Twenty-Three Combined Runs Help Softball Sweep St. Andrews

ATHENS, Tenn.- The softball team swept the St. Andrews University Lady Knights on Tuesday. Tennessee Wesleyan won both Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) games via the run rule, winning game one 11-0 and game two 12-0, each in five innings.

Game One:

Two runs in the first inning were scored by Macy Chastain and Taylor Penning, who each got on base with a bunt single and moved a base via a stolen base. Mackenzie Baldwin cleared them off the bases with a triple to give the team a 2-0 lead after the first inning. The Lady Bulldogs scored five more runs in the second inning.

An error allowed Courtney Sneed to get on first and advance to second. Carlynn Atamaniuk turned Sneed into a run with a single to left center field, moving the team's lead to three runs. With Atamaniuk standing on second after a stolen base, and Chastain on first via a walk, Penning hit a double to left center field, bringing in both runners to make the score 5-0. The inning ended with TWU leading 7-0 after a two-run home run by Bailee Phillips. 

In the fourth inning, the Lady Bulldogs put the run-rule into effect. Back-to-back bunt singles by Atamaniuk and Chastain put two potential runs on base. The inning looked bleak as the next two batters recorded outs. Baldwin turned the potential into reality though when with a double down the right field line that gave the runners the time to score, moving the team's lead to 9-0. Avery Hope put runners on the corners with her single, and Tatum Massengale followed with a single that brought in Baldwin from third and moved Hope to second. Gracie Calton came in as a pinch-hitter and sliced a single through the left side of the infield, giving the team the 11-run advantage they won the first game with in five innings.

Baldwin finished with four RBIs in the win. Phillips had four strikeouts in the pitching win.

Game Two:

TWU started the second game with five runs in the first inning. Chastain got on base with a single to open the inning and moved to second on a stolen base. A couple of errors helped the Lady Bulldogs get the scoring going. Penning reached base via an error while an error allowed Phillips to get on base and Chastain and Penning to both score. Baldwin hit a single to right field and an error allowed Phillips to move to third and score. Standing on second after the error, Baldwin scored on a Massengale single. Massengale became the final run of the inning, parked on third after a Kaley Bradley single and scoring on a Sneed single.

Loaded bases helped Tennessee Wesleyan score five more runs in the third inning. Sneed (single), Atamaniuk (bunt single), and Chastain (error) were the first set of runners to load the bases. Penning earned a walk to take Sneed off of third base and move the lead to 6-0. Phillips fully unloaded the bases though with a grand slam to left field, her second home run of the game, moving the lead to 10-0.

The final two runs of the 12-0 win came in the fourth inning. Hallie DeArman's hit to left field ended in a double. A hit by pitch on Katie Willett and Chastain walk loaded the bases. Haven Carter made it two walks in a row, bringing DeArman home. Willett scored on an error on Brooke Freeman's contact to give the team 12 runs in the five-inning win.

Phillips led the offense with four RBIs. Isabella Jenkins only surrendered one hit in the win. 

The schedule keeps the Lady Bulldogs (16-9, 12-8 AAC) go back on the road for a conference doubleheader on Monday. The first of the two games against Union Commonwealth University is set for 2:00 p.m.