Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan swept the Clark Atlanta Panthers on Wednesday afternoon in 13-2 and 14-6 final scores.
The Warriors picked up 15 hits in the first game of the day with Addi Johnson leading the team with four. Talissa Cannady followed with three hits, with both Amberly Way and Hannah Truett recording two hits. Johnson, Cannady, Truett and Avery Mercer all doubled. Johnson and Way both picked up home runs. Of the 12 RBIs, Hannah Truett led the team with four. Southern Wesleyan walked four times and stole seven bases. Cannady had three steals and Johnson had two. Taylor Palfrey and Chalee Roper each had solo steals. Cassidy Dickson started game one and pitched four innings while striking out one batter.
Southern Wesleyan posted 13 hits in game two with Talissa Cannady leading the team with three. Olivia Haag had two hits. Amberly Way and Haag had doubles. Taylor Palfrey, Addi Johnson and Cannady each homered in the game. Johnson had four RBIs and Haag had three. The Warriors walked four times and had six steals. Riley Brown led the team with two steals. Jaelyn Montfort started game two on the mound and pitched two innings. Autumn Barnhardt came in to pitch in relief and pitched four innings to claim her first win of the season.
Game Vitals
Game One Final: Southern Wesleyan 13, Clark Atlanta 2
Game Two Final: Southern Wesleyan 14, Clark Atlanta 6
Records: Southern Wesleyan (5-1) Clark Atlanta (0-6)
How It Happened
Game One
Southern Wesleyan jumped out early as they brought four runs in to score in the bottom of the first inning. Taylor Palfrey led off the inning with a walk and then stole second base. Addi Johnson singled to drive in Palfrey. Johnson then stole second base. Avery Mercer walked to put two on base. With two on, Amberly Way hit into a fielder's choice to take Mercer off the bases and advance Johnson to third. A single by Talissa Cannady allowed Johnson to come in to score and Way advanced to third. Cannady went on to steal second to put both runners in scoring position. Hannah Truett drilled the ball up the middle for a single that brought Way and Cannady home to give the Warriors a 4-0 run advantage.
The Warriors continued to challenge the Panthers in the second inning as Addi Johnson led off the inning with a single through the left side and then stole second base. With one out, Amberly Way singled through the left side to bring Johnson in to score. Talissa Cannady hit a single to advance Way to third. Cannady went on to pick up her second steal of the afternoon. Hannah Truett hit the ball deep to left field for a double that brought both Cannady and Way in to score the sixth and seventh runs of the game.
In the top of the third inning with two outs, Addi Johnson hit a home run over the center field wall. Avery Mercer followed with a double and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Amberly Way came up to the plate and drilled the ball over the center field wall for her second home run of the season. Talissa Cannady hit a double down the left field line and then stole third to get in scoring position. A wild pitch allowed Cannady to come in to score to extend the Warriors lead to 11-0.
Southern Wesleyan put two more runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs, Rebecca Lamb walked. Chalee Roper pinch ran for Lamb and then stole second base and then advance to third on a throwing error. Addi Johnson doubled to left field to score Roper. Johnson advanced to third on a passed ball. With Johnson at third, Abby Schreiner singled through the left side to give the Warriors a 13-0 run lead.
Clark Atlanta challenged in the top of the fifth as a triple by Lopez and a ground out by Scott brought two runs in to score. However, the Warriors won game one in a 13-2 final score.
Game Two
Clark Atlanta took the first runs of game two as a home run by Bentley brought in two runs to give them a 2-0 run lead.
The Warriors countered in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Addi Johnson walked and then stole second base. A ground out by Avery Mercer allowed Johnson to advance to third. A passed ball allowed Johnson to come in to score to cut the Panthers lead in half.
In the top of the second inning, the Panthers extended their lead to 4-1 off singles by Clady and Scott.
However, the Warriors countered again in the bottom of the second inning. Talissa Cannady led off the inning by singling to shortstop and then advanced to second as Abby Schreiner singled to center field. Olivia Haag drilled the ball down the left field line for a double that brought both Cannady and Schreiner in to score. Haag advanced to third on a passed ball. Madison Truett then hit a single through the left side to bring Haag across home plate to tie the game up 4-4.
Once again Clark Atlanta took the lead as Matthews and Lambert hit singles to drive in two more runs.
Southern Wesleyan would not relent as they tied the game back up in the bottom of the third inning. Avery Mercer led off the inning with a single down the left field line. Chalee Roper came in to pinch run and then stole second base. With Roper in scoring position, Amberly Way hit a double down the left field to drive Roper in to score. However, Way was out stretching to take all the runners off the bases and bring Talissa Cannady up to bat. Cannady hit her first home run of the season over the left field wall to tie the game up 6-6.
The Warriors pushed on in the bottom of the fourth inning. Riley Wilson reached first on single and the advanced to second on an error. Taylor Palfrey hit the ball through the gap and raced around the bases for the inside the park home run that brought Wilson in to score and gave the Warriors an 8-6 run lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Warriors scored five more times. Talissa Cannady led off with a single and then advanced to second on an error by the right fielder. A fly out by Abby Schreiner allowed Cannady to advance to third base. With one out, Olivia Haag singled through the left side to bring Cannady in to score. Riley Brown came in to pinch run for Haag and stole both second and third base to put her in scoring position. Madison Truett followed with a walk and then advanced to second as Riley Wilson put the ball into play. Taylor Palfrey hit into a fielder's choice, but the Panthers were unable to complete the play to load up the bases. With the bases loaded, Addi Johnson hit a grand slam home run over the right field wall to give the Warriors a 13-6 run lead.
Southern Wesleyan scored once again in the bottom of the sixth inning. Amberly Way led off with a walk. With Autumn Barnhardt pinch running for Way, Emmy Copeland hit a single to center field to advance Barnhardt to third. Maddy Hairston put the ball into play to load up the bases for Riley Brown. Brown reached on an error to bring Barnhardt in to score and give the Warriors a 14-6 run victory.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel to Anderson, SC to compete in the Anderson University Tournament on February 9-10 as they take on the Anderson Trojans and Benedict Tigers. They will then return to Varsity Field to host the Georgia College Bobcats. The Warriors will host the Claflin Panthers on February 21.
