PRESBYTERIAN
SOFTBALL SWEEPS MT. OLIVE
COLLEGE, 3-0 & 5-2
CENTRAL, N.C. --Brooke Norris (Anderson, S.C.) tossed a five-hit shutout and Rachel Bailey's (Howard, OH) leadoff double sparked a two-run first inning as Presbyterian defeated host Mount Olive 3-0 in game one of a non-conference NCAA Division II softball doubleheader Sunday at Mount Olive . In the second game, back-to-back RBI-singles by Bailey and Jamie Vining (Fayetteville, GA) highlighted a four-run second inning to lead Presbyterian to a 5-2 victory.
Bailey led off game one with a double to right-center field, advanced to third on a sacrifice and scored when Amanda Teal (Chapin, S.C.) reached third on a fielding error. Teal scored on an infield single by Jessica Peterka (Sarasota, FL). Mount Olive (5-8) threatened in the bottom of the first as Melissa Bright led off with a single and Kim Goens walked with one out, but Norris got out of the inning on a fielder's choice and a groundout. Presbyterian added a run in the third on Teal's leadoff home run. Mount Olive pitcher Shauna Cowdrey retired the next 10 batters and did not allow another hit until the seventh inning. Cowdrey finished with a six-hitter.
In the second game, Presbyterian (15-2) capitalized on two errors to score a run in the top of the first, then broke the game open with four in the second. Amanda Carvajal (Merced, CA) reached on an error to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a fielder's choice. Bailey singled to left-center to drive in a run and Vining drove in a run on an infield single. Teal brought home the final run on a sacrifice fly. Mount Olive got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second as Kim Pruitt reached base on a fielding error and eventually scored on a throwing error. The Trojans added another run in the sixth inning when Erin Wilson's single was misplayed, allowing pinch-runner Tracy Evans to score. Presbyterian pitchers Megan Wheelus (Florence, S.C.) and Samantha Slater (Westerville, OH) combined on a five-hitter and did not allow any earned runs. Erin Case went the distance for Mount Olive and allowed only two earned runs.
Melissa Bright went 5-for-6 in the two games, including a 3-for-3 performance in game two.
Mount Olive returns to action Tuesday as the Trojans travel to Wilson , N.C. , to face Barton in a Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference doubleheader. Game time is 2 p.m. Presbyterian returns to action tomorrow afternoon when they travel to Due West, S.C. to face Erskine College.