Duncan, SC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Chowan Hawks in a 13-10 final to advance to the Conference Carolinas Semifinals. In the semifinal game against the Francis Marion Patriots, the Warriors fell in a 7-0 final.
The Warriors picked up 12 hits in the match against the Chowan Hawks. Both Reagan Fulcher and Megan Ware went 3 for 4 at the plate. Abby Schreiner and Ware each doubled, and both Fulcher and Chloe Smith homered in the game. Southern Wesleyan walked five times and stole four bases. Ware stole two bases and Abby Lawson and Marissa Moreland each stole one base. Smith started the game in the circle and struck out three batters in the 1.1 innings she pitched. Emily Collins, Anicka McFarland, Bailey Throckmorton and Harley Hoffman each came in to pitch in relief.
Southern Wesleyan totaled three hits against Francis Marion. The Warriors walked twice and three players were hit by pitches. Olivia Haag started the game in the circle and pitched two innings. Emily Collins and Bailey Throckmorton came in to pitch in relief. Throckmorton picked up the lone strikeout of the game for the Warriors.
Game Vitals
Game One Final: Southern Wesleyan 13, Chowan 10
Game Two Final: Francis Marion 7, Southern Wesleyan 0
Records: Southern Wesleyan (37-14 / 22-5) Chowan (32-20 / CC 17-11) Francis Marion ()
How It Happened
Game One: Southern Wesleyan vs Chowan
Southern Wesleyan jumped out early as they brought four runs in to score in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Reagan Fulcher sent the ball out over the left center field fence for a solo home run. Marissa Moreland followed with a walk and then stole second base to get into scoring position. Rebecca Lamb then walked to put two on and bring Chloe Smith up to bat. Smith drilled the fourth pitch she saw out over the center field fence for a three run home run to give the Warriors a 4-0 run lead.
Chowan answered in the top of the second inning as a single off the bat of Hydee Kugler allowed Ryleigh Gough to come across home plate. The Hawks pressed on as they brought a couple more runs in to play to tie the game up at four.
The Warriors regained the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Megan Ware led off the inning by hitting a single to left field. With Abby Lawson at the plate, Ware stole second. Lawson then laid down a bunt single to allow Ware to advance to third. Lawson then stole second to put two runners in scoring position and bring Reagan Fulcher up to bat. Fulcher sent the ball into right center field for a single that allowed both Ware and Lawson to come in to score.
The Hawks would not relent as a single by Hope Soria and then a hit batter allowed two more runs to come in to score to tie the game up once again.
Southern Wesleyan continued to attack the plate in the fourth inning. Megan Ware led off the inning by hitting a single through the left side. Ware advanced to second as Abby Lawson walked. A single by Maddie Crouch loaded up the bases for Reagan Fulcher. However, before Fulcher could do anything, a passed ball allowed Ware to come in to score. Fulcher sent the ball up the middle for a single that allowed both Lawson and Crouch to score and give the Warriors a 9-6 run lead.
The Warriors extended on their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Olivia Haag reached on an error at short stop, and then advanced to second on another error. With one out, Megan Ware hit into a fielder's choice that took Haag off the bases. Ware then stole second to get into scoring position. Abby Lawson sent the ball down the right field line for a single that allowed Ware to come in to score.
Chowan cut Southern Wesleyan's lead down to three as Hydee Kugler sent the ball through the left side for a single that allowed Julianna Kellogg to cross home plate. A hit by pitch allowed another run to come in to score. However, Bailey Throckmorton forced the next batter to ground out to prevent the Hawks from cutting into the Warriors lead any further.
Southern Wesleyan was not done as they attacked the plate once again in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back walks to Marissa Moreland and Rebecca Lamb put two runners on base for Chloe Smith. Smith laid down a sacrifice bunt to allow both runners to advance. With one out, Abby Schreiner drilled the ball into left field for a double that cleared the bases. Megan Ware followed by hitting the ball down the left field line for a double that brought Schreiner in to score.
Once again the Hawks attacked the plate as they brought two more runs in to score. However, Harley Hoffman and the Warriors defense were able to get the final outs to allow the Warriors to claim a 13-10 run victory.
Game Two: Southern Wesleyan vs Francis Marion
Francis Marion struck first as a triple by Mikaela Goss and a sacrifice bunt by Madalyn White brought two runs in to score.
In the top of the third, the Patriots brought another two runs in to score off a single by Maddy Golka. A sacrifice fly and then a single allowed Francis Marion to bring in two more runs.
The Warriors were able to get runners on base a couple more times, but the Patriots were there to shut them down each time. Francis Marion ended up claiming a 7-0 run victory over Southern Wesleyan
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will wait to see if they receive a bid in the NCAA DII Southeast Regional.
