HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The William Carey softball team earned a split in Saturday's doubleheader against UT Southern, claiming a dramatic 2–1 win in nine innings in game one before falling 6–5 in a back-and-forth contest.
Game One
The opener featured a classic pitchers' duel, as both teams struggled to generate offense through the first three innings. UT Southern threatened first in the fourth, when Emory Hall drew a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position. Back-to-back singles from Hannah Lindsey and Marie Bodily loaded the bases before Alaina Grace King delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Hall to give the Firehawks a 1–0 lead.
William Carey looked to answer in the bottom half of the inning as
Albanie Fussell tripled down the right-field line and
Kinley Hogue reached on a bunt. However, UT Southern escaped the jam with consecutive strikeouts to maintain the slim advantage.
The pitchers continued to trade zeros until the seventh, when Carey finally broke through. Hogue was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by
Jayden Sawyer. Pinch hitter
Ryanne Hornsby followed with a clutch single down the first-base line, driving in Hogue to tie the game and force extra innings.
After a quiet eighth, Carey seized the moment in the ninth. Hogue singled and moved into scoring position before Sawyer reached safely, putting runners on the corners.
Harper Dupre then grounded to short, and Hogue slid home just under the tag to give the Lady Crusaders the walk-off victory.
Sawyer picked up the win, tossing all nine innings while allowing just one run on three hits and striking out 12.
Game Two
The second game was a stark contrast, with both teams combining for 11 runs on 15 hits. Carey jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs on three hits in the bottom of the first. After a groundout to begin the inning,
Brooklynn Montana walked and Fussell singled to put two on.
Caroline Lindsey drove in Montana with a single through the left side before Sawyer drew a bases-loaded walk. Dupre capped the rally with a two-run single to right, giving Carey a 4–0 lead.
UT Southern responded quickly in the second inning. Singles by King and Mikayla McCain, along with a fielding error, set up Carley Cook's two-run single to right. A sacrifice bunt by Lauren Pettie brought home another run, trimming Carey's lead to 4–3.
The Firehawks took the lead in the third with one swing. Following consecutive singles by King and Marie Bodily, McCain hit a three-run home run over the right-field fence to put UT Southern ahead 6–4.
Carey threatened again in the fifth. Fussell led off with a double, and a walk to
Julia Shaw put runners on first and second. Lindsey singled to right, but Fussell was thrown out at the plate. Carey did manage to score on a wild pitch later in the inning, cutting the deficit to one, but UT Southern escaped with the bases loaded.
From there, the Carey offense was held in check, managing just one base runner over the final two innings as the Firehawks held on for the 6–5 win.
William Carey returns to action Friday, April 10, hosting Mobile in SSAC play. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Joseph & Nancy Fail Field.
