BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (March 23, 2019) – The No. 17 Truett McConnell University softball team swept Union College (8-5, 10-0), who was undefeated in conference play, in an Appalachian Athletic Conference showdown. While the Lady Bears won game two in five innings, the sweep moved the Lady Bears up to the second ranked team in the AAC (24-6, 9-1 AAC) and pushed the Bulldogs down in the standings to third in the conference (22-11, 12-2 AAC).
GAME ONE (8-5)
After Union earned a run in the bottom of the first, junior Sarah Sullivan brought home fellow junior Macey Dunaway to match (1-1). The Bulldogs scored again in the bottom of the second (1-2) but Alisha Price was moved home on a walk to tie it back up in the third (2-2). Junior Peyton Wilson successfully reached first on bunt that scored Sullivan in the top of third (3-2). However, Union got back out front again in the bottom of the fourth (3-4).
The Bulldogs pushed to lead by two runs in the bottom of the sixth (3-5) but it was only up from there for the Lady Bears. Junior Liz Bunton sparked a huge inning for TMU with a double to deep right-center field. With two outs, Sullivan then drove her home on a single through the hole at shortstop (4-5). It was senior Brie Levy's single through the hole at short scored the tying run (5-5) but freshman Briley Lawson rose to the occasion. The freshman smacked a three run home run over the right field fence on a 1-2 count to clinch the win (8-5). Lawson now has four home runs on the year.
LEADERS
Junior Jaden Morrison went perfect (2-for-2) while Lawson went 2-for-4 and Sullivan went 3-for-5. Bunton, Levy, Wilson, Alisha Price and Dunaway all added a hit apiece.
The reigning AAC pitcher of the year, Karley Hobbs, earned her first win on the day after throwing the final four innings to relieve Bethany Hyde. Hobbs allowed three hits, one earned run, walked one and struck out five.
GAME TWO (10-0)
TMU's momentum carried over in the second game. Following a scoreless two innings, the Lady Bears swung for four hits, forced three Union defensive errors and recorded eight runs to put the game out of reach in the third inning. Levy sparked the dominating inning with a double deep down the right field line. The Bulldogs had a wild throw on Wilson's sacrifice bunt which allowed Levy and Lawson to cross home plate (2-0). Dunway followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Wilson (3-0).
A couple more singles allowed three more runs for the Lady Bears (6-0) but most notable, Levy smashed a two run home run over the left field fence on a 0-1 count to ultimately put the game out of reach (8-0). Still holding Union scoreless, the Lady Bears added two more runs in the fifth (10-0). Despite bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Hobbs backed up by stellar defense fastened the sweep with a mercy rule.
LEADERS
Sullivan went 3-for-4, putting her at 6-for-9 on the day, while Levy went 2-for-4. Senior Kaitlynn Johnson and Morrison went 1-for-2; Morrison's batting average now ranks sixth in the AAC (.479).
Hobbs earned her second win of the day, third of the weekend, to stay undefeated on the mound (16-0) with an ERA of 1.37. Hobbs allowed three hits throughout the five innings.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"The girls had so much fight today," Head Coach Jenni Shepard said. "They never gave up and did their job executing on offense. Anytime you are down to the final out of the game and are down by one run and have back to back singles and then a three run blast to go up by three, it's a great win. But when it's against a team that's undefeated in conference play and at home it makes it even better.
That took all the wind out of their sails and in game two we were able to combine hits with defensive mistakes to get the 10-0 win in five. Proud of the girls for coming ready to play today. Go Bears!"
UP NEXT
The Lady Bears are set to host the top team in the AAC, Tennessee Wesleyan, on Wednesday, March 27, at 2:00 p.m.
