Shorter University swept a non-conference softball doubleheader from Tusculum College by identical 4-3 scores Wednesday afternoon at Red Edmonds Field. The Hawks (13-6) scored the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning to win the opener, and plated the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of the nightcap to finish off the sweep of the Pioneers (10-12).

Tusculum will return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. with a non-conference doubleheader at Pfeiffer, and is back at Red Edmonds Field on Monday at 2 p.m. against North Greenville.

Game 1: Shorter 4, Tusculum 3
(Box Score)

Maggie Meachum drove home the tiebreaking run with a double down the first-base line with two outs in the seventh to lift the Hawks to the victory, after the Pioneers had erased a 2-0 lead with a run in the third and two more in the fourth.

Each of the top four hitters in the Shorter lineup finished with two hits, with Meachum going 2-for-4 with two doubles and Jackie Castaneda adding two singles and scoring two runs. Felicia Morris and Paige Rowland each went 2-for-2 with an RBI in the victory for the Hawks.

Alix Kruel finished 2-for-3 with a double, a two-run single and a run scored to account for all three runs for the Pioneers. Tusculum finished with seven hits in the game, but all came off starter Maddie Bray who departed with no outs in the fifth inning. Kalei Kimbrell earned the win for the Hawks after she struck out four in three hitless innings of relief. Kelly King (8-5) saw her six-game winning streak come to an end after allowing four earned runs on nine hits for the Pioneers, with two strikeouts and no walks.

Both teams put two runners on base in the first inning but could not score, with the Pioneer rally coming to a sudden halt as a drive to the right-center gap by Kaytlin Stroinski was hauled in by Shorter's Kayla Cooper, who turned it into an inning-ending double play.

The Hawks opened the scoring in the third on an RBI infield single by Morris and a sacrifice fly to deep center by Rowland. Casteneda scored on the sacrifice fly and Morris tried to make it two runs on the play, but the relay to the plate from Stroinski was in time for the third out.

The Pioneers came back with a run in the bottom of the third as Kruel led off with a double to deep center and later scored on an infield single by Tavi Parris. Tusculum grabbed the lead in the fourth as Paige Sneed walked with one out and Katie Brennan reached on a throwing error. A single by Nicole Ball loaded the bases for Kruel, who singled up the middle to drive in Sneed and Brennan and make it a 3-2 Pioneer lead.

Tusculum had a chance to add to its lead in the fifth as Parris walked, Stroinski singled and Sneed walked to load the bases with one out. However, Kimbrell retired the side on a popup and a strikeout to keep the Pioneer lead at 3-2.

In the sixth, Shorter tied the game as Castaneda led off with a single and scored on a throwing error on an infield single by Rowland. The Hawks would get the winning run in the seventh when Megan Christensen led off with a double and pinch-runner Ciera Champion came home to score on a double from Meachum. Tusculum threatened in the bottom of the seventh as Courtney Hutcherson and Sneed drew back-to-back walks with two outs, but Kimbrell retired the side on a popup back to the circle.

Sneed walked three times and sacrificed in her four trips for the Pioneers, while Hutcherson drew two walks and had a successful sacrifice in her four plate appearances. As a team, the Pioneers drew six walks in the game but left 10 runners on base.

Bray allowed seven hits and three runs (two earned) in four-plus innings for the Hawks, walking three and striking out none in her first start of the season.

Game 2: Shorter 4, Tusculum 3
(Box Score)

Just as they did in the first game, the Hawks erased a 3-2 Pioneer lead in the late innings with a pair of single runs to eke out the victory. In the nightcap, it was an RBI single from Sarah Corn in the top of the sixth that brought home what would be the winning run after Morris tied the game in the fifth with a two-out RBI double.

Christina Ezell (7-4) earned the win for the Hawks with four scoreless innings of relief, with 10 strikeouts and no walks and two hits allowed. Eliza Davis (0-3) tossed her first complete game of the season for the Pioneers, but was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs on 11 hits and striking out two.

Morris led the Hawks at the plate by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. The Pioneers were led by Brennan, who was 2-for-3 and knocked in a run during a three-run first inning that came in response to a pair of runs from Shorter in the top half of the inning.

Shorter jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run single by Rowland, but Tusculum came back with three in its half of the first. Carolyn Williamson reached on an infield single and moved to third when a bunt from Miranda Beeler was thrown away for an error. Parris hit a sacrifice fly to knock home Williamson with the Pioneers' first run, then Stroinski drove a ball to the fence in left for a double which plated Beeler with the tying run. Brennan singled home Stroinski to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead, which was a margin they would carry into the fifth.

The Hawks tied the game in the fifth as Kendall Johnson led off with an infield single and later scored on a double to right-center by Morris with two outs to tie the game at 3-3. In the sixth, Ericka Bynum walked with one out, went to second on a single by Christensen and scored when Corn grounded a single into the hole between third and short.

Meanwhile, Ezell handcuffed the Pioneer hitters after coming on in relief of Kimbrell in the fourth. Other than a single from Kruel with one out in the fourth and a single by Brennan with one out in the sixth, Tusculum was shut down by the hard-throwing righthander, who struck out the side in the fourth and fifth and fanned a pair in both the sixth and seventh.