Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 RALEIGH, N.C. (April 6) – Saint Augustine's University is off to a successful softball start in the Southern Division as the Lady Falcons swept Johnson C. Smith University 10-2 and 9-7 at Biddleville Park in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday.
The Lady Falcons are one of two unbeaten teams in the Southern Division (2-0) after winning both games while the Golden Bulls dropped to 0-2. The SAU women combined for 22 hits in two games.
In the first game, the Lady Falcons pounded out 11 hits, including seven doubles, and MaKayla August (So./Palm Springs, CA) hurled a three-hitter to cruise past the Golden Bulls (3-5 CIAA, 5-13 overall). The game was stopped after five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule.
The Lady Falcons (6-2 CIAA, 9-7 overall) scored in four of the five innings for the victory. Leading 2-1 after two innings, the Lady Falcons scored two runs in the third inning and two runs in the fourth inning to expand their lead to 6-1. They finished off the Golden Bulls with four runs in the fifth inning.
Tamiera Sanchez (So./Sacramento, CA) led the Lady Falcons offensively. She batted 3-for-3 with two doubles, three RBIs, three runs scored and two stolen bases. August was 2-for-2 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored, and Akera McPhaul (Sr./Greensboro, NC) had a double, two RBIs and one run scored.
Haley Sessoms (So./Kenansville, NC) finished with a double, one RBI and one run scored, and Jasmine Rios (Sr./Greensboro, NC) totaled one RBI and one run scored. Marley Parker (Sr./Langley, British Columbia) and Haili Pettifer (Sr./Langley, British Columbia) both doubled and Parker drove in a run for the Lady Falcons. Chandra Mackey (Fr./Nassau, Bahamas) scored twice.
August recorded five strikeouts and one walk to improve to 6-4 as a pitcher. She allowed one earned run in five innings.
In the second game, the Lady Falcons needed a late rally to beat the Golden Bulls. Down 7-6, they scored three runs in the top half of the seventh for a 9-7 lead, then held the Golden Bulls scoreless in the bottom half of the inning for the victory.
August opened the seventh with a single and the Golden Bulls walked Sessoms to place runners on second and first base. After Pettifer's sacrifice bunt moved both runners, August and Sessoms scored on a throwing error on McPhaul's fielder's choice for an 8-7 lead. The Lady Falcons added another run when McPhaul scored on a sacrifice fly by Moss.
The Lady Falcons totaled 11 hits in the second game including two triples by Moss. They lead the nation in Division II in triples per game.
Moss batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored in addition to two triples and a sacrifice fly. August was 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored, and Rios was 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. McPhaul had one RBI and two runs scored, and Parker was 2-for-4 with one run scored.
Sanchez and Pettifer each knocked in a run and Mackey scored a run. Parker (2-2) gained the pitching victory after scattering seven hits in seven innings.
After taking a 3-0 lead, the Lady Falcons fell behind 5-3 entering the second inning. They climbed back in the contest, eventually overtaking the Golden Bulls 6-5 in the top of the sixth inning before losing and regaining the lead for good.
The Lady Falcons visit Livingstone College in a division doubleheader in Salisbury, N.C., on Sunday, April 8. Starting times are 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
