GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum pounded out 29 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Glenville State in non-conference softball action Sunday afternoon, winning both games in five innings by scores of 8-0 and 11-3 at Red Edmonds Field.
The Pioneers (8-6) scored in eight of the 10 innings in the game to record their third doubleheader sweep of the season, while Glenville State dropped to 1-3 with the losses. Tusculum will play at Lee in a doubleheader on Wednesday starting at 2 p.m.
Game 1: Tusculum 8, Glenville State 0
Allison Pate tossed a three-hit shutout and struck out five, and received plenty of support from an offense that scored five runs in the first inning and finished with 14 hits in the game. Six different players had at least two hits for the Pioneers, as Delaney Guerrero, Anna Alloway, Emily Hester, Taylor Johnson and Morgan Mahaffey all went 2-for-3 and Taylor Battle finished 2-for-4. Johnson and Mahaffey each drove in a pair of runs for the Pioneers, while Guerrero scored twice as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit.
After Pate struck out the side in the top of the first inning, Tusculum went to immediate work in the bottom of the first against Glenville State starter Celina Maberto. Battle led off with a single, stole second and scored on a double by Guerrero for a quick 1-0 Tusculum lead. After Alloway singled to put runners at the corners, Hester reached on a bunt single as Guerrero scored the Pioneers' second run. After a wild pitch, Johnson came through with an RBI single and Brittney Franse hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Tusculum lead to 4-0. Mahaffey capped the inning with a triple as Johnson scored for a 5-0 Pioneer advantage.
Tusculum added a run in the second as Guerrero, Alloway and Hester picked up consecutive singles with one out. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Johnson singled off reliever Kahla Von Bergen to drive home Guerrero and give the Pioneers a 6-0 lead. Meanwhile, Glenville State had threats in the second and fifth innings, but left two runners on base in each frame.
The Pioneers locked up the win in the bottom of the fifth as singles from Sammie West and Franse were followed by an RBI single by Mahaffey which gave Tusculum a 7-0 lead. Following a walk to pinch-hitter Marissa Henson, Battle singled up the middle to bring home Franse with the game-ending run.
Ally Brown was the lone player to reach base more than once in the opener for Glenville State, collecting a double and a walk in three trips to the plate. Maberto (0-2) gave up six runs on nine hits in 1 1/3 innings while Von Bergen surrendered two runs on five hits in three innings of relief.
Game 2: Tusculum 11, Glenville State 3
The Pioneers collected 15 hits in the second game and scored in each of their five turns at bat, led by Johnson who went 4-for-4 with a double, four runs batted in and two runs scored and knocked in the game-ending run in the fifth.
All nine starters had at least one hit for the Pioneers, with Guerrero and Alloway each finishing 2-for-4 at the plate and Emma Casey going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Alloway scored three runs and knocked in a pair as five of the Pioneers' 15 hits went for extra bases.
Tusculum grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Battle led off with a single, stole second and scored on a single by Alloway. After a walk to Hester, Johnson delivered an RBI single to drive in Alloway and give the Pioneers a 2-0 advantage. Tusculum added a run in the second as Franse led off with a single, stole second and scored on a double by Casey.
Glenville State broke through in the third against Pioneer starter Taylor Plemons on an RBI single by Brown and a two-run single by Cassidy Taylor which tied the score at 3-3. Tusculum came right back in its half of the third with three runs, loading the bases on a leadoff double by Hester, a single by Johnson and a bunt single by West. A groundout by Franse restored Tusculum's lead at 4-3, and Casey delivered a two-out, two-run double for a 6-3 Pioneer lead.
Tusculum scored three more runs in the fourth as Alloway reached on a fielder's choice, Hester walked and both runners scored on a double by Johnson. Mahaffey then singled with two outs to bring home Johnson and push the Pioneers in front 9-3.
After Pioneer reliever Lizzy Galloway left two runners on in the top of the fifth, Tusculum finished off the game in five innings with a two-out rally. Guerrero tripled and Alloway followed with a triple to give the Pioneers a 10-3 lead. Following a walk to Hester, Johnson drilled a long single to center field as Alloway scored the winning run.
Hester reached in all four trips for the Pioneers with a double and three walks, with Battle going 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Tusculum stole four bases without being caught in the game and played errorless defense in the field in both games of the doubleheader.
Galloway (1-1) pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief and allowed two hits to earn the win after Plemons allowed three runs on five hits and struck out two in 2 2/3 innings for Tusculum. For Glenville State, Brown (1-1) worked 3 1/3 innings and gave up nine runs on 11 hits, with Von Bergen yielding two runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings of relief.