BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – The Lady Crusaders opened the day with an 8–0 run-rule victory before holding off a late surge to complete the sweep with a 7–6 win in game two.
Carey wasted no time jumping in front in the opener.
Brooklynn Montana reached safely to begin the top of the first and moved into scoring position before a defensive miscue loaded the bases.
Albanie Fussell brought home the game's first run with an RBI single to center, and
Kinley Hogue followed with a two-run double down the left-field line to give the Lady Crusaders a 3–0 lead before an out was recorded.
That early advantage allowed
Jayden Sawyer and the WCU defense to settle in, as Blue Mountain managed just two hits through the first four innings.
The Lady Crusaders put the game away in emphatic fashion in the fourth inning.
Liz Cross led off with a single and moved to third before
Caroline Lindsey drove her in with an RBI hit down the left-field line. With runners aboard, Sawyer delivered the knockout blow, ripping a three-run single into right-center to extend the lead to 7–0.
Ryanne Hornsby capped the rally moments later with an RBI single to plate the eighth run.
Sawyer was dominant in the circle, retiring the side in order in the fifth to secure the run-rule victory. She scattered two hits and struck out five in the complete-game win.
Game two followed a similar script early, as Carey again struck first. Cross drew a leadoff walk in the top of the first and eventually scored after advancing to third on a throwing error, coming home on Lindsey's sacrifice fly to give WCU a 1–0 lead despite not recording a hit in the inning.
After stranding runners early, Blue Mountain threatened in the third, but it was Carey that seized control with a decisive four-run rally. Hornsby, Cross, and Montana opened the inning with consecutive hits, setting the table for Lindsey's two-run single up the middle. Fussell followed with an RBI base hit, and another run scored on a passed ball to push the Lady Crusaders' advantage to 5–0.
The Toppers answered with a run in the bottom of the third when Neely Barrier scored on Aspen Teague's RBI single. Carey quickly responded in the fourth, as Montana brought home
Harper Dupre with a single to center to restore a five-run cushion.
Blue Mountain mounted its strongest push in the fourth and fifth innings. Back-to-back singles from Kelsey Camp and Vaye Savage set the stage for Bre Ramsey, who lined a two-run double to right-center to trim the deficit to three. In the fifth, BMCU plated two more runs and loaded the bases, but Sawyer entered in relief and extinguished the threat to preserve a narrow lead.
Carey added a crucial insurance run in the sixth when Dupre scored on Lindsey's RBI groundout, extending the lead to 7–5. Blue Mountain was not done, however, as Camp drove in a run in the bottom of the sixth to once again make it a one-run game. The tying run reached scoring position in the seventh, but Sawyer induced a groundout to end the rally and secure the sweep.
The Lady Crusaders return to action Saturday when they travel to Pulaski, Tenn., to face UT Southern. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
