HATTIESBURG, Miss. – William Carey softball completed a Saturday sweep at Joseph & Nancy Fail Field, holding off a late push to win game one 7–5 before securing a 2–1 victory in the nightcap against Xavier.
The Lady Crusaders wasted no time setting the tone in the opener, striking for two runs in the bottom of the first.
Liz Cross led off with a walk, stole second, and scored on a sharply hit double to left by Brooklyn Montana. Montana advanced to third on a wild pitch and later crossed the plate on a groundout by
Jayden Sawyer, giving Carey an early 2–0 lead.
Carey added on in the second inning.
Kinley Hogue singled to begin the frame, stole second, and reached third on a foul out.
Lily Bittle then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, pushing the advantage to 3–0.
While Xavier struggled offensively—managing no hits and only two baserunners through the first four innings—the Lady Crusaders continued to apply pressure. In the third, Cross singled and teamed up with Montana for a double steal. A wild pitch allowed Cross to score, and another sacrifice fly from Sawyer brought home Montana to extend the lead to 5–0.
Xavier finally broke through in the fifth with an RBI single from Destiny Lavigne, but Carey thwarted further damage by throwing out a runner at the plate to end the inning.
Montana again sparked the offense in the bottom half, drawing a walk before stealing second and scoring on an RBI groundout by
Albanie Fussell, restoring a comfortable 6–1 cushion.
The Gold Nuggets mounted their strongest rally in the sixth, capitalizing on four hits and a Carey error to put up four runs. RBI singles from Arin Dale and Madison Williams helped trim the deficit to 6–5, and a fielder's choice followed by a groundout brought home two more runs to make it a one-run game.
Clinging to the narrow lead, Carey added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. After a walk and sacrifice bunt put runners in scoring position, Cross grounded out to shortstop, allowing
Harper Dupre to score and stretch the lead to 7–5.
Sawyer took over in relief for the seventh and closed the door. Despite a walk and an error that brought the go ahead run to the plate, she responded with back-to-back strikeouts to seal the win.
Carey opened the contest with commanding pitching, as Sawyer immediately set the tone by striking out the side in the first inning and retiring the first six Xavier batters she faced. The Lady Crusaders threatened in the bottom half when Cross drew a walk and stole second, but they were unable to capitalize.
The breakthrough came an inning later. Hogue roped a double to left and moved to third on a flyout, setting up Dupre, who delivered the game's first run with a sharp RBI single to left.
Xavier notched its first hit in the third—a single through the left side—but Sawyer quickly regained control, recording two more strikeouts to end the inning. In the bottom half, Cross ignited another scoring chance with a triple into the right-center gap, and Montana followed with a groundout to third that plated her and extended the lead to 2–0.
The Lady Crusaders continued to generate baserunners in the middle innings with hits from
Julia Shaw,
Anna Grace Shows, and Dupre, but Xavier's defense held firm to keep the margin within reach. Sawyer, meanwhile, remained dominant, allowing just one hit through six scoreless innings.
Xavier mounted its biggest threat in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs on a single and back-to-back walks. The Gold Nuggets pushed across their lone run when Amireeya Malveaux was hit by a pitch, scoring Lexi McLin to make it 2–1. With the tying and go-ahead runs aboard, Sawyer responded emphatically, striking out her tenth batter of the game to close the door.
The Lady Crusaders return to action on Tuesday, February 17, hosting Louisiana Christian in non-conference play. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 4:00 p.m. at Joseph & Nancy Fail Field.
