Salisbury, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs have won four games in two days, thanks to a doubleheader sweep at Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference softball action Wednesday afternoon. Wingate won the opener 4-3, while prevailing 4-2 in game two to improve to 18-24 overall and 6-8 in the SAC. The Indians fall to 19-22 overall and 7-9 in league play.
Game One: Wingate 4, Catawba 3
Sophomore pitcher
Aubrey Reep (Eastover, N.C.) was one-for-two with a double and two RBI to lead the Wingate offense. Senior infielder
Mikayla Hannah (Lancaster, S.C.) added a homer, while freshmen
Gracyn Polk (Concord, N.C.) and
Kaitlyn Knuckles (Steadman, N.C.) each collected a hit and a run scored.
Jordan Dean had a homer and three RBI to lead the Catawba offense in game one.
The Bulldogs did all of their damage in the second inning. Hannah led off the frame with her third homer of the season to get Wingate on the board. Polk and Knuckles followed with singles, while a walk loaded the bases. Polk scored on a Catawba error, while Reep's two-run double put the 'Dogs on top 4-0.
The Indians made it a one-run game in the fourth when Dean connected on a three-run homer, but that would be as close as Catawba would get.
Reep got the win, moving to 13-9 on the year. She allowed three runs on five hits in seven innings of work, striking out eight and walking two.
Preston Ellenberg took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings of work.
Game Two: Wingate 4, Catawba 2
Hannah had a homer and three RBI to lead the Wingate attack in game two. Sophomore infielder
Jordan Floyd (Wilmington, N.C.) added an RBI, while freshman infielder
Haley Cashwell (Autryville, N.C.) went two-for-three with a run scored.
Delane Smith and
Monica Taylor each had a hit and an RBI to lead the Catawba offense in game two.
Wingate jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Cashwell drew a lead-off walk, moved to third on Reep's double, then scored when Hannah drove her in by reaching on an error.
Catawba tied it in the bottom of the frame on Smith's sacrifice fly.
The Bulldogs regained the lead in the third. Sophomore infielder
Emma Swenson (Matthews, N.C.) drew a one-out walk, then scored on Hannah's second homer of the day, a two-run shot to left to make it 3-1. The Indians got within a run in the bottom of the frame on Taylor's RBI triple.
The Bulldogs took a two-run lead in the fifth when Polk reached on a one-out single, then scored on Floyd's RBI single, making it 4-2.
Junior right-hander
Rachel Weidner (Greenville, N.C.) got the win, moving to 3-9. She tossed four shutout innings in relief, allowing just two hits while striking out seven.
Madison Hunter took the loss, falling to 8-5. She allowed three runs on five hits in four innings, striking out four and walking four.
The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday, hosting a doubleheader against LMU at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.
