LIVINGSTON, Ala. – West Alabama Softball tallied seven runs in the seventh inning to claim its first Gulf South Conference victory with a 7-6 win over Christian Brothers in game one of a double-header Sunday at the UWA Softball Complex. The Tigers completed the sweep with a 14-8 win in game two.
West Alabama improves to 9-15 overall and 2-12 in the GSC. Christian Brothers drops to 6-18 and 2-12 on a five game losing streak.
"It's nice to get out first conference victory and win the series on day one," said UWA head coach
Will Atkinson.
"We were a little sluggish in the first game, but I'm really proud of the way they went out and battled. They have a lot of grit in them, and despite the struggles early on, I see the growth and I think it really showed in the seventh inning of the first game."
Trailing 4-0 going into the seventh, a CBU error put the Tigers on the board for the first time as
Ashley Stassin scored the first run.
Libby Davis followed with a three run double to tie the game. Three batters later,
Audrey Diekmann sent a three run shot over the center field fence to put UWA ahead.
Defensively, the Tigers committed no errors, while Christian Brothers finished with two. The Buccaneers out-hit UWA 11-8.
Stassin along with
Lacey Santiago led West Alabama with two hits each, while seven different Tigers tallied runs. Gabby Sereika led the Bucs with three hits in three at-bats and three RBI.
Amanda Medders (3-7) took the win allowing six earned runs on 10 hits and striking out three.
Ashley Stassin picked up her first save of the season entering in the bottom of the seventh. KAcey Beekman (0-10) took the loss, allowing three earned runs and eight hits.
The Tiger bats continued to swing away in game two, coming out with a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After CBU answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the inning, UWA went on to score in four of the six ensuing innings, including two four run frames in the third and seventh.
West Alabama led 17-8 in hits in the second game, while both teams committed one error each.
Libby Davis and
Ashley Smart both posted four hits, including a home run each.
Davis' homer came in the seventh, giving her four runs and two RBI's to go with her leadoff triple in the top of the first. Smart belted her home run in the third to finish with two runs and four RBI, as well as two doubles.
Ashlend Rodriguez and
Kristen Bittle each totaled three RBI. Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with a triple, and Bittle went 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Andrea Edmonds (4-3) opened the first six innings to pick up the win. She struck out four and allowed six earned runs on seven hits. Kylie Steagall (1-2) took the loss, giving up nine earned runs through three innings.
"We started things off with a triple in game two, and had two players come one short of hitting the cycle," Atkinson said. "I think we're finally getting good pitches to hit and not missing them when we get them.
Ashley Smart and
Libby Davis ripped the cover off the ball, and we could go through the whole line up, but we had a good day offensively."
The series concludes with game three on Monday. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. at the UWA Softball Complex.
