Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan split the series against the Shorter Hawks on Tuesday afternoon. The Warriors dropped game one 6-2 before coming back to win game two in an 8-4 final score.
The Warriors totaled six hits in game one of the afternoon. Amberly Way homered and Maddie Crouch had a double. Way and Rebecca Lamb each had RBIs in the game. Southern Wesleyan walked three times and Chalee Roper stole a base. Emily Collins started the game in the circle and pitched five innings while striking out four batters.
Southern Wesleyan had eight hits in game two with both Amberly Way and Abby Schreiner having two hits. Both Way and Schreiner homered in the game. Maddie Crouch, Ayden Leaphart, Way and Schreiner each doubled. Way led the team with four RBIs. The Warriors walked seven times and four Warriors were hit by pitches. Chloe Smith pitched a complete game in the circle and struck out one batter.
Game Vitals
Game One Final: Shorter 6, Southern Wesleyan 2
Game Two Final: Southern Wesleyan 8, Shorter 4
Records: Southern Wesleyan (23-9) Shorter (9-24)
How It Happened
Game One
Southern Wesleyan came out quickly in the first game of the afternoon as Amberly Way sent the ball over the left field fence for a solo home run.
Shorter answered in the fourth inning as an error and some extra base hits led the Hawks to take a 3-1 run lead over the Warriors.
The Hawks pushed on as a single by Holling allowed their fourth run of the game to cross home plate.
Southern Wesleyan cut Shorter's lead in half in the sixth inning. Madison Truett led off the inning by hitting a single through the left side. She went on to advance to second base when Avery Mercer grounded out to third base. With two outs, Rebecca Lamb hit a single to right center field to bring Truett in to score the Warriors second run.
However, the Hawks brought two more runs in to score in the seventh inning to win the game in a 6-2 final.
Game Two
The Warriors struck first once again in the second game of the afternoon. With one out, Maddie Crouch was hit by a pitch. After fouling several balls off, Amberly Way hit a double down the left field line to bring Crouch in to score.
The Hawks countered in the second inning as a ground out by Arnold allowed two runs to come in to score.
In the bottom of the inning, the Warriors tied the game back up. Abby Schreiner led off the inning by hitting a double to center field. She went on to advance to third base on a passed ball. With one out, Josie Shoemaker hit a single up the middle to bring Schreiner in to tie the game back up.
Southern Wesleyan regained the lead in the third inning. Rebecca Lamb walked to lead off the inning and then advanced to second when Madison Truett walked. With Ayden Leaphart pinch running for Lamb, Chloe Smith hit into a fielder's choice that took Truett off the bases. Abby Schreiner was hit by the third pitch she saw to load up the bases for Talissa Cannady. Cannady hit into a fielder's choice that allowed Leaphart to score to give the Warriors 3-2 run lead.
However, Shorter answered in the top of the fourth inning as a single by Mask brought two runs in to score to put the Hawks back on top.
Home runs powered the Warriors offense in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Chloe Smith was hit by a pitch. Abby Schreiner came up to the plate and sent the ball deep over the fence for a two run blast to give the Warriors back the lead. Southern Wesleyan was not done as Talissa Cannady walked and then Josie Shoemaker hit into a fielder's choice. However, Cannady eluded the tag to keep her safe at second base. With two out and two on, Amberly Way came up to bat and drilled the ball over the fence for a three run home run to give the Warriors an 8-4 run victory over Shorter.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will travel to Murfreesboro, NC on April 4 to take on the Chowan Hawks. They will then go over to Wilson, NC to take on the Barton Bulldogs on April 5. The Warriors will return home on April 8 as they host the Erskine Flying Fleet.
