(RV) Softball Moves Past Bluefield

Athens, Tenn.- The (RV) softball team was back in action on the softball diamond on Tuesday. The team played a home Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader at Athens Regional Park against the Bluefield University Lady Rams.

Game One:

After Cheyenne Strong retired five of the six batters she faced via strikeout, the Lady Bulldogs got on the board in the third inning.

Emily Mikkola began the third inning with a walk, moving second on a Taylor Penning sacrifice bunt and to third on a passed ball. A wild pitch gave Mikkola the space to score, giving TWU a 1-0 lead. The next three innings saw the team score six runs, two in each inning.

In the fourth inning, an error allowed Sherwood to get on base and reach second. Moore doubled through the right side, bringing Sherwood across to make the score 2-0. A second error in the inning, this time on a Destiny Painter contact, brought Moore across home plate to make the lead 3-0.

With Taylor Penning standing on first in the fifth inning, Sherwood hit her a home run, the second day in a row she had blasted a bomb. The two-run home run gave the Lady Bulldogs a 5-0 advantage through five innings.

Reaching first on a single, moving to second on a Painter single, and stealing third, Moore eventually scored her second run of the game in the sixth inning. A ground out by Mikkola forced an error that allowed Moore to score and Painter to move to third after stealing second. Painter became the final run of the inning on a Penning RBI single, giving the team a 7-0 score they won with.

Strong dealt a career-high 17 strikeouts in the game in the complete-game effort. Sherwood led the offense with two RBIs.

Game Two:

Tennessee Wesleyan forced the run rule in the second game. Mikkola recorded the first hit of the game with her double in the first inning, getting to third on a stolen base. Penning replaced Mikkola on third with a triple, scoring Mikkola in the process, and an error on the throw allowed Penning to score to make the lead 2-0. Malyssa Jeter followed with a double to center field, giving the team a 3-0 lead when she scored on Sherwood's single.

In the third inning, Painter got on base with a walk, moving into scoring position via a stolen base. Penning's single up the middle moved the score to 4-0 when Painter scored. Painter scored again in the fifth, this time using a single, stolen base, and a passed ball to get to third, scoring on Mikkola's double. The game came to an end in the sixth inning.

Emma Clevinger and Courtney Wilson opened the inning with a single and walk, respectively, and advanced a base on a Kaley Bradley ground out. Moore tripled to right field to score both Clevinger and Wilson. Painter singled to right field to score Moore, making the score 8-0 to put the run rule in effect.

Moore and Penning led the offense with two RBIs. Baylie Davis had five strikeouts in the win.

TWU (18-9, 14-4 AAC) will be back in action on Monday when they host Union College for an AAC doubleheader. The first game is set for 1:00 p.m.