Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan picked up their first Conference Carolinas victories of the season as they swept the Barton Bulldogs 12-0 and 10-1.

The Warriors collected 12 hits in the first victory of the afternoon as Addie Nugent led the team with three hits.  Savannah Huff had two home runs in game one.  Both Lydia Clanton and Ashton Martin also had home runs.  Nugent had the lone double for the Warriors.  Martin led the team with four of the 12 RBIs during the game.  Five Warriors walked in game one and Delaney Byers had the lone stolen base.  Megan Vaughn started the first game, pitching four innings while striking out three batters.  Emma Collins closed out game one, striking out three batters in the inning that she pitched.

Southern Wesleyan recorded seven hits in the second game of the series.  Delaney Byers led the team with three hits while Addi Johnson followed with two.  Both Byers and Megan New doubled during game two.  Byers hit her first home run of the season during the game.  Byers led the team with five of the 10 RBIs.  Southern Wesleyan had six walks in the game and both Johnson and Emma Jo Wolfe stole bases.  Delanie Laudenbacher pitched a complete game for the Warriors, striking out five while only allowing two hits over five innings.

 
Game Vitals

Game One: Southern Wesleyan 12, Barton 0

Game Two: Southern Wesleyan 10, Barton 1

Records: Southern Wesleyan (8-4 / CC 2-0) Barton (7-9 / CC 0-2)


 
How It Happened
Game One
Southern Wesleyan charged out of the gate as Savannah Huff hit her first home run of the afternoon with one out in the bottom of the first.  Emma Collins, Addi Johnson and Lydia Clanton all walked to load up the bases.  With two out and the bases loaded, Ashton Martin hit the ball deep over the center field wall for a grand slam that put Southern Wesleyan ahead 5-0.

The Warriors extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning.  Delaney Byers led off the second by being hit by a pitch and then advanced to second as Savannah Huff walked.  Byers then stole third to put runners on the corners.  Megan New singled through the left side to bring Byers in and advance Huff to second.  A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position for Addi Johnson.  Johnson hit a sacrifice fly out to left field to bring Huff in and give the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

Southern Wesleyan maintained the pressure as they extended their lead further in the bottom of the third.  Ashton Martin led off the inning with a walk.  With Bethannie Perrine pinch running, Addie Nugent doubled to left center to advance Perrine to third.  A ground out by Claire Ellison allowed Perrine to come in to score.  With one out, Delaney Byers singled to center field to bring Nugent in and give the Warriors a 9-0 lead.  Savannah Huff knocked her second home run of the day over the center field wall further extend SWU's lead.

The Warriors knocked their final run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning as Lydia Clanton homered to give Southern Wesleyan a 12-0 victory over Barton in game one.

 
Game Two
Southern Wesleyan maintained the intensity in the second game of the series.  Delaney Byers led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch.  With one out, Megan New doubled to left center to bring Byers in and put the Warriors ahead 1-0.  Addi Johnson singled to left field to advance New to third, and then she stole second base to put herself in scoring position.  Lydia Clanton followed with a walk to load up the bases and bring Ashton Martin up to bat.  Martin walked in a run for the Warriors and then a walk to Addie Nugent brought in another run.  With the bases still loaded, Emma Jo Wolfe walked to bring in the fourth run of the inning.  At her second time at the plate in the inning, Byers doubled to score all three runners on base to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

Barton kept the Warriors off the board in the bottom of the second inning, but Southern Wesleyan pushed ahead again in the bottom of the third.  With one out, Ashton Martin was hit by a pitch.  With Micah Williams pinch running for Martin, a ground out to second base allowed Williams to advance to second.  Emma Jo Wolfe singled to third base to bring Williams in to score and put Southern Wesleyan's lead at 8-0.

Barton countered to come to 8-1 behind Southern Wesleyan in the top of the fifth inning.  The Warriors took the victory in the bottom of the fifth.  With one out, Emma Joe Wolfe walked and then stole second to get into scoring position.  Delaney Byers followed by hitting a home run over the left field wall to give Southern Wesleyan a 10-1 run victory over Barton.


 
What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will remain at home on March 13 as they welcome the Chowan Hawks to Varsity Field for a 1 p.m. first pitch.  They will then host the Augusta Jaguars on March 16 at noon and 2 p.m.  Southern Wesleyan will then travel to Bristol, TN on March 19 to take on the King Tornado.  They will remain on the road on March 20 as they take on the Lees-McRae Bobcats in Banner Elk, NC.