WILSON, N.C. – The Barton softball team (18-2, 5-0) ran its winning streak to nine games and remained undefeated in Conference Carolinas play with a doubleheader sweep of Belmont Abbey (14-7, 1-3), 3-2 and 8-4, Saturday afternoon at Jeffries Field.
Game One – Barton 3, Belmont Abbey 2
Barton sophomore outfielder
Savannah Branch (Shallotte, N.C.) hit the game-winning, walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Bulldogs to the win.
Junior
Sloane Correa (Greenville, N.C.) drove in a pair of runs for the Bulldogs while freshman
Gracelyn Massey (Princeton, N.C.), the reigning league player of the week, improved to 4-0 on the season after earning the win in relief.
For Belmont Abbey, Abby Craver (Clemmons, N.C.) hit a solo home run but also suffered the loss despite going the distance. Craver (7-3) allowed two earned runs with five strikeouts.
Game Two – Barton 8, Belmont Abbey 4
Barton sophomore outfielder
Kandyce Condrey (High Point, N.C.) and senior catcher
McCrae Knapp (Hertford, N.C.) both drove in a pair of runs while Condrey finished with three hits as the Bulldogs completed the doubleheader sweep.
Barton freshman
Miranda Holmes (Godwin, N.C.) improved to 7-0 on the year after allowing just one earned run while pitching into the sixth inning. Holmes also struck out eight batters in the victory.
Belmont Abbey's Maddie Phillips (Charlotte, N.C.) drove in two runs in the losing effort. The Crusaders' Alannah Browne (Suwanee, Ga.) (4-3) took the loss.
Barton hosts Converse in a league doubleheader on Sunday beginning at Noon while Belmont Abbey hosts Erskine in a conference doubleheader on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.
