NEWBERRY, S.C. -- The Newberry Softball team picked up a pair of key SAC wins Sunday, beating Mars Hill 10-0 and 10-2, with both games ending after five innings due to the mercy rule. Hannah Towery led the Newberry offense, going 4-6 with nine runs batted in. 

Game one: Wolves score eight times in the fourth
Newberry threatened to score in the bottom of the second, as Haley Simonds led off with a infield single. After a strikeout, Hailey Hill was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second for Tori Rose, who grounded out to the pitcher, moving runners to second and third. Mars Hill was able to escape the inning with a groundout to shortstop. 

After Alyssa Ball set the Lions down in order in the top of the third, Newberry struck for a pair of runs, both coming when McKenzie Barneycastle hit a triple down the right field line to score Reagan Glanz. Barneycastle would score when the throw went into the third base dugout, giving Newberry a 2-0 lead. The Wolves did a lot of damage in the fourth, scoring eight runs on four hits, including a pair of home runs from Towery that blew the game wide open. It was more than enough for Ball, who threw all five innings, allowing just one hit, which came in the first inning. She improved to 3-1 this season. 

Game Two: Wolves pick up walk-off win 
The second game looked like it would be a close one, with Mars Hill scoring in the top of the first then holding Newberry scoreless in the bottom of the inning. They weren't as lucky in the second, as Newberry scored a pair of runs, coming on RBI singles from Paige Meyer and Barneycastle to make it 2-1. The Lions tied the game in the top of the fourth on a solo home run, but Newberry wasted no time in responding, as Towery stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and ripped a double down the left field line, clearing the bases and making it 5-2 in favor of the Wolves. 

Newberry piled on the runs in the fifth, starting with back-to-back singles from Sierra Brogdon and Nunn. Abigail Valentine then stepped up to the plate and hit a ground ball to the shortstop, who wheeled and threw to third to pick up an out, leaving runners on first and second for Meyer. Nunn woud steal third, setting up Meyer for a infield single that loaded the bases for Barneycastle, who reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, allowing a run to score. Mallena Wright then grounded out to second, but picked up an RBI as Valentine came across to make it 7-2. Simonds then singled into left field, bringing in a pair of runs to set up Towery to hit a walk-off single into center field, allowing Maddie Finn to score the game-winning run. 

Inside the Boxscore

• Towery is now leading the Wolves in almost every offensive category, including batting average (.425), doubles (10), home runs (11) and runs batted in (32). She is one of two Wolves to be batting over .400, with Barneycastle batting .411 this season, with a pair of triples and 12 RBI. 
• Meyer increased her active reached base streak, having now reached base in six consecutive games. She has eight multi-hit games, which is tied for third-most. 
• Alexandrea Sullivan threw her team-leading ninth complete game of the season in game two. She has a 2.29 ERA this season, with a team-leading 92 strikeouts in 85.2 innings pitched. 
• In between games, the Wolves honored their eight seniors. Lauren Huffman, Hannah Towery, Paige Meyer, Alyssa Ball, Abigail Valentine, Haley Simonds, Sydney Patterson and McKenzie Barneycastle will all be graduating from Newberry College at the end of this semester. 

Up Next
The Wolves will be on the road this week for a pair of conference games, starting Wednesday when they face Wingate starting at 1 p.m. They will end the week on Saturday when they take on Tusculum before finishing the season April 19 with a home doubleheader against Lenoir-Rhyne. Live video and stats for all games will be available on newberrywolves.com.