Trojans sweep Barton on CVAC softball scene

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on April 7, 2006 1:57 PM

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WILSON -- Bailey Harrell's fourth-inning home run broke a 1-1 tie and Christine Ermer pitched two innings of scoreless relief to lift Mount Olive to a 3-1 victory over Barton in game one of a Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference softball doubleheader Thursday. Ermer entered the game in the sixth inning with a runner on third and nobody out.

The Trojans completed the sweep with an 8-0 win in the nightcap as Shauna Cowdrey tossed a three-hitter.

Mount Olive (23-26 overall, 6-12 CVAC) took a quick 1-0 lead in game one as Tiffanie Pittman led off the game with a single down the left field line, moved to second on Melissa Bright's sacrifice and scored on Georgette Richardson's two-out single to left-center.

Barton (8-25, 2-14) tied the game in the bottom of the third on Jennifer Mitchell's two-out rbi-single up the middle. The Bulldogs had runners on first and second, but Trojan starter Krystal Bourne (9-10) got out of the inning on a force out at third.

Mount Olive took the lead for good with one out in the top of the fourth when Harrell went opposite field with a solo home run to right. The home run was Harrell's 11th of the season, second most in the CVAC.

Bourne held Barton to one run despite giving up leadoff singles in the second through fifth innings. She scattered eight hits, struck out three and walked two.

Jenna Gregory led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple to the fence in center field, chasing Bourne. Ermer retired the first batter she faced on a ground ball to third, then Richardson threw Gregory out at the plate on a grounder to first. After the next batter walked, the Trojans ended the threat when Morgan Whaley fielded a grounder at third and tagged the bag for the third out.

The Trojans added an insurance run in the top of the seventh as Erin Wilson laced a two-out double down the left field line and scored on Pittman's single to center.

Ermer allowed a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, but closed out the game on an infield pop-up to earn her third save of the season.

In the second game, Mount Olive took advantage of three Barton errors, a wild pitch and a passed ball to push five runs across the plate in the top of the first. Pittman's leadoff single was the Trojans' only hit in the inning.

Richardson singled home a run in the second and Erin Wilson capped the Trojans' scoring in the third inning, driving in a run with a triple and scoring on a passed ball.

Cowdrey (10-11) retired the side in order in each of the first two innings before allowing a pair of singles in the third. Barton threatened in the bottom of the fifth, putting runners on first and second on a single and walk with nobody out. But Cowdrey helped herself out defensively by starting a 1-5-3 double play and sealed the run-rule victory on a fly out to right.

Cowdrey struck out one and walked one as she picked up her third win in her last four decisions. The Trojans have won their last three games.

Mount Olive concludes regular season conference play Sunday as the Trojans travel to Hartsville, S.C., to take on Coker in a CVAC doubleheader. Game time is 2 p.m.