For Immediate Release – 4/24/16 - #330
WildCats Seal Seventh Seed with DH Sweep of Shenandoah

WINCHESTER, VA – The Randolph College softball team swept Shenandoah University 12-1 and 8-7 on Sunday.  The sweep sealed the seventh seed for the WildCats in the upcoming Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament.

Randolph started right from the get-go in game one.  Jessica Nowak singled to get on, before Rebecca Montgomery hit a two-out double to left center, advancing Nowak to third.  Dianne Davis was next and she knocked them both in with a single.  Gracyn Allen-Ingle stepped into the circle and gave up a run, but ended the inning with two-straight strikeouts to keep the 2-1 lead.

Following the two in the first, the bats erupted in the second, with the 'Cats also taking advantage of several fielding errors.  The team used two early errors and a sacrifice to score Ki Jenkins.  Erin Wehrhan came up next and singled, pushing Tristan Hartle to second.  Another error allowed Hartle to score and Nowak to reach once again.  Hunter Glavé drove in Wehrhan with an infield single, before Montgomery walked to load the bases.  Once again, Davis cleared them, this time with a two-bagger down the left field line.  Rachel Hickman finished the seven-run inning with a single to center, scoring Courtney Lucado, who pinch-ran for Davis.

The scoring would not be done, as Hartle led off the third with a single.  Wehrhan bunted her over, before Nowak knocked her in with a single, pushing the score to 10-0 after three.

Randolph failed to score in the fourth, but it would be the only inning of the game to see that happen.  Lauren Morris started the one-out rally with a pinch-hit single in the fifth.  Wehrhan came back in to run for Morris and she advanced to second after an error during a Nowak grounder.  The two advanced into scoring position as Jordyn Knapp knocked them both over.  Montgomery stepped up and made the score 12-1 with a big double to left center, scoring both.

Alen-Ingle (8-5) finished off her five stellar innings with only three hits and one run.

Game two saw a clean first inning on both sides, but it would not last long.  The 'Cats reached base in a multitude of ways in the second.  After a strikeout, Brittany Campbell walked to start the rally.  Ashley Dudding reached as the third baseman attempted to throw out Campbell.  However, the throw sailed and Campbell scored on the error.  Hartle reached as the Hornets attempted to make a play at the plate, but Dudding touched the plate first.  Hickman singled, and she and Dudding advanced on the ensuing groundout.  Glavé drove in both with a single to left field, capping a four-run inning.

SU came back for two runs in the bottom half as Kimberly Brady drove in both runners with a single, halving the Randolph advantage.  The next inning was 1-2-3 for both teams, but it would be last of those in the high scoring game.

After one out, Hickman, Nowak, and Glavé all reached.  A fielder's choice saw Hickman go down at the plate, but an error on the next play allowed Nowak to score.  Alexis Steljes then drove in Glavé to get the two runs back.  Unfortunately, Shenandoah responded with three runs in the next frame, which included another RBI by Brady, to drop the deficit to one run.

Randolph threatened in the next two innings, but could not get a player to cross the plate.  The Hornets did not have the same problem.  SU took the lead after scoring a run in the fifth and the sixth.  But the lead would not last long.  In the top of the seventh Nowak singled with one out and was pinch-run for by Rachel Lee.  Her speed was negated by Glavé stepping to the plate and crushing a home run to retake the lead at 8-7.

Lindsey Chaney came back in, relieving Hannah Winfree (4-6), who came in for her earlier in the game, to close out the win.  She sat the side down in order to earn her second save of the season.

Glavé totaled three hits and five RBI on Sunday, while Davis produced four and five respectively.  Brady had three hits and four RBI for the Hornets (8-30 overall, 2-16 ODAC) in game two.

Randolph (21-17, 8-10) finished its regular season with the doubleheader.  The WildCats tied Guilford College for the sixth spot, but after a five-point tiebreaker, were seeded seventh.  The 'Cats will open the ODAC Tournament on Friday at 2 p.m. against number-two seed Eastern Mennonite University (28-12, 13-5).

Here is the schedule for the tournament:

2016 ODAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
James I. Moyer Sports Complex - Salem, Va.

Friday, April 29
Game 1: #1 Virginia Wesleyan vs. #8 Emory & Henry - Field 1 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Lynchburg vs. #5 Roanoke - Field 3 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Eastern Mennonite vs. #7 Randolph - Field 1 - 2:00 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Randolph-Macon vs. #6 Guilford - Field 3 - 2:00 p.m.
Game 5: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2 - Field 1 - 5:00 p.m.
Game 6: Loser G3 vs. Loser G4 - Field 3 - 5:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 - Field 1 - 7:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner G3 vs. Winner G4 - Field 3 - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 30
Game 9: Winner G5 vs. Loser G8 - Field 1 - 11:00 a.m.
Game 10: Winner G6 vs. Loser G7 - Field 3 - 11:00 a.m.
Game 11: Winner G7 vs. Winner G8 - Field 1 - 2:00 p.m.
Game 12: Winner G9 vs. Winner G10 - Field 1 - 5:00 p.m.
Game 13: Winner G12 vs. Loser G11 - Field 1 - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 1
Championship Game
Game 14: Winner G11 vs. Winner G13 - Field 1 - 1:00 p.m.

If necessary...
Game 15: Rematch of Game 14 - Field 1 - 4:00 p.m.

Games 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 played on Field 3.  All other games on Field 1.

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