NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Newberry College softball team came away with two victories on Sunday afternoon after defeating Coker by scores of 6-0 and 5-4. Amanda Huckestein earned wins in both games and Felicia Taylor's last-inning heroics were the difference in the second game.

Newberry improved to 17-3 on the year while Coker fell to 6-11.

Huckestein (Port Charlotte, Fla.) one-hit the Cobras in the opening game and took a perfect game all the way into the fifth inning. Huckestein struck out 10 of the first 12 batters she faced and ended the game with 15 strikeouts. Newberry's offense was also effective in the game as the scarlet and gray amassed 13 hits.

The second game saw the scarlet and gray fall behind on two occasions. A Coker three-run homerun in the seventh inning put the Cobras up 4-3, but Newberry showed resilience in the bottom half of the inning to earn the win. The scarlet and gray put their first two runners on base before Taylor (Venice, Fla.) tripled to put Newberry on top. Huckestein earned her second win of the day and improved to 9-1 on the season after coming in to pitch in the seventh inning.

Game One: Newberry 6, Coker 0 -
Box ScoreHuckestein was brilliant in the first game of the doubleheader en route to a fifteen-strikeout one hitter. She struck out all but two batters she faced in the first four innings and was perfect until surrendering a fifth-inning walk. The no hitter was broken up in the sixth by a single down the left field line.

Newberry's bats were much more productive as the scarlet and gray scored in every inning except for the second and tallied 13 hits. Huckestein and Taylor paced Newberry's bats with three hits apiece.

Newberry got started right away in the bottom of the first with a two-out solo homerun to right center field.

Taylor helped Newberry pad its lead again in the third when she reached on a one-out single to right center. Huckestein then delivered a double over the left fielder's head to bring Taylor around to score. Stephanie Blazer (Greenville, S.C.) singled to right center with two outs to score Huckestein.

Huckestein scored via a Blazer RBI single yet again in the fifth when Huckestein led off the inning with a single to left field and Blazer drove a single down the right field line to plate Newberry's fifth run.

Newberry put up one more in the sixth after Whitney Wiles (Iva, S.C.) drew a leadoff walk and Chelsie Chippoletti (Brooksville, Fla.) and Taylor both singled to bring around Wiles.

Game Two: Newberry 5, Coker 4 - Box Score
The second game of the doubleheader went down to the wire as Newberry had to dig deep to come back after relenting the lead in the top of the seventh. Kristen Hicks (Bamberg, S.C.) pitched 6.1 innings in a no-decision outing. Hicks allowed just seven hits and struck out three. Huckestein became the pitcher of record when she surrendered the lead in the seventh but Newberry bailed her out of the loss with the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Coker scored first in the top of the second with Jaclin Poole (Clover, S.C.) doubling and Bri Jacobs (Bolton, N.C.) singling up the middle to bring her around.

Newberry took control in the fourth when Wiles doubled down the right field line with the bases loaded to score Lindsay Cruz (Irmo, S.C.) and Sara Powell (Ocean View, Del.). Tiffany Pigage (Lexington, S.C.), who reached on a walk, scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to put Newberry up 3-1.

That score held until the top of the seventh inning when Coker put two runners on base through a single and walk. Huckestein then entered the game to attempt to bail Newberry out of the jam and come away with the save. Anna Oswald (Lexington, S.C.) had other ideas, however, and blasted a 2-2 pitch over the fence in left center with two outs to put Coker up 4-3.

Newberry was unfazed by the adversity and went right to work on getting the runs back in the bottom half of the inning. Gatewood's speed on the base paths forced a rushed throw and fielding error to lead the inning off. Jessica Reid (Walhalla, S.C.) then reached on a hard hit infield single that was too hot for the second baseman to handle. Taylor then rose to the occasion yet again for Newberry, this time with a triple to deep right-center field which scored Gatewood and Reid to put Newberry on top for good.

Newberry returns to action on Saturday, March 20, in the South Atlantic Conference season opener against Mars Hill. The road doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.