MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum softball team totaled 20 runs and 34 hits on the day in a doubleheader sweep of Milligan Sunday afternoon at Anglin Field.
Tusculum posted a season-high 19 hits and led wire-to-wire in a 10-3 victory in the first game. In the night-cap, the Pioneers rallied from a pair of five-run deficits and scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to edge the Lady Buffs 10-9 to complete the sweep.
Of Tusculum's 34 hits on Sunday, 12 went for extra bases including five doubles, two triples and five home runs, including two round-trippers from Brittney Franse.
With the wins, the Pioneers snap a six-game losing streak and end the 2018 campaign with a 24-25 record. Milligan drops to 22-18 to wrap up its regular season.
Game 1: Tusculum 10, Milligan 3
Tusculum junior Taylor Battle tied a pair of school single-game records for triples and total bases as the Pioneers prevailed 10-3 over Milligan.
Battle went 4-for-5 at the plate including a double, two triples and a home run while finishing the game with three RBI and three runs scored. It marks only the 12th time in TC history that a player has posted two triples in a game. She finishes 2018 with eight triples, which also matches a Tusculum single-season mark posted by and Becki Jones (1993) and Shonna Richardson (1996).
Battle's 12 total bases matches the school single-game record also posted by Brie Griffin against Milligan in 2007 and Ashley Basilicato's game total at Virginia-Wise in 2008.
Emily Hester went 3-for-5 in the game with two runs scored and her fifth home run of the season. Joining Battle and Hester with multiple-hit outings are Delaney Guerrero, Courtney Gibson, Emma Casey and Franse all boasted two-hit performances.
Tusculum starting pitcher Ashley Scozzari (3-0) picked up the victory as she scattered three runs, eight hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Taylor Plemons pitched three innings of one-hit, shutout softball with two walks and four strikeouts to record her second save of the year.
The Pioneers led 3-0 scoring two runs in the second inning and one in the third. In the second, TC mounted a two-out rally as Franse singled home Sammie West and Battle tripled down the right field line. In the third frame, Anna Alloway hit a one-out double to make it a 3-0 contest.
Milligan hit back-to-back one-out doubles in the third inning, including Neelee Griffith eighth of the season.
The Pioneers answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth including a solo homer from Franse to left field. Battle followed with her second straight triple of the game and later scored on a Milligan error as the Pioneers led 5-1.
The Lady Buffs trimmed the deficit to 5-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and had the tying runs on base with no outs. Plemons relieved Scozzari in the circle and got a strikeout and a double play snuff out the rally and preserve the lead.
The Pioneers added two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to put the game out of reach. In the sixth, Battle led off with a double and later scored on Gibson's first collegiate hit. Hester followed with a two-run blast over the fence in center field. In the seventh, the Pioneers tacked on four more hits, including a Gabby Williams RBI single and Battle's two-run homer to right.
Tusculum's 19-hit barrage is the sixth highest single-game tally in Pioneer history.
Game 2: Tusculum 10, Milligan 9
Taylor Johnson hit a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning and Sammie West drove in the game-winner with her two-out single later in the frame as Tusculum rallied to a 10-9 victory over Milligan to complete the twin-bill sweep.
Tusculum trailed 6-1 and 8-3 as the Pioneers scored nine runs over the last four innings to get the comeback win. The Pioneers totaled 15 hits in the game including 10 hits over the final two frames.
Williams led all players with her 3-for-4 performance, while Johnson went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Sammie West went 2-for-3, while Emma Casey had a pair of hits and scored a pair of runs.
Franse put the Pioneers on the scoreboard first with her solo home run in the opening frame. The Lady Buffs answered with Erica Roller's solo shot in the bottom of the first.
Milligan tallied a run in the second and four runs in the third to lead 6-1. The Lady Buffs got the second started with a single from Rachel Coffey and Kaylee Frascatore and Taylor Begley where hit by consecutive pitches to load the bases and Kayla Baker reached on an infield single for a 2-1 Milligan lead. Richesin bounced back though as she forced back-to-back force outs at the plate and caught a pop up back to the circle to limit the damage.
But in the four-run third, Frascatore and Begley hit consecutive two-run doubles and knocked Richesin out of the game. Lizzy Galloway took over the in the circle and responded by recording a strikeout, a lineout and a pop up to end the inning.
TC plated two runs in the fourth as Hester led off with a walk and moved to third on Anna Alloway's 13th double of the year. Johnson followed with a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-2 contest. Emma Casey later lined a two-out single to left field as the Pioneers trailed 6-3.
Milligan got the two runs back thanks to a pair of Tusculum errors as the home team led 8-3.
The Pioneers began its rally with an unearned run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth thanks to RBI hits from Williams, Tori West and Sammie West as Tusculum trailed 8-7. Griffith led off the sixth with her 10th home run of the season for a 9-7 Milligan advantage.
In the bottom of the seventh, Alloway led off with a single and Emily White came aboard to pinch run for her. Johnson wasted little time and hit a two-run shot over the right field fence to tie the game. Williams kept the pressure on as she followed with her third single of the game. Casey reached on an error to put runners on the corners. Gibson hit a grounder to the first baseman who threw out Williams at the plate for the first out of the inning. After a strikeout for the second out, Sammie West came up with the big hit with her RBI single up the middle to drive in Casey with the game-winning run.
Milligan wouldn't go away as Frascatore led off with a double down the left field line. But Galloway retired the next three batters on a strikeout, infield pop-up and a ground out to end the game.
Galloway improved to 4-5 on the season as he went five innings, allowed three hits, three runs (one earned) and posted three strikeouts.
Guerrero ended the regular season with a .421 batting average which was best on the team and fourth in the South Atlantic Conference. Her 67 total hits were the second-most in the league and are tied for the sixth-most in a Tusculum single-season.
