Sansbury not 'satisfied' with UMO's sweep of Fayetteville State

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 25, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Backpack draped over her shoulder and trying to shield herself from a pollen-filled breeze, University of Mount Olive head softball coach Mandy Sansbury -- despite a doubleheader sweep of Fayetteville State -- didn't feel like celebrating Thursday afternoon.

She felt the Trojans could have played better.

UMO took the opener in lucky fashion, 2-1. Madison Johnston threw a shutout in the nightcap, a 5-0 decision that could have ended via the mercy rule had the Trojans been effective early with runners in scoring position.

"We came out flat and they came out ready to play, and we happened to piece a couple of things together that happened to fall our way ... lucked out a little bit," Sansbury said.

Trailing 1-0 through 5 1/2 innings in game one, the Trojans' Savannah Becker connected on a lead-off single to right center in the bottom of the sixth. Rosewood grad Anna Ingram drew a walk and was replaced at first base by Charlene Thompson.

Madison Stewart drove in Becker, who plowed over FSU catcher Shi-Cara Goins at the plate for the game-tying run. A stunned Goins lay on her back as a teammate fumbled for the loose softball, and watched Thompson race home unchallenged for a 2-1 advantage.

Stewart's base knock was UMO's lone hit -- in 10 at-bats -- with a runner in scoring position.

"That's the game. Sometimes you need luck more than you need talent," said Sansbury. "This was definitely one of those games that shows you that. The rest of the season has been luck has went the other way."

Julie Hodges claimed the mound win in relief of starter Caitlin Ewers, who surrendered an unearned run in the second inning. Hodges (6-3) provided five innings of one-hit, three-strikeout relief.

The Trojans (17-15 overall) stranded runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings in game two. An infield error allowed Becker to score and put UMO ahead 1-0 in the third inning.

Ewers' RBI groundout and Kelsey Akers' run-scoring double in the power alley pushed the Trojans' advantage to 3-0 in the fourth. UMO tacked on two sixth-inning runs and improved to 18-1 all-time against the Broncos since 1996.

Johnston (10-6) tossed a five-hitter and logged two strikeouts in her 11th complete game of the season.

"I'm not satisfied with the second game, I think we still came out a little flat and I told them that," Sansbury said. "I like that we were getting more runners on ... were stealing bases (and) putting runners in scoring position that way.

"We were hitting the ball a little bit better, so that was good. But there's still things we could have worked on. Pitching both games looked solid."