GULF SHORES, Ala. – The William Carey softball team split its Saturday slate at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex, falling 4–2 to No. 9 Our Lady of the Lake before bouncing back with a decisive 7–1 win over Bethel (Tenn.).
 
The Saints jumped ahead early, capitalizing on a walk and hit-by-pitch to set up Lilly Rocha's RBI single up the middle that plated Arianna Alejandro. Moments later, Yezenia Perez added a fielder's-choice RBI to make it 2–0 before WCU starter Jayden Sawyer worked out of the jam and stranded the bases loaded.
 
OLLU added two more in the fourth. Back-to-back walks opened the door, and Alyssa Guzman drilled an RBI double to center. Alejandro followed with a run-scoring single to right, pushing the lead to 4–0. Carey's defense limited further damage as catcher Albanie Fussell cut down a runner at third, and Liz Cross fired a strike from center to retire another runner trying to advance.
 
The Lady Crusaders started to rally in the fifth when Brooklynn Montana ripped an RBI double to left-center. In the sixth, Sawyer trimmed the deficit further with a solo home run. Carey threatened again with singles from Harper and Julia Shaw, but OLLU escaped with no additional damage.
 
Cross singled to lead off the seventh and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches, but the Saints recorded three straight outs to seal the win.
 
Carey responded emphatically in game two, striking first in the second inning. After a leadoff walk to Sawyer and a single from Shaw, Harper Dupre delivered an RBI single down the left-field line. Bethel evened the score in the bottom half as Riley Sharp doubled and later scored on a groundout.
 
From there, the Lady Crusaders took control.
 
In the fourth, Cross lined an RBI single to right to score Kasia Rodriguez, giving Carey a 2–1 lead. Cross stayed hot in the sixth, tripling to right-center to bring home Dupre and scoring moments later on a Bethel defensive error to extend the margin to 4–1.
 
Carey put the game away with a three-run seventh. Caroline Lindsey opened the inning with a single, and Sawyer followed with a double. A flyout turned into a run after another Bethel miscue brought Lindsey home. Dupre added her third hit of the day with another RBI single, and Rodriguez capped the outburst with an RBI triple to right-center.
 
In the circle, Ryanne Hornsby and the Carey defense kept Bethel quiet, escaping a seventh-inning threat with a double play to close out the win.
 
WCU returns to action Sunday with two more games at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex—facing Campbellsville at 9:00 a.m. and Saint Xavier (Ill.) at 1:30 p.m. weather permitting.