GREENSBORO, NC – The William Peace Softball Team traveled to Greensboro College Saturday afternoon. WPU held on to win, 5-3, in game one after the Pride made things interesting with a three run bottom of the seventh. Greensboro rallied for another three run seventh inning in game two and a 9-8 win.
Despite narrowly missing out on the sweep, the Pacers are third in the USA South standings with a 5-3 record in conference play an 8-7-1 record overall. WPU travels down the road to battle with fourth place Meredith Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in another important conference doubleheader. Video and Live Stats will be available for the contest.
Game One: William Peace 5, Greensboro 3
Shay Poteat set the tone for WPU in game one, leading off the top of the second with her second homerun of the year. The Pacers scored four in the inning, as Morgan Bryant and Michelle Sheldon-Gregorio singled with Casey Taylor drawing a walk in between to load the bases with one out. Lindsey Wiggins plated Bryant with an RBI single. Taylor scored on Caroline Womble's RBI fielder's choice, and then Wiggins came home with the help of an error on the second baseman.
With one away in the third, Morgan Bryant doubled before coming around to score thanks to another RBI single from Wiggins. The Pacers held on to their 5-0 lead until Greensboro gave them a scare in the seventh.
Morgan Farmer picked up the win, coming up one out short of her fifth complete game of the year. She held Greensboro to a measly two hits through six and a third, but a single followed by an RBI double and a two-run homer cut WPU's lead to 5-3. After surrendering another double, Farmer was lifted in favor of Lauren Martin who put an end to the rally for her first save of the year.
Wiggins and Bryant paced the offense with two hits apiece. Wiggins knocked two in and scored a run, while Bryant scored two more.
Dawn Harris (4-4) was pinned with the loss for Greensboro, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits in five innings of work. Brittany Rush paced the offense with a 2-for-3 game. It was Jackie Nicholson who hit the two-run shot in the seventh.
Game Two: Greensboro 9, William Peace 8
WPU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third without recording a hit. Ragan Taylor walked to lead off, Gregorio and Wiggins walked to load the bases, and then Womble picked up an RBI with a fourth straight base on balls. Despite being thrown out at first on a ball hit to right, Poteat picked up a pair of RBI to score Wiggins and Gregorio.
Greensboro (10-10, 4-4 USAS) went ahead, 4-3, after scoring two runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but the Pacers recaptured the lead with five runs in the sixth, all of which came with two outs.
Wiggins and Womble collected back-to-back RBI singles, plating Bryant and Taylor. Bryant drew a walk to start the inning and Taylor singled to reach base. Brandi Stamey singled to load the bases, and then Poteat followed with a two-run single to score Womble and Wiggins.
Casey Taylor capped the inning off with an RBI double to score Stamey to go ahead, 8-4, but their four run lead wasn't enough. The Pride cut their deficit in half with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the sixth, both of which followed an inning-extending error. Greensboro rallied for three in the seventh for the come-from-behind win.
Heather Dindinger started in the circle and gave up two runs on five hits, three walks and a pair of strikeouts in four innings of work. Martin made her second relief appearance of the day, allowing four unearned runs in two innings pitched. Farmer (3-4) pitched the seventh and was pinned with the loss.
At the plate, Stamey with 3-for-4 with a run scored, which also extends her hit streak to nine games. Poteat went 2-for-4 with four RBI. Wiggins also turned in a 2-for-4 game to go along with an RBI and two runs scored. Ragan Taylor added a hit, drew two walks and scored a pair.
For Greensboro, Shelby Drummonds (2-1) worked the final inning and a third for the win, while six players registered two hits apiece.
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