The Tusculum College softball team extended its winning streak to eight games with a sweep of its non-conference doubleheader against the University of Virginia-Wise on Thursday, as the Pioneers rallied from an eight-run deficit to win the opener 10-9 before shutting out the Cavaliers (5-2) by a 2-0 score in the nightcap.

The Pioneers (12-5) travel to Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend for three games at the Shaw Softball Challenge, starting Saturday with games against Chowan at 1 p.m. and eighth-ranked Georgia College at 4 p.m.

Game 1: Tusculum 10, Virginia-Wise 9 - box score
The Pioneers trailed 8-0 in the second inning, but scored seven runs in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 9-8. Tusculum then won the game in the seventh as four straight runners reached base with two outs, with Jordan Keene delivering an RBI single to bring home Taylor Battle with the winning run. The rally from the eight-run deficit is the largest in program history.

Battle, who had knocked in the tying run two batters earlier on a single to right field, finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs for the Pioneers, while Emily Hester and Bailey Culler each went 3-for-4. Hester had two doubles, drove in two runs and scored once while Culler had an RBI single in the second to start the Pioneer comeback.

The Cavaliers had 17 hits in the game but were held scoreless over the final four innings by Pioneer freshman righthander Taylor Plemons (2-2), who came on in the second and gave up six runs before keeping the Pioneers in the ballgame the rest of the way.

Virginia-Wise scored twice in the first inning off Tusculum starter Cayla Cecil on RBI singles by Samantha Ely and Delany Turner, then added six more in the second on a sacrifice fly by Shannon Bennett, a throwing error, a two-run double by Ely and a groundout. The Pioneers scored their first run off Cavalier starter Turner in the second as Hester led off with a double, and pinch-runner Harper Ford scored on a single by Culler to cut the margin to 8-1.

A fielder's choice grounder allowed the Cavaliers to extend their lead to 9-1 in the third, but Plemons escaped a bases-loaded jam to avoid further damage. The Cavaliers would continue their eight-run lead until the Pioneer bats came to life in the fourth.

In that inning, Hester led off with a single and Culler and Treslyn Reese added one-out singles to load the bases. Jenna Restivo then delivered a two-run single to pull the Pioneers within 9-3, and Battle followed with a single that drove home Rachel Wisner and brought Tusculum within 9-4. Following an error and a popup, Robin Stoner and Hester delivered back-to-back hits down the left-field line that each brought home two runs and pulled the Pioneer to within a run at 9-8.

The Cavaliers again loaded the bases in the sixth on two singles and a walk, but Plemons retired the next two batters on a popup and a fielder's choice to keep the score at 9-8. Tusculum had runners at second and third with nobody out in the sixth, but Cavalier reliever Taylor Brandts set down the side in order to preserve Virginia-Wise's one-run lead.

In the seventh, Culler led off with a single but a caught stealing erased the baserunner. After a strikeout, the Pioneers were down to their final out but Restivo doubled on a 1-2 pitch to put the tying run on second. Battle then came through with a single to right center on a 2-2 pitch to plate Restivo with the tying run. After Carolyn Williamson worked a walk, Keene singled up the middle on the first pitch as Battle easily scored the winning run for the Pioneers.

Tusculum had 16 hits in the game, as Williamson went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Restivo was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored off the bench. Keene's game-winning single was her only hit of the game, but she also drew a walk in five trips to the plate.

Turner worked the first 3 2/3 innings for the Cavaliers, allowing 11 hits and eight runs (four earned) with one strikeout. Brandts (1-1) pitched the final three innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts and three walks.

Zoe Millard with 4-for-5 with two runs scored for the Cavaliers, while Erika McLaughlin was 3-for-5 with a run scored and Ely finished 3-for-5 with three runs batted in. Turner was 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk and drove in two runs, as all nine starters for the Cavaliers had either a hit, a run or an RBI.

Game 2: Tusculum 2, Virginia-Wise 0 - box score
Eliza Davis (5-3) scattered nine singles in her first shutout of the season for the Pioneers, while the offense pushed across single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to help Tusculum to the sweep.

Davis worked in and out of trouble through the first six innings, stranding two Virginia-Wise runners on base in the second, third, fifth and sixth. The only inning in which she retired the side in order was the seventh, as the Cavaliers finished the game with 10 runners left on base. Davis struck out one and did not walk a batter in her third complete game of the season.

Emily Kale (2-1) matched Davis pitch for pitch for the first four innings before giving up a leadoff single to Restivo in the fifth. Pinch-runner Miranda Beeler moved to second on a bunt and took third on a fly ball to right field. With two outs, Kale threw a pitch in the dirt and Beeler was able to dash home with the game's first run.

In the sixth, Keene doubled with one out, and pinch-runner Taylor Lewis scored as a popup behind first base by Hester dropped in for a single which gave Tusculum a 2-0 lead.

Battle and Stoner each went 2-for-3 in game two for the Pioneers while Restivo was 1-for-2 with a walk. Mindy Combs and Alexa Hernandez each had two hits for the Cavaliers, while Kale allowed eight hits and two runs with one walk and one strikeout.