LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama softball team erased an 8-2 Kentucky Wesleyan lead in the final game of the UWA Invitational as the Tigers scored a pair of runs in their final at bat to claim a 9-8 win to complete the sweep of the Panthers. UWA blanked KWC 9-0 in the opener.
Trailing 8-7 going into the bottom of the seventh, UWA's Valisha Fincher walked and moved to second on single by Ashley Frost. Lauren Mills grounded out for the second out of the inning, but pushed the pair of runners up a base. Anna Shartzer grounded a ball to the shortstop, but the throw was dropped by KWC first baseman Eden Bray. Fincher scored along with Frost to give the Tigers' their 13th win of the season.
After KWC (0-9) took an 8-2 lead after its at bat in the fifth, the UWA bats were awaken in the home half of the fifth. Shartzer led off the frame with her first collegiate home run with a shot over the left field fence. After a Kelli Hartley single and a pair of walks, Fincher cranked a pinch hit grand slam to right to get UWA within a run at 8-7. UWA's Katie Ford pitched the final two innings to silence the KWC bats and earn her ninth win of the season. The Panthers touched UWA starter Hannah Billingsley and reliever Jessica Cervantes for 10 hits and seven earned runs.
KWC's Ashley Eberhard finished the second game 3-for-4 with three RBI.
In the opener, The Tiger offense spotted Ford four runs in the first and the junior from Garden City, Kan. gave up just two hits in a complete game performance. On the day, Ford turned in nine strike outs in eight innings of work. Junior Jessica Powell started her 2-for-3 outing in the opener with an RBI single to plate the first of four runs in the inning. Frost sandwiched a single between Powell's at bat and Lindsey Skinner's triple to right field, pushing across two more runs. Frost added her second RBI of the day with a ground out to shortstop in the third. Powell, who reached via a walk, scored on a pass ball for the second run of the inning. Back-to-back doubles by Skinner and Hartley extended UWA's lead to 7-0 after five innings. UWA closed out the game with a pair of runs in the sixth. After back-to-back hits by Stephanie Beahn and Jennifer Lillard, Powell doubled to left field to close out the game.
UWA closes out its current six-game homestand on Tuesday, March 2 against Millsaps College. First pitch is set for 3 p.m., at the UWA Softball Complex.
