NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. --- Leah Powell went 4-for-6 with four RBI on the day, while also recording her first pitching win in the circle as the Tusculum softball team won a pair of games in the final day of the National Collegiate Sports Invitational.
The Pioneers pounded out 17 hits en route to a 13-0 win over Principia, in five innings in Wednesday's first game. TC (14-11) followed with a 5-1 victory over Glenville State for the Pioneers' eighth consecutive win. The Pioneers tallied nine stolen bases on the day, including three in the opener and six more against Glenville State to tie a school single-game record.
Tusculum 13, Principia 0
(Box Score)
Kaytlin Stroinski and Alix Kruel each had 3-for-3 performances at the plate, while Powell and Stroinski combined on a two-hit shutout in a 13-0 decision against Principia (1-4).
Tusculum plated seven runs in the first inning and four more in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Eleven Pioneers were responsible for at least one of Tusculum's 17 hits in the contest, including a 2-for-3 effort by Nicole Ball and a pair of hits and two RBI by Powell.
Powell went three innings in the start, allowing a pair of hits, a walk and a strikeout. Stroinski got in two innings of relief work, giving up a walk with two strikeouts.
Tusculum sent 10 batters to the plate in a seven-run, first inning, which was highlighted by a pair of two-run doubles by Ball and Lindsey Umberger. TC sent another 10 players to bat in the fourth as the Pioneers posted eight hits in the frame.
Tusculum 5, Glenville State 1
(Box Score)
Tusculum belted out 11 hits and Elizabeth Johnson allowed a run on five hits in her eighth complete game of the season in a 5-1 win over Glenville State (2-5) to close out TC's week at North Myrtle Beach.
Powell went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Carolyn Williamson, Alix Kruel and Ball each posted multi-hit outings.
Tusculum got all the offense it would need in the top of the first inning, scoring two runs, on two hits and an error to take a 2-0 advantage. Williamson led off the game with a base hit, stole second, and moved to third on Ball's base hit before scoring on a throwing error on pickoff attempt. Ball would come into score herself on Stroinski's squeeze bunt.
Glenville State's Brittany Spencer cut the deficit in half with her solo home run in the second. But Johnson would shut the door from there, scattering three singles for the remainder of the game.
TC added a run in the fourth inning on Powell's RBI single and added two more in the seventh thanks to a RBI double from Ball and another run-scoring single from Powell.
Johnson did not walk a batter, while accounted for a pair of strikeouts to improve her record to 6-7 on the year.
Tusculum's six stolen bases mark the fifth time in recorded school history that the feat has been achieved. TC has recorded 37 stolen bases (in 38 attempts), which are the second-most in the league this year.
TC's eight-game run is currently the longest active winning streak in the conference.
Tusculum returns to action this Sunday afternoon for a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader at cross-mountain rival Mars Hill, beginning at 2 p.m.
- TC -
