Banner Elk, NC – Southern Wesleyan won the first game of the two game series against the Lees-McRae Bobcats 15-3, before dropping the second game 5-4.

The Warriors collected 10 hits in their game one victory.  Three Warriors collected two hits each.  Delaney Byers, Savannah Huff and Lydia Clanton all doubled.  Addi Johnson had a triple.  Both Emma Collins and Clanton homered during the game.  Clanton posted four of the 15 RBIs of the game with Byers following with three.  Southern Wesleyan walked seven times and Collins had two stolen bases on the day.  Megan Vaughn pitched a complete game, collected nine strikeouts while only allowing one earned run.

Southern Wesleyan collected eight hits during the second game of the series.  Savannah Huff, Lydia Clanton and Addie Nugent doubled.  Huff homered in the game and led the team with three RBIs.  The Warriors walked two times and Nugent stole a base.  Delanie Laudenbacher started the second game of the series.  Both Ashton Martin and Emma Collins came in to pitch in relief.


 
Game Vitals

Game One Final: Southern Wesleyan 15, Lees-McRae 3

Game Two Final: Lees-McRae 5, Southern Wesleyan 4

Records:  Southern Wesleyan (11-7 / CC 5-3) Lees-McRae (4-18 / CC 1-7)


 
How It Happened

Game One
Southern Wesleyan took the first run of the game in the top of the second inning.  Addi Johnson led off with a single to right field and then advanced to third on a double to right field by Lydia Clanton.  With two on, a ground out by Addie Nugent brought Johnson home to put the Warriors ahead 1-0.

In the top of the third inning, Delaney Byers reached first on an error and then advanced to second on a walk issued to Megan New.  A walk to Emma Collins loaded up the bases and brought Addi Johnson up to bat.  Johnson grounded out on a sacrifice bunt that brought Byers home.  The Warriors remained on the offensive as Lydia Clanton homered to bring three runners in and put the Warriors on top 5-0.

Lees-McRae countered in the bottom of the third inning.  A series of singles allowed Gast to come in and put Southern Wesleyan down 5-1.

Emma Collins led off the top of the fifth with a walk and then stole both second and third bases.  With Collins at third and one out, Lydia Clanton grounded out to bring Collins in.
The Warriors continued to distance themselves in the top of the sixth.  An error by the second baseman allowed Addie Nugent to reach first.  A second error allowed Delaney Byers to get on base.  With two on, Savannah Huff doubled to bring both Byers and Nugent home and put the Warriors down 7-1.  Megan New followed with a single to bring both Huff and Byers in.  With New at first, Emma Collins homered to put the Warriors lead at 11-1.  Addi Johnson tripled and then Lydia Clanton walked to put runners at the corners with one out.  A walk to Ashton Martin loaded up the bases and brought Addie Nugent to the plate for the second time in the inning.  A ground out by Nugent allowed Johnson to come home, but then a walk to Haley Bertie loaded the bases back up.  Byers doubled to bring all three base runners in and give the Warriors a 15-1 run lead.

Lees-McRae brought two more runs in to score in the bottom of the sixth, but the Warriors won the first game 15-3.
 
Game Two
Lees-McRae took the first run of game two in the bottom of the first inning.  With Crowe on base, Ikard homered to right center to give them a 2-0 lead.

Addie Nugent led off the top of the third by reaching first on a fielding error and then stole second.  Haley Bertie laid down a sacrifice bunt to advanced Nugent to third.  With Nugent in scoring position, Savannah Huff doubled to right field to put the Warriors down 1-2.

The Bobcats extended their lead to three runs in the bottom of the third as they pushed ahead to 4-1.  The Warriors continued to chip away at the Bobcats lead in the top of the fourth inning.  With one out, Lydia Clanton doubled to left field and then came in to score on a single by Ashton Martin.

A single by Crowe brought in the Bobcats last run of the afternoon as they took a 5-2 run lead.  The Warriors countered in the top of the fifth inning as Claire Ellison singled down the left field line.  With Ellison at first, Savannah Huff homered.  However, Lees-McRae went on to win the second game 5-4.


 
What's Next

The Warriors will remain on the road on March 27 as they travel to Mount Olive, NC to take on the University of Mount Olive Trojans at 3 and 5 p.m.  They will then return to Varsity Field on March 30 as they host the Emmanuel Lions at 4 and 6 p.m.  Southern Wesleyan will remain at home on April 7 as they take on the North Greenville Crusaders.