WISE, Va. -- The Newberry softball team was swept in a conference doubleheader for the first time this season on Wednesday, falling to UVA Wise 4-1 in the first game and 6-4 in the second game. They battled back in game two and tied the game in the top of the seventh before the Cavaliers hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the frame.
Game One: Cavaliers slide past Wolves
The first game was a slow one for the Newberry offense, as they were held to just one run on five hits. The lone run came in the top of the second when
Hailey Hill hit a home run to left-center field which cut the UVA Wise lead to 2-1. The Cavaliers would score one of their own in the bottom of the inning before tacking on another run in the third to increase their lead.
Kasey Widmyer threw five relief innings for the Wolves, allowing a pair of runs on two hits with a season-high seven strikeouts. She set down the final nine batters she faced, including striking out the side in the bottom of the fourth.
Game Two: Wolves rally late, suffer heartbreaking walk-off
After the Cavaliers scored in the bottom of the third, the Wolves struck in the top of the fourth when
Haley Simonds hit a home run to right-center field, tying the game at one. UVA-Wise struck again in the fourth for three runs, which Newberry answered in the top of the sixth, when
Paige Meyer led off the inning by reaching on an error by the second baseman. After a popout to shortstop,
McKenzie Barneycastle singled, then reached second on an error by the third baseman, putting runners on the corners for Simonds, who picked up another RBI, this one a single through the left side to make it a 4-2 game.
After FINN came on as a pinch runner,
Hailey Hill hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Barneycastle to score and bringing the Wolves to within a run. UVA-Wise was able to escape the inning, but after failing to score in the bottom of the sixth, Newberry scratched across the game-tying run in the top of the seventh when
Abigail Valentine led off by reaching on an error by the shortstop.
Emma Price then entered as a pinch runner and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. She advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring when Glanz hit into a fielder's choice, bringing in the tying run. The Cavaliers would then walk-off the Wolves in the seventh, handing Newberry just their third conference loss of the season.
Inside the Boxscore
- Simonds is now batting .436 on the season, with five home runs and 14 RBI, all of which are second-most on the team. She has also drawn a team-high nine walks while scoring nine runs.
- Barneycastle extended her current hit streak to six games. This is the third-longest hit streak of the season for the Wolves, behind a 11-game hit streak from Simonds and Barneycastle's seven-game streak earlier this season. She also leads the team in batting average (.447) and stolen bases (5).
Up Next
The Wolves will return to the Smith Road Complex on Saturday for a doubleheader against Lincoln Memorial University. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Attendance will be limited, with live stats and video available through newberrywolves.com.