For Immediate Release – 4/6/16 - #291
Offense leads WildCats to Sweep over Fighting Squirrels

STAUNTON, VA – The Randolph College softball offense (led by Rebecca Montgomery) came alive on Wednesday, scoring 19 runs over two games.  The WildCats swept Mary Baldwin College 11-7 and 8-0 (five innings) in the nonconference doubleheader, which also featured a stellar pitching performance in game two.

Montgomery got things started in the first, beginning a two-out rally with a homer to left field.  Hunter Glavé doubled in the next at-bat.  Dianne Davis followed her with an RBI single, and she was knocked in by the next batter, Rachel Hickman.  After Erin Wehrhan and Alexis Steljes reached, Tristan Hartle drove in two with a single to give the 'Cats a 5-0 lead after the first.

The scoring kept coming in the next two innings.  Jessica Nowak and Montgomery had back to back walks to start the second.  Glavé then hit her second double of the game, driving in Nowak.  After two outs, Hickman hit a two-bagger to score Glavé.  MBC got one back in the bottom of the second, but Randolph answered.  Whittney Critchley singled with one out and worked her way over to third.  Brittany Campbell knocked her in as she singled through the left side, pushing the score to 8-1.

The next inning saw neither team cross the plate, but Hartle started the fifth off with a single.  This time, Rachel Lee earned the RBI with a single through the middle.  However, the Fighting Squirrels came back in the bottom frame.  Mary Baldwin scored three times to bring the score to 9-4 after the fifth.

The sixth saw clean frames on both sides, but the seventh saw several more runners cross.  Campbell hit an infield single, starting a two-out rally.  Lee reached on an error, before Davis doubled in the two, bringing the score to 11-4.  Once again, the Fighting Squirrels scored three times, but Gracyn Allen-Ingle allowed no more, giving the WildCats the win.

Game two saw the WildCats start quickly again, as the leadoff hitter, Wehrhan, walked.  After two outs and a stolen base, Glavé singled up the middle scoring the quick outfielder.  Lindsey Chaney took to the mound after earning the win in game one, and struck out the side in order.

The second inning proved to be the big one for the 'Cats.  The bases were loaded after a series of errors, a single by Hartle, and a fielder's choice.  Montgomery stepped up and hit a rocket to the same area of the park, clearing the bases with her grand slam.  Randolph added one more in the inning, once again caused by several errors.

The Fighting Squirrels went down in order once again, as Chaney struck one more out, before Montgomery added to the lead again.  She singled and Hartle scored.

Two MBC players reached in the next inning, but Chaney got out of the jam once again, which included another 'K'.  Both sides went down in order during the fourth, but the WildCats added another tally in the fifth.  Courtney Lucado hit a pinch-hit single and advanced to second after a single by Wehrhan.  The bases became loaded, and Montgomery earned another RBI with a sac fly.

Lauren Morris closed out the 8-0 mercy-rule win with a clean inning, including a strike out.

Montgomery went 3-5 on the day with seven total RBI.  Davis was 4-6, with three, while Campbell, Glavé, and Hickman all had three hits on the day.  Hartle had the most hits on the team with four. 

Chaney (8-4) finished with two wins and six strikeouts.  She combined with Morris to throw a no-hitter in game two.  Kayla Wheeler and Alli Bascunan each had two hits and two RBI in game one for the Fighting Squirrels (10-26 overall).

Randolph (16-14) returns to Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play on Saturday.  The WildCats take on Shenandoah University in a doubleheader that starts at 1 p.m.  There is a call for bad weather which may affect the status of the game, so stay tuned to randolphwildcats.com.

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