NEWBERRY – The Newberry softball team split a pair of games in their doubleheader against conference-foe Queens.
With the split, Newberry moves to 21-11 overall and 3-5 in the SAC while the Royals move to 15-7 overall and 5-3 in the SAC.
Game One (Newberry falls 8-4 vs. Queens)
The Wolves jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the third inning, starting with a walk granted to
McKenzie Barneycastle.
The sophomore outfielder would then steal second base, putting her in scoring position during
Haley Simonds' at bat.
Simonds hit a routine pop-up to the shortstop, seemingly to end the inning for the Wolves, until the shortstop for the Royals dropped the catch which in turn allowed Barneycastle to score.
The Royals would respond instantly in the top of the fourth as a two-run homer gave Queens the advantage. From there, the Royals would tag on three more runs until Newberry attempted to rally in the fifth.
Newberry put two runners on base after a walk to
Paige Meyer and a bunt-single to
Natalie Willis. Simonds would drive in another run on a single to right field.
Hannah Davis followed with a hit up the middle of the field for another run to trim the Royals lead to 5-3.
A three-run inning by Queens in the top of the seventh had the Wolves trailing by five runs. Newberry would load the bases on a bunt-singles from Barneycastle and
Julia Bomhardt and a hit-by-pitch to Davis. The Royals would get out of the jam as only one run scored on an error.
Game Two (Newberry wins 7-6 vs. Queens)
A three-run homer from Davis in the first inning set the tone early as the Wolves held off a Royals rally to take the final game of the doubleheader.
Selice Daley dealt an excellent game in the circle, recording nine strikeouts in five and one-third innings. Backed by Daley's pitching, the Wolves would score six unanswered runs in the first four innings.
The Wolves scored four runs in the first inning on a three-run blast to left field from Davis. A double by Barneycastle put her in scoring position for the Wolves following the homerun.
Abigail Valentine in her second career start would then score Barneycastle as she singled.
Willis would add on a fifth run the following inning as she tripled to right center, scoring
Reagan Glanz who reached on a single to right field earlier in the inning.
Newberry faced a scare in the third as Queens loaded the bases with one out until Daley showed her control in the circle as she struck-out the next two batters.
Back-to-back doubles from
Julia Bomhardt and Willis helped lead to another RBI from Simonds as she added the sixth run of the game on a single to left center.
After scoring a run in the fifth, the Royals would rally for five more runs in the sixth, cutting the Wolves lead to 6-5.
Singles from Willis, Davis, and Barneycastle would load the bases for the Wolves in the bottom half of the sixth.
Ashley Willis would then be granted a base following being hit by a pitch, subsequently scoring a crucial seventh run for the Wolves.
The Royals would score one run in the final inning and held the tying-run a third base with two outs. Reliever
Ivy Hayes would pick up the save however as she struck-out the final batter, granting the Wolves a 7-6 victory.
The Wolves tallied 16 hits in the game as every starter recorded at least one hit including Willis going a perfect 4-4 on the day. Davis, Barneycastle, Valentine and A. Willis all picked up multi-hit games as well.
Daley picked up her ninth win while Hayes picked up her first career save.
Up Next:
The Wolves return to the Smith Road Complex as they take on Lincoln Memorial this Saturday starting at 1 PM.
