COLUMBIA, Ky. - 16th-ranked Lindsey Wilson softball rattled off three home runs as part of 23 hits in a two-game sweep of Union Commonwealth (Ky.) on Wednesday at Marilyn D. Sparks Park.
Nora Epley was responsible for one of the long balls as the sophomore drove in six runs on three hits.
Kaiden Rodgers batted 5-for-7 with a home run and two RBIs, and
Emerson McKinnis chipped in three RBIs on four hits.
The Blue Raider pitching staff locked down the Bulldogs by holding the visitors to six hits and recording 17 strikeouts.
Game One: No. 16 Lindsey Wilson 8, Union Commonwealth 0 (6 Innings)
Hallie Roberts worked an exceptional outing from the circle for Lindsey Wilson, firing the complete-game shutout and limiting Union Commonwealth to one hit and two base runners.
The first four outs of the game came courtesy of Roberts' strikeouts. She ultimately finished the day with six.
Lindsey Wilson got to work quickly on offense. On a 0-1 pitch from the leadoff spot, Epley got ahold of one and cleared the center field fence for her first home run of the season and second for her career. Two batters later,
Natalie Wandrie doubled to the wall in right center, then McKinnis sent a base hit up the middle to plate Wandrie and improve the Blue Raiders' lead to 2-0.
In the second inning, consecutive singles and respective stolen bases by
Summer Ray and
Atavya Fowler set up Epley for a sacrifice flyout. The next at-bat, Rodgers connected on a no-doubter to left field to run the score up to 5-0.
Epley was heard from, again, in the third frame as her sacrifice bunt squeezed home Ray for the Blue Raiders' sixth run of the game.
After two scoreless innings, McKinnis served up the dagger in the bottom of the sixth inning by dropping a double down the right field line to plate
Natalie Shaw and
McKenna English. The two-run hit triggered Lindsey Wilson second run-rule victory of the year.
Game Two: No. 16 Lindsey Wilson 9, Union Commonwealth 2
Kayden Murray downed 11 Bulldogs on strikes in a relief effort to clinch her 13th victory of the season and surpass her win total from a year ago. The junior's entrance into the game came after Union Commonwealth opened the scoring in the top half of the first inning.
Trailing 1-0, Lindsey Wilson wasted no time making up the early deficit. Back-to-back walks to Epley and Rodgers, followed by a single to center field by
Sam Hartman knotted the game at 1-1. A pair of bases-loaded walks pushed the Blue Raiders in front 3-1, and a single from Fowler the short side to scored McKinnis.
A wild pitch by the Bulldogs allowed
Hannah Carter to trot down the line from third, then Epley finished off the barrage by doubling to right center field to bring home Fowler and Ray.
The Blue Raiders took their 7-1 advantage into the top of the third inning where Union Commonwealth managed to get one back on a solo home run. In the bottom leg of the frame, however, Epley earned that tally right back off an RBI-single, effectively capping her 6-RBI day.
Lindsey Wilson's final run of the evening rocked the park in the bottom of the fifth inning, as
Alyssa Philpot skied her first career home run to deep left field.
Murray closed her book with 6 2/3 innings pitched, an earned run on two hits, two walks, and her fifth outing of double-digit strikeouts this season.
The Blue Raiders resume conference play at 1 and 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 28 against Georgetown (Ky.).
