NEWBERRY – Hannah Davis hit a walk-off homerun in the first game of Newberry's doubleheader against Anderson, propelling the Wolves to a sweep over the Trojans in the first South Atlantic Conference matchup of the season.
Newberry improves to 20-6, 2-0 SAC while Anderson falls to 16-10, 0-2 SAC.
Game One (Newberry wins 7-6 vs. Anderson)
The Trojans came out swinging in the first SAC matchup of the season for both teams as Anderson's Kayson Boatner hit a three-run homerun in the first inning.
Newberry would respond immediately in the bottom half of the inning as
Paige Meyer led off with a stand-up triple hit to left field.
McKenzie Barneycastle would score Meyer as she hit a single to center field.
Natalie Willis provided an excellent sacrifice bunt, allowing Barneycastle to advance to second where
Haley Simonds scored her easily with a hit through the left side, cutting the Trojans lead to 3-2.
Anderson would go in order as starting pitcher
Alyssa Ball forced the Trojans into three quick outs in the top of the second.
Chelsey Cunningham led off the second inning with a double to left field immediately followed by
Reagan Glanz taking a walk. Sophomore
Morgan Wagaman froze the Trojans infield on her bunt towards third base to load the bases.
Meyer returned to bat, taking a walk to score the tying run. Barneycastle would follow as she connected on her second hit of the game to score a run and put Newberry ahead 4-3.
The Trojans would hit a solo homerun in the fourth to tie the game and added two more runs in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. The lead would eventually carry over to the bottom of the seventh where the Wolves would rally for the win.
Newberry started the bottom of the seventh with two outs before Willis reached to first base on a hit to right field. Simonds would take a walk bringing up Davis to bat.
Down two runs with two outs in the final inning, Davis would come up clutch as she hit a walk-off homerun for the 7-6 victory.
Cunningham picked up her first win of the season after pitching two and a third innings in relief, striking out two batters.
Game Two (Newberry wins 5-3 vs. Anderson)
Anderson would once again take an early lead in the second game of the day before the Wolves would respond and eventually hold off a late Trojans rally for the sweep.
The Trojans would hit a solo homerun in the second inning, scoring the first run of the game. A double hit to center field would score another run in the third as the Trojans took a 2-0 lead.
Newberry would respond immediately in the bottom half of the third when Meyer reached first on a hit to left field. Barneycastle and Willis would follow with singles to load the bases for Simonds.
The slugger would then take a 3-2 count before hitting a deep ball to center field that nearly made it over the fence but was tracked down instead. Meyer would then score on the sacrifice fly by Simonds.
Davis followed in similar fashion as she hit a sacrifice fly to left field to tie the game.
Julia Bomhardt would lay down an excellent bunt-single to put runners on the corners before Cunningham took a walk to load the bases.
Glanz scored the go-ahead runs with a 2-RBI single up the middle. Pinch hitter
Maddie Miller took a walk to load the bases for a third time in the inning before a groundout ended the Wolves rally.
The Wolves tagged on another run in the sixth when both Wagaman and Barneycastle provided bunt-singles to put two runners on bases for Willis. The senior would single up the middle to score Wagaman, giving Newberry a 5-2 lead as they headed into the seventh.
Cunningham would replace starting pitcher
Selice Daley in the circle at the start of the inning. The Trojans would attempt to rally, scoring one run and having the tying-run at the plate but a clutch strikeout from Cunningham for the final out ended the game.
Daley would pick up her eighth win of the season after pitching six innings and recording four strikeouts, while Cunningham earned the save.
Up Next:
The Wolves will hit the road for a doubleheader matchup against No. 20 Wingate.
