WC softball heads north on 4-game win streak

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Wilmington College softball team won a pair of games on Thursday, edging Crown College (Minnesota) 7-6 in eight innings and defeating The State University of New York at Canton (SUNY Canton) 5-0 on the final day of the spring trip.

The Fightin’ Quakers concluded their spring trip with a 6-2 record and have won four consecutive games for the first time since early late March/early April of the 2013 season.

In game one, Crown jumped on top 2-0 in the first on four hits, but Wilmington answered with three unearned runs in the bottom half of the first courtesy of RBI-singles from Micalah Hensley and Kendall Barber. After Crown tied the game 3-3, but a single from Allison Pierce scored two runs in the bottom of the second.

“They [Crown] jumped on us early,” WC head coach Beth Floyd said. “We did a good job remaining calm and coming back. I really love the fight of this team.”

Down 6-5, Je’Taysia Johns singled to start the sixth inning and came around to score the equalizing run, 6-6. WC wasted an opportunity to win it in the seventh when the first two runners reached base but failed to score.

In extra innings, the international run rule was in effect, putting a runner at second base to open the eighth inning. Crown got a runner to third base with two outs but failed to score. The Quakers bunted Johns over to third base in the bottom of the eighth inning, and after a groundout, Pierce delivered a walk-off single to left field.

“Allison [Pierce] had herself a game,” Floyd said. “She’s been consistently hitting the ball hard.”

Shell improved to 3-0 on the season with the complete-game win, striking out six and scattering eight hits. Wilmington outhit Crown 13-8 with Pierce leading the way with a 4-hit, 4-RBI day. Johns and Barber also had two hits. Johns scored three runs.

In game two, the Kangaroos could not solve Beth Periscano as the senior earned a complete-game shutout, scattering six hits in the seven innings with six strikeouts. Wilmington batted around in the fourth inning and scored four runs on four hits and an error. The Quakers tagged on one more run with a double steal in the sixth.

“Beth [Periscano] really established the inside part of the zone and that setup all of her other pitches away,” said Floyd.

Pierce finished 2-for-3 in the game while Cook and Hensley had RBI-hits.

Wilmington (6-2) returns to action for a doubleheader at Mount St. Joseph University Thursday.

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