PINEVILLE, La. — William Carey softball capped an impressive Saturday slate with a pair of strong victories, opening with a shutout win over Louisiana Christian before rolling that momentum into an 8–3 triumph against Texas A&M–San Antonio.
"Going 4-0 was great, and I'm pretty pumped for the wins," said Head Coach Wendy Hogue. "However, Craig, Hannah, and I are more proud of the way the girls carried themselves the entire weekend. Comments from opposing teams and their fans, officials, and random strangers at the hotel and restaurants… They represented William Carey well this weekend."
The Lady Crusaders struck early, plating a run in the top of the first. Brooklyn Montana reached on a walk, moved into scoring position on a productive groundout, and scored when
Julia Shaw ripped a run-scoring double to center for a 1–0 lead. That proved to be the only offense for either team until the seventh, thanks to steady pitching and sharp defense on both sides.
Louisiana Christian struggled to find early traction at the plate. Their first baserunner came when Lexi Broussard was hit by a pitch in the opening inning, but she was quickly erased on a caught stealing. WCU starter
Jayden Sawyer faced the minimum in three of the first four innings, scattering limited contact and keeping LCU's lineup off balance throughout.
Carey generated several chances to build on the early lead—most notably in the third and fourth innings—but stranded multiple runners, including leaving the bases loaded in the fourth after three straight hitters reached base.
The breakthrough finally came in the seventh. After
Liz Cross reached on an error and advanced to third, Shaw delivered again with an RBI single to make it 2–0.
Albanie Fussell followed with an infield single, setting the table for
Kinley Hogue, who blasted a two-run triple into right field to extend the lead to 4–0.
LCU picked up an infield single in the bottom half, but Sawyer slammed the door with a flyout and a strikeout looking to secure the complete-game shutout.
"After scoring a run early against LCU, we couldn't push any more across through the sixth," said Hogue. "Thankfully, Jayden and the defense only needed the one. I can't say enough about our pitching and the lights-out defense we played all weekend. So proud of their effort!"
In their final game of the day, William Carey used a pair of big innings to pull away from Texas A&M–San Antonio, scoring five combined runs in the third and fifth on the way to an 8–3 win.
The Jaguars struck first in the opening inning, manufacturing a run after Kaylee Barlow led off with a single, stole second, and scored on a base hit from Samara Aguilera. TAMUSA continued the early pressure with three additional hits, but WCU escaped further damage and responded immediately in the bottom half. Leadoff hitter Cross walked, swiped two bases, and scored on a hard single up the middle from
Caroline Lindsey to tie the game at 1–1.
Carey threatened to take the lead in the second with four hits—including singles by Hogue, Sawyer, and
Ryanne Hornsby—but stranded the bases loaded. TAMUSA reclaimed the lead in the third on an RBI double by Krisilyn Corral and a run-scoring single from Kalia Flaherty, going up 3–1.
But the Lady Crusaders answered with a decisive four-run bottom of the third. After two quick outs, singles by Fussell and Hogue and a walk to Sawyer loaded the bases. Hornsby was hit by a pitch to force home a run, and
Harper Dupre delivered the game's biggest swing—driving a bases-clearing double to left field to put WCU ahead 5–3.
From that point forward, Carey controlled the tempo. Shaw entered in relief in the fourth and retired TAMUSA in order, beginning a dominant stretch in which she allowed just one hit over the final four innings.
Lindsey added insurance in the fifth with her second RBI single of the day, scoring Hornsby to make it 6–3. Hogue singled and stole second in the sixth, setting up an RBI triple to right-center by Sawyer. Hornsby then brought home courtesy runner
Mackenzie Smith with a groundout to push the lead to 8–3.
Shaw finished her stellar outing by striking out the side in the seventh, sealing a complete team win and a perfect 2–0 day for William Carey.
"Game two was our first opportunity to come from behind, and it was good to see the team stay confident, focused, and in control. I believe our first six runs came with two outs. Every spot in the lineup contributed, and it was fun to watch."
The Lady Crusaders are back in action on Friday, February 13, as they take on Stillman College in their home opener. First pitch of the double header is scheduled for 4:00 pm at Joseph & Nancy Fail Field.
