Salem, N.C.- The Randolph softball team completed its two-day stay in North Carolina on Sunday as the WildCats faced Salem College. The 'Cats picked up a pair of wins as they swept the doubleheader from Spirits. Randolph won the first game 8-1 and the second game11-1.
In the first game, the teams were scoreless after one inning. The WildCats scored a run in the second inning to lead 1-0. In the fourth inning, Delaney Nuckols (Rockville, Va./Patrick Henry) singled through the left side to bring home two runs and make it 3-0 Randolph. The WildCats scored runs on a Paige Scruggs (Cowpens, S.C./Chesnee) sacrifice fly and a Taylor Friess (Goode, Va./Liberty) two-run single to up their lead to 6-0.
The WildCats scored once in the sixth on a Chloe Persinger (Buena Vista, Va./Parry McClure) RBI single and once in the seventh on a Nuckols' RBI groundout. Salem's only run came on a solo homerun by Brianne Coleman in the sixth inning.
Persinger went the distance for Randolph in the circle as she gave up just two hits with one of them being the Coleman homerun. She walked four and struck out two.
Every batter in the WildCat lineup had at least one hit. Persinger was 3-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in. Allie Jarrett (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) batted 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Lacey Lucado (Buchanan, Va./James River) hit 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Nuckols and Dominique Irving (Amherst, Va./Amherst County) were both 1-for-5 with Nuckols bringing in three runs.
In the second game, the WildCats jumped on the Spirit in the first inning. Nuckols walked to lead off and stole second. Irving singled to score Nuckols. Diane Mahiai (Chesapeake, Va./Salem) singled to score Irving. Mahiai advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jarrett walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Lexi Hawkins (Lynchburg, Va./Liberty Christian) then hit a three-run homer to left field to score three runs and give Randolph a 5-0 lead.
The score remained the same until the sixth inning. A Kayla Love (League City, Texas/Tallwood) single scored a run and a Nuckols single scored another run. With the bases loaded, Irving tripled to bring home three runs. Mahiai doubled home a run to make it 10-0 WildCats. The 11th run came later in the inning when Lucado was walked with the bases loaded and Mahiai scored. Salem's only run of the game came on a Savannah Atkins homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth.
Jenna St. John (Concord, Va./Appomattox) got the win for Randolph as she scattered six hits across six innings giving up the solo homerun. She walked one and struck out four Spirit batters.
Mahiai collected three hits, two runs, and two RBI. Nuckols was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, a RBI, and two stolen bases. Irving went 2-for-4 with her triple, two runs scored, and four RBI.
The WildCats host Southern Virginia on Wednesday. The doubleheader begins at 1:00 p.m.
Â
