AUM softball sweeps Bethel
McKENZIE, Tenn. (aumathletics.com) — The top-ranked Auburn Montgomery softball team swept its Southern States Athletic Conference double header against Bethel University 3-0 in game one, and 6-4 in game two.
NOTES
• The Warhawks now stand at 31-2 (7-1 SSAC) on the season.
• The Wildcats fell to 19-12 (6-4 SSAC) overall.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Sophomore Amy Persinger finished the day 3-for-6 with a team-high four RBIs. She added a double, a walk, a run scored and a sacrifice fly. Her two RBI single in the top of the seventh gave the Warhawks the win in game two.
• Freshman Karoline Thomas picked up her second career RBI in the top of the sixth of game two on a single up the middle to tie the game.
• Sophomore Hayden Henderson finished the second game 2-for-3 with two runs scored. She added a 1-for-2 performance in game one with a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt.
• Senior Jennifer Jenkins picked up her 13th double of the season in the first game; a statistic in which she leads the team. She added two runs scored and two walks in the games.
• Senior Kayla Hale also added a 2-for-3 performance in the first game.
• Senior Taylor Powell improved to 19-1 on the year, as she hurled seven innings of scoreless softball in the first game. She struck out nine in the appearance, and gave up only five hits. Powell also hit in the first game, and finished 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Powell returned to the circle in the fifth inning of the second game with two outs and the score tied at 4-4, and retired seven straight Wildcats to pick up her second win of the day. She struck out four of the seven batters she faced.
• Heather Johnson led the way for Bethel as she finished 4-for-6 on the day with a double, a home run and three RBIs.
GAME 1 HOW IT HAPPENED
• AUM struck first in the top of the first inning with two runs on three doubles. Jenkins, Powell and Persinger hit consecutive doubles that gave the Warhawks an early 2-0 lead.
• AUM added its final run of the first game in the second inning as Brinkman singled to right, which plated Angulo to give the Warhawks a 3-0 lead after two innings.
• Heading to the fifth, the score remained in favor of AUM, but Powell had stranded seven Wildcats on base without allowing a run to score.
• Powell retired the final nine Wildcats of the game, and struck out four of the hitters she faced to give AUM the 3-0 victory in game one over Bethel.
GAME 2 HOW IT HAPPENED
• AUM again scored first in the second game on a sacrifice fly from Persinger that scored Ragland to give the Warhawks an early 1-0 lead.
• AUM added two runs on three hits in the top of the second. Brinkman singled to center to plate Henderson, and Ragland singled to left to score Brinkman. The Warhawks again held a 3-0 advantage after two innings.
• Bethel scored its first run of the series in the bottom of the third on a Winters single to right that scored Sullivan. Ragland faced bases loaded with one out, and forced two ground ball outs to strand three runners on base. The Warhawks still held a 3-1 advantage heading to the fourth.
• Bethel took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run home run from Johnson that scored Winters and Turner, and gave the Wildcats the 4-3 advantage. Powell came in to replace Ragland, and struck the final batter of the inning out.
• AUM picked up a run in the top of the sixth on two hits. Henderson reached on a bunt single, and a passed ball allowed her to advance to second. Thomas picked up her second RBI of her career on a single to center, which tied the game at 4-4.
• Powell retired the next three Wildcat batters, and struck out two. With one out in the top of the seventh and two runners on base, Persinger delivered the game-winning RBIs on a single to center that scored both Jenkins and Dishman to give AUM a 6-4 lead.
• AUM sealed the series sweep as Powell retired the final three batters in the bottom of the seventh to give the Warhawks the 6-4 comeback win in game two.
QUOTING THE COACH
• “This was a tough road test for our team, and we knew Bethel was going to compete for every out in both games,” Head coach Eric Newell stated. “Our girls showed a lot of perseverance in game two trailing after five innings, but they still found a way to win.”
UP NEXT
• The Warhawks will return to action on Saturday, April 2 when they host Martin Methodist University for a Southern States Athletic Conference doubleheader with the first game at 1 p.m.
