GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Carolyn Williamson drove home the winning run with a single in the bottom of the seventh inning as Tusculum College defeated the University of West Georgia 5-4 in game one of their non-conference softball doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at Red Edmonds Field.
The Wolves (17-8) took advantage of four Pioneer errors in game two to score nine unearned runs in a 13-5 six-inning victory, salvaging a split of the twinbill.
The Pioneers (13-8) are back home Thursday afternoon against Lee University in a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Red Edmonds Field.
Game 1: Tusculum 5, West Georgia 4 - box score
Williamson drove home pinch-runner Emily White with the winning run
in the bottom of the seventh after the Wolves tied the game in the
top of the inning on a solo home run by Marley Stowers.
Tusculum had taken a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a squeeze bunt by Jenna Restivo, but Stowers led off the seventh with her fourth home run of the year to deep left-center field off Pioneer starter Eliza Davis. The Pioneers' Morgan Ward preserved the tie with a leaping catch of a line drive off the bat of Jordan Corbin with two on and two out.
In the bottom of the seventh, Bailey Culler led off with a single and was replaced by White at first base. Ward sacrificed White to second, and with two outs Williamson lined a 2-1 pitch into right-center to allow White to score the winning run and give the Pioneers their ninth straight home victory.
West Georgia took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single by Summer Wallace, but the Pioneers tied the game in the bottom of the inning as Emily Hester walked with two outs and scored on a double by Robin Stoner off starter Kathryn Woody.
The Wolves regained the lead in the second on an RBI single by Randi Phillips, but the Pioneers came back to go ahead 3-2 as pinch-runner Taylor Lewis scored on a passed ball and Taylor Battle drove home Ward on a single to center field.
In the fourth, West Georgia tied the game 3-3 on a run-scoring groundout by Kelsey Crook, and the game remained tied until the sixth when Stoner reached on an error with one out and Jordan Keene followed with a single to advance pinch-runner Miranda Beeler to third.
With runners at second and third, Restivo laid a bunt toward West Georgia reliever Danielle Easterly, whose flip to the plate was too late to retire Beeler as she scored for a 4-3 Pioneer lead.
Stowers went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored for the Wolves, while Sierra Stella went 2-for-3 at the plate. Culler finished 2-for-3 for the Pioneers, who had seven hits as a team in the game.
Ward was perfect in 11 chances in the field for the Pioneers, including eight assists from her second base position. As a team, the Pioneers stole five bases in six attempts.
Davis (7-4) allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk for the Pioneers, needing just 82 pitches to get through seven innings. Woody gave up three hits and three runs (two earned) in three innings for the Wolves, while Easterly (5-3) gave up four hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings of relief.
Game 2: West Georgia 13, Tusculum 5 (6 innings) - box score
The Wolves piled up 16 hits and took advantage of four errors from
the Pioneers to salvage the split of the doubleheader. West Georgia
posted a pair of five-run innings as five different players had
multi-hit games.
Stowers led the attack for West Georgia by going 4-for-5 with a double, three runs batted in and three runs scored. Katie Spinks was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Wallace finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Corbin went 2-for-4 and drove home four runs for the Wolves.
The Pioneers had 10 hits in the game, with Beeler going 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs scored and Battle and Culler each going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
After Pioneer starter Cayla Cecil stranded the bases loaded in the top of the first, the Pioneers opened the scoring in the bottom of the frame as Williamson singled with one out, stole second and scored on an RBI double by Stoner.
West Georgia came back with five runs in the top of the second inning on RBI singles by Stowers and Phillips, a sacrifice fly by Wallace and a two-run single by Corbin to take a 5-1 lead.
The Pioneers responded with two runs in the bottom of the second as Culler led off with a single, with pinch-runner Harper Ford scoring on a single to first base by Beeler. After a stolen base, Battle singled up the middle to drive home Beeler and pull the Pioneers within 5-3.
The teams exchanged runs in the third on an RBI single by Stowers for West Georgia and an RBI double by Culler for Tusculum. Following a scoreless fourth, the Wolves put up five runs in the fifth on a throwing error, a two-run double by Wallace and another two-run single by Corbin for an 11-4 lead.
The Wolves scored twice more in the sixth on an RBI double by Stowers and an RBI single by Spinks to expand their lead to 13-4. Hester knocked home Beeler with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth, but Easterly retired the side on a popup to close out the win for West Georgia.
Megan Roberts (1-1) allowed four runs on six hits and three walks in four innings, but earned the win for the Wolves. Cecil (5-2) yielded 10 hits and seven runs (two earned) in four innings for the Pioneers, with Taylor Plemons giving up six hits and six runs (two earned) with two strikeouts in two innings of relief.
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