WESLEYAN SOFTBALL SWEEPS ANDREW COLLEGE FOR FIRST WINS OF SEASON

In their season opening doubleheader, the Wesleyan College softball team swept Andrew College, invoking the run rule in an 8-0 win and pulling out a 7-6 win in nine innings.

In the first game of the day, Wesleyan senior DaLin Gillis (1-0) made quick work of the Lady Tigers, pitching a two-hitter over five innings to get the team’s first win of the season. In addition to her six strikeouts on the mound, Gillis helped herself out offensively by picking up three of Wesleyan’s 10 hits for the game. Also leading the Pioneers’ offensive explosion was sophomore Belle Thomas, who went 3-for-4 from the plate and set the tone early by leading off the game with a double.

In the nightcap, Andrew College began to find its offensive rhythm, but Wesleyan’s persistence at the plate paid off after nine hard-fought innings. After the seventh inning, the game was tied at five runs a piece and both teams scored a run in the eighth inning using the international tie-breaker rule.

To start the ninth inning, senior shortstop Lacie King reached base on a Lady Tiger error. Freshman Brittany Jones was then able to move King to second on a sacrifice, and junior Lindsey Ambegia’s game-winning RBI allowed King to cross the plate to lift the Pioneers to their second victory of the day.

Junior Cheyanne Siebenaler (1-0) picked up the win for the Pioneers, throwing a three-hitter while striking out four. Gillis once again led the Pioneers offensively, going 3-for-5 from the plate with 2 RBIs, one of which tied the game to send it into extra innings.

Following a season in which the Pioneers won only five games, these victories proved to not only boost the young team’s confidence but also to set the tone for the season from the start.

“I could not be prouder of our girls,” stated first year Wesleyan head coach Shannon Fevella. “We were all over the spectrum as far as how we won our games, but we proved a lot to ourselves this afternoon and are really excited for what’s in store for our team this season.”

Wesleyan returns to action next Friday and Saturday, February 6-7, when they play in the Georgia Southwestern Tournament in Americus, Ga. The Pioneers will play Armstrong Atlantic and Georgia Southwestern Friday evening.