Mars Hill sweeps UVa-Wise in non-conference play
The Mars Hill softball team (10-5) swept visiting UVa-Wise (5-5) Thursday afternoon at Ponder Field by taking game one in five innings with a score of 21-0 and game two by a score of 4-3.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill softball team (10-5) swept visiting UVa-Wise (5-5) Thursday afternoon at Ponder Field by taking game one in five innings with a score of 21-0 and game two by a score of 4-3. Jordan Harris hit four home runs on the day and drove in nine runs.
GAME ONE: MHU 21, UVa 0
Mars Hill throttled the Cavaliers in game one with 21 runs on 23 hits. The Lions opened the game with a four-run first inning. Casey Stanek opened the scoring with a RBI single up the middle that plated Ragan Broome. Harris increased the Lions' lead later in the frame with a two-run single that scored Stanek and Hannah Smith. Ashley Evans knocked in a run with a single up the middle.
A seven-run second inning up Mars Hill up 11-0, highlighted by Harris' first home run of the day, a three-run blast to center field. The Lions tacked on another three runs in both the third and fourth innings. In the third, leading 13-0, Emiley Burriss' solo home run to right center field put Mars Hill up by 14 entering the fourth.
Stanek recorded another RBI single in the fourth while Harris hit her second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left center field. In the fifth inning, the Lions reeled off three straight home runs to go up 21-0. The hits came from Broome, Addison Harris and Stanek.
Broome and Jordan Harris went 9-for-9 in the game, collectively, and drove in 10 RBI combined.
Stanek won her fifth game of the year and first on the day, going five innings and allowing one hit while striking out seven. Raychel Lapallo gave up seven runs on nine hits in 1.1 innings pitched for the loss.
GAME TWO: MHU 4, UVa 3
Jordan Harris' game-winning home run in the bottom of the sixth inning allowed the Lions to complete the sweep. Tied at three, Harris' fourth home run of the day was the game-winning marker for Mars Hill to win their third straight game.
The Cavaliers struck first in the top of the second with a solo home run off the bat of Kailyn Spencer. The Lions responded in the bottom half of the frame with Harris' first home run of the contest, third on the day.
The teams matched each other once more in the fourth, each scoring a run. Kaylee Jones solo home run put UVa-Wise up 2-1 before Taylor Nilsson's RBI single plated Hannah Smith for the tying run.
The Lions took their first lead of the game off of Maggie Langheim's solo blast over the center field fence to go up 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Madison David knotted the game up with a RBI double in the top of the sixth that scored the pinch running Melissa Bartley.
The trio of Harris, Nilsson and Ashley Evans each recorded two hits in the game while Spencer and Shannon Bennett led the Cavaliers with two hits apiece.
Casey Stanek, entering the game in the top of the sixth, earned her second win on the day, striking out two and allowing one run on two hits. Spencer, in six innings pitched, allowed four runs on nine hits while striking out four.
