SALISBURY, N.C. – The West Virginia Wesleyan softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at Catawba on Saturday. The Lady Bobcats fell 9-1 in Game 1 and 11-2 in Game 2. Catawba put together 23 hits on the day while Wesleyan was only able to scramble four hits all day.
Game 1
Last year’s ace Hannah Hudson took the mound in the first game of the day. The Lady Bobcats were able to get a runner in scoring position in the second inning but couldn’t capitalize as Jenna Christ struck out looking. In the bottom of the third, Catawba scored on back-to-back RBI doubles in the gap to go up 2-0.
Catawba had all nine batters come to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, plating three runs and forcing Hudson out of the game. Wesleyan kept it at 5-1 after five innings and cut it to 5-2 with a Grace Smith RBI in the top of the sixth.
The bottom of the sixth was the big inning for Catawba, batting around once again and scoring four runs on four hits in the inning. This cut the game short after six innings with the Lady Bobcats losing 9-1.
Hudson took the loss for WVWC and Catawba’s Alexandra Baquie pitched six innings of one-hit ball and six strikeouts to get the win.
Game 2
Kendall Stoffel was the Game 2 starter for Wesleyan. It started off well for WVWC with Alli Robinson hitting a two-run home run to give the Lady Bobcats a 2-0 first inning lead. Catawba’s offense exploded in the second inning, getting six hits and scoring five runs.
Wesleyan had managed the damage but with two outs, Christina Brendle had a bases-clearing double before Stoffel got out of the inning with a strikeout. There was very little action in the third and fourth innings as both teams were hitless in that span.
Catawba scored two more runs in the fifth, one off of a throwing error and one on an RBI double. This chased Stoffel out of the game after five innings of work. In the sixth inning, Catawba cut the game short once again with a grand slam by Molly Strider.
Stoffel was handed the loss after five innings pitched. Savannah Beaver was the winning pitcher for Catawba, pitching five innings and only allowing three hits.
Up Next For The Lady Bobcats
Wesleyan will be at the MEC/PSAC Challenge in Glenville next weekend to face Seton Hill, Slippery Rock and Clarion.
