HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A late rally lifted William Carey to a 4–3 walk-off win over Stillman in Friday's opener, and the Lady Crusaders carried that momentum into game two, rolling to a 7–1 victory to complete the doubleheader sweep.
GAME ONE – William Carey 4, Stillman 3
Carey struck first in the bottom of the second with a no-doubt solo home run from
Kinley Hogue, giving the Lady Crusaders an early 1–0 lead. Stillman answered in the third, loading the bases before drawing a walk to tie the game. Moments later, Olivia Hobson delivered the Tigers' first hit of the day—a single to right that pushed Stillman ahead 2–1.
The Tigers added to the lead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly, extending the advantage to 3–1, and the margin held until the bottom of the sixth. There, WCU began its comeback. After a leadoff single and a successful sacrifice,
Albanie Fussell ripped an RBI double to left, trimming the deficit to 3–2 and setting up a dramatic finish.
William Carey completed the rally in the seventh. A defensive miscue opened the inning, followed by a bunt single from
Liz Cross to put two aboard. After a sacrifice bunt by Brooklyn Montana moved both runners into scoring position,
Caroline Lindsey delivered the biggest swing of the game—a two-run single to right, scoring
Harper Dupre and Cross for the walk-off win.
Julia Shaw earned the victory in relief, working 4.2 innings and allowing just one run on three hits while striking out four.
GAME TWO – William Carey 7, Stillman 1
In the nightcap, Carey wasted no time taking control. Cross led off the bottom of the first with a single and advanced on a wild pitch. Montana followed with an RBI single up the middle, then stole second and scored on a base hit from Lindsey to make it 2–0. Stillman struggled to halt the momentum, issuing two walks—including a bases-loaded pass to Dupre—that pushed the lead to 3–0 before the Tigers finally escaped the inning.
WCU added more in the third. After an error put a runner on to start the frame, Hogue dropped down a bunt single, and
Anna Grace Shows capitalized with a two-run single to stretch the lead to 5–0.
Stillman scratched across its lone run in the fourth, using a walk and two hits to threaten, but Carey pitcher
Jayden Sawyer quickly shut down the rally with a strikeout to end the inning.
The Lady Crusaders put the game out of reach in the fifth. A single from
Kasia Rodriguez, a walk to
Lily Bittle, and a hit from
Kara Henry loaded the bases for Cross, who delivered with a two-run single to center, making it 7–1.
Sawyer was dominant throughout, earning the complete-game win with a career-high 17 strikeouts while holding Stillman to two hits and one run.
The Lady Crusaders return to action today with a doubleheader against Xavier University starting at 12:00 PM at Joseph & Nancy Fail Field.
