WILSON, N.C. – The Barton softball team (20-16, 11-7) split a Conference Carolinas doubleheader with Erskine (17-9, 10-4) in the home regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at Jeffries Field. The Bulldogs shut out the Flying Fleet by a 2-0 score in the first contest before the visitors snapped the home team's seven-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.
Game One – Barton 2, Erskine 0
Barton freshman
Rilee Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) (13-4) threw a no-hitter while striking 12 batters in winning her fifth straight game, all league shutouts.
The Bulldogs scored both runs in the first inning on a bases-loaded walk to junior shortstop
Mikayla Rose (Beaufort, N.C.) and an RBI single courtesy of junior outfielder
Sidney Gronowski (Fayetteville, N.C.). Erskine's Hannah Houge (Boiling Springs, S.C.) fell to 15-3 despite 11 strikeouts for the contest.
Game Two – Erskine 4, Barton 1
The Bulldogs were ready to close out the sweep but Erskine's Tori Cooley (Williamston, S.C.) hit a grand slam with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to shock Barton and salvage the split. An error kept the frame alive.
Houge (16-3) struck out 10 batters in rebounding with the win while sophomore
AnnaKate Gilchrist (Clayton, N.C.) (6-11) was the hard-luck loser, giving up four unearned runs and striking out seven batters. Barton sophomore second baseman
Emily Bell (Bunn, N.C.) had an RBI double in the first inning.
Barton wraps up the regular season on Saturday, April 17, when the Bulldogs travel to Murfreesboro, N.C., to take on Chowan in a doubleheader beginning at Noon while Erskine travels to Franklin Springs, Ga., to take on Emmanuel in a doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m., on Wednesday.
