs in that inning and added three more unearned runs in the sixth to claim a 6-0 victory. Tysinger, who ranked third nationally in strikeouts entering the day, added 10 more in the complete-game six-hit shutout.
The split left Barton with a 5-10 mark on the season, while Catawba moved to 15-8.
Game 2 - Barton 7, Catawba 2
BC spotted the Indians a 1-0 lead in the top of the first by committing two errors in the frame, and Catawba junior Katherine Shumaker increased her team's advantage to 2-0 in the second inning with a home run to center field, her second of the year.
However, White (3-6) kept Catawba off the board the rest of the way, and did not allow another hit until Holli Chandler's one-out triple in the fifth.
Barton closed the margin to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth off Indians starter Caroline Turner (3-3) when Jones doubled with one out and scored on a two-out single up the middle by Crystal Britton.
The Lady Bulldogs tied the game in the fifth when Megan Kelly walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out single to left by Rachel Jordan.
One batter later, Conner hammered a 2-1 offering from Turner over both the fence and bleachers in left field to put Barton in front, 4-2.
After White escaped Chandler's triple for the Indians in the top of the fifth, Barton chased Turner and padded its lead with more clutch hitting. Turner issued a leadoff walk to White, a two-out single to Brittany Jacobs and another walk to Kelly to load the bases.
Turner was lifted at that point in favor of Tysinger, who hoped to get the Indians out of the jam with no damage done. However, Taylor drilled an 0-1 pitch from the reigning South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Year into center field, driving in two runs to put Barton up 6-2. Catawba handed BC another run with an error, increasing the advantage to five.
White closed it out from there, striking out Tysinger to put the wraps on her fifth complete game of the year. The Windsor, N.C., resident walked two and struck out five.
Barton had nine hits in the game, eight of them off Turner, who walked three and struck out four. Bowden and Jones had two hits each for the Bulldogs.
Game 1 – Catawba 6, Barton 0
The Indians drew two walks in the first inning but left the runners stranded at the corners, and Jones (2-3) did not allow anyone else to reach base until a two-out walk to Tysinger in the fourth.
Jones tried to help herself at the plate with a leadoff single down the left field line in the fourth. She reached scoring position after a Conner sacrifice bunt, but Tysinger (10-4) used a strikeout and foul out to end the inning.
Catawba finally got its first hit of the game when Morgan Brann led off the top of the fifth with a double to right. Pinch-runner Beth Ann Martin moved to third on a grounder to second, then raced home with the game's first run on a slow-roller back to the mound which Jones could only play to first base.
Turner, the leadoff hitter for the Indians, drew a walk, then used her speed to score all the way from first on a double to left-center off the bat of Kristen Stinnard. Delane Smith followed with a single back up the middle, scoring Stinnard with the third run of the inning.
Britton doubled on a flare to shallow left-center to lead off the bottom of the fifth for Barton and eventually reached third, but Tysinger got a called third strike to end the inning with the shutout intact.
A fielding error by Barton to start the sixth inning gave Catawba an extra chance, and the Indians cashed in with three more runs. The miscue and two hits later in the frame loaded the bases. With two outs, Turner rolled a single through the left side of the infield, driving in one run. Stinnard brought in another run with an infield single to third, and Jones hit Smith with a pitch to force in the third run.
The final line for Jones was six innings pitched, seven hits allowed and three earned runs. She walked four and struck out a pair. Reliever Carolina Merrill worked a scoreless seventh for the Lady Bulldogs.
Tysinger did not walk a Barton batter in her six-hit, 10-strikeout performance.
Barton will visit Pfeiffer University on Friday for a 2 p.m. Conference Carolinas doubleheader.
