NEWBERRY – A walk-off hit by
Haley Simonds scored the game winning run for the Wolves in Game Two as the Wolves split their doubleheader matchup against SAC foe Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday afternoon.
With the split, Newberry moves to 27-13 overall and 9-7 in conference, while Lenoir-Rhyne moves to 25-13 and 8-5 in conference.
Game One (Newberry falls to Lenoir-Rhyne, 11-7)
Newberry combined for 15 hits in Game One but couldn't keep up with the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears and their early leads.
The Bears mounted an early 4-0 lead across the game's first two innings. Newberry would respond by scoring two runs on
Chelsey Cunningham's infield base hit.
Lenoir-Rhyne would answer back by scoring four runs in the third inning, pushing their lead to 8-2. From there, the Wolves would start to chip away as back-to-back singles from
Reagan Glanz and
Ashley Willis scored two runs.
Newberry was aided by a couple errors from the Lenoir-Rhyne side in the fourth inning as
McKenzie Barneycastle reached first base on an infield hit and immediately took second base on a throwing error.
Natalie Willis attempted a sacrifice bunt to move Barneycastle to third base, but another throwing error saw Barneycastle score as the Wolves brought the game closer at 8-5.
The next inning saw Barneycastle drive in a run on her second hit of the afternoon to bring the Wolves within two runs at an 8-6 deficit.
Lenoir-Rhyne countered by scoring three runs in the next inning, putting the Wolves at a heavy deficit. Barneycastle would score another run on her third hit of the game, but the late rally attempt for the Wolves fell short.
Willis, Simonds, Barneycastle, and Cunningham and all recorded multi-hit games for the Wolves, combining for nine of the team's 15 hits.
Game Two (Newberry wins vs. Lenoir-Rhyne, 5-4)
A complete game by starting pitcher
Selice Daley and a continued strong offensive performance by the team saw the Wolves take Game Two of the doubleheader.
Hannah Davis started the scoring off in the second inning with a solo home run to left field, putting Newberry ahead 1-0.
Lenoir-Rhyne would answer later in the fourth inning by taking the lead with a two-run home run.
Davis immediately responded for the Wolves in the bottom half of the inning as she cranked her second solo home run of the day to tie the game at 2-2.
The fifth inning saw the Wolves add two more runs to take the lead on a double to deep right center by Simonds. Davis followed in the lineup, but the Bears had learned their lesson against the slugger and intentionally walked her.
Newberry saw their 4-2 lead taken away as the Bears added two runs on two hits in the sixth inning to once again tie the game, this time at 4-4.
Daley would force a 1-2-3 inning for the Bears in the seventh as she picked up her seventh strike-out.
The Wolves had no issue in the final inning as Willis connected for a one-out triple to right center.
The Bears picked up the second out of the inning as the Wolves turned to Simonds in the final at-bat. The first baseman would come up clutch as she took her first pitch for a base hit, deep over the center fielder's head to score the winning run.
Daley picked up her 10th win of the season as the ace went the full seven innings, striking out seven batters total.
Davis' two home runs brought her season total up to 15 on the season; a mark that is tied for the most in NCAA Division II.
Up Next:
The Wolves will honor seniors and student-athletes in their final season in
Natalie Willis,
Chelsey Cunningham,
Tori Caldwell, and
Daphne Peyton on Sunday, April 14th against non-conference foe Converse.
