Softball Sweeps Union

Athens, Tenn.- The softball was back out at Athens Regional Park for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader on Monday. The other Lady Bulldogs of the conference, Union College, was the team's opponent.

Game One:

The first three batters for TWU got on base. Caroline Moore and Destiny Painter used singles to get on base. Emily Mikkola reached first base on an error that allowed Moore and Painter to score, giving the team an early 2-0 lead. Mikkola ended up on second base at the end of the play. Taylor Penning singled to center field, moving Mikkola to third. Penning stole second and that gave Mikkola the space to steal home, making the score 3-0. Penning moved to third on a Malyssa Jeter double and scored on Hallie DeArman's single to left field, giving the team a 4-0 lead at the end of the first.

Cheyenne Strong and the defense behind her kept the opponents off the scoreboard, and the Lady Bulldogs added one more run to their lead. The run came in one at-bat in the fourth inning.

Moore hit a triple to left field and an error by the third baseman allowed Moore to trot home after landing at third, moving the team's lead to 5-0. The five-run margin held until the end of the game, giving Tennessee Wesleyan the win in the first game.

Mikkola finished the game with two RBIs. Strong finished with two strikeouts in the complete-game effort.

Game Two:

Two scoreless innings led to back-to-back two-run innings.

The first two-run inning occurred in the bottom of the third inning. Moore began the inning with a walk and Mikkola singled to right field to put runners on first and second. A wild pitch moved each runner a base and Penning gave the team a 2-0 lead with a single up the middle scoring both runners.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Sneed opened with a single, and a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second. After moving to third on a ground out, Painter brought Sneed home with a single to center field. Painter eventually became the second run of the inning, moving to second on a stolen base, third on a throwing error, and scoring on Penning's fielder's choice to make the lead 4-0 after four innings.

The scoreless fifth inning led to a three-run sixth inning where the Lady Bulldogs built on their lead. Moore, Painter, and Mikkola all got on to load the bases to begin the sixth inning. A wild pitch jumbled things around as Moore and Painter scored while Mikkola moved to third. A single by Jeter brought Mikkola off the bases, moving the lead to 7-0. Union scored a run in the seventh but Baylie Davis did not allow any more runs, giving Tennessee Wesleyan the 7-1 win to sweep the doubleheader.

Penning led the offense with three RBIs. Davis struck out nine batters in the seven-inning effort.

Up next for the Lady Bulldogs (20-9, 16-4) is a second consecutive home series on Tuesday against Brenau University. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.