BRISTOL, Va. --- Racheal Wilburn drove in four runs to lead the Tusculum College softball team to a doubleheader sweep of Virginia Intermont College on Sunday afternoon, taking game one by a score of 8-3 before notching a 7-4 win in the night cap.
Tusculum (16-24) out-scored Virginia Intermont by a 15-7 margin despite a 23-17 Cobra advantage in base knocks. Phlyscia Powell paced Tusculum with three hits to lead six Pioneers with multi-hit days. Wilburn drove in four runs to pace four Pioneers with at least two runs batted in.
Holli Cadenhead (7-11) made the start in game one, allowing three runs and striking out eight in seven innings of work. Elizabeth Johnson (3-4) got the nod for the Pioneers in game two, allowing two earned runs and striking out three in six innings of work. Ashley Wilson pitched a scoreless seventh to notch her first career save.
Heather Odle, Haley Odle, and Rachel Cook each recorded three base knocks to lead seven Cobras with multi-hit days. Haley and Heather Odle combined for three home runs.
Nikita Belcher made the start in game one, allowing eight runs on eight hits and walking six batters. Molly O'Neil got the nod in game two, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits in three innings of work. Melissa Hudgins pitched four innings of relief in game two, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits.
Game One: Tusculum 8, Virginia Intermont 3 (Box Score)
Tusculum got on the board first in game one, plating two runs in the top of the first on an RBI double by Brittany Hunley and a run-scoring single by Wilburn. Virginia Intermont's Heather Odle answered for the Cobras with a solo home run in the first and an RBI single in the second to knot the score at 2-2.
The Pioneers responded in the fifth, breaking the game open with six runs on four hits to take an 8-2 lead. After Ashley Bagley and Savannah Ewing opened the inning with back-to-back singles, Hunley dropped down a sacrifice bunt to push Bagley and Ewing to second and third. Taylor MacDonald followed with a hit by pitch to load the bases before Powell and Wliburn drew back-to-back walks to push the Pioneer lead to 4-2.
Shanda Kimbrough pushed the margin to 5-2 with an RBI single before Ashley Burke stroked a two-run single up the middle to swell the lead to 7-2. Kimbrough later scored on a heads-up base running play to push the margin to 8-2. Virginia Intermont cut the lead to 8-3 with an RBI single by Kelli Porter before Cadenhead quelled the rally to secure the win.
Game Two: Tusculum 7, Virginia Intermont 4 (Box Score)
The Pioneers opened the scoring with three runs in the first, taking an early 3-0 lead on an RBI triple by MacDonald and a pair of one-run singles by Powell and Kimbrough after a leadoff double by Hunley. Tusculum stretched the lead to 4-0 with a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Wilburn before Virginia Intermont responded with two runs in the fourth to cut the margin to 4-2 on a home run by Haley Odle and an RBI single by Ashley Fields.
Tusculum answered with two runs in the sixth, stretching the lead to 6-2 on a run-scoring single by Kimbrough and an RBI base knock by Lindsay Bridges. The Cobras cut into the lead with a run in the bottom of the inning, trimming the margin to 6-3 on an RBI double by Hudgins before Tusculum pushed the margin to 7-3 with an RBI double by Wilburn in the top of the seventh.
Haley Odle led off the seventh with her second home run of the game for the Cobras, launching a solo shot to left to cut the lead to 7-4 before Wilson shut the door to seal the sweep for the Pioneers.
Tusculum returns to the diamond on Tuesday when the Pioneers host Virginia Intermont on Senior Day at Red Edmonds Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
- TC -
