LAKE WALES, Fla. – (19) Warner Softball earned a big pair of Sun Conference victories this afternoon taking down fellow TSC powerhouse Ave Maria.
The Royals took both games this afternoon to improve to 18-6 overall and 3-1 in Sun Conference play.
Trailing 0-3 in the bottom of the 4
th and hitless, the Royals put together a strong offensive front that tied the game at 3-3.
Jennifer Bryant grounded into a fielder's choice that scored
Breyonna Shell. Madsion Ioia singled up the middle scoring
Sara Bruno. Then just after that,
Kasey Heslin picked up her 10
th RBI of the season with a sharp single to left field that scored
Jennifer Bryant.
Tied up in the bottom of the 5
th inning 3-3, Breyonna #Shellshocked the Gyrenes with a 2-run blast giving the Royals a 5-3 lead.
Kasey Heslin added to the bleeding later in the inning with an infield single that scored
Sara Bruno. With bases loaded,
Alison Yawn drew a crucial walk that scored
Andrea Rebello and gave the Royals a 7-3 lead.
The 7-3 lead would hold as
Tiffany Dodson slammed the door shut on the Gyrenes and earned her NAIA leading 13
th win. Dodson threw the complete 7 inning game spreading out 7 hits and 3 unearned runs while striking out 3.
In game two the Gyrenes jumped out to a quick 2-0 over the Royals in the top of the 1
st inning. In the bottom of the inning the Royals answered with a pair of runs of their own. With
Katelyn Richards on second and
Alison Yawn on third, the Gyrenes elected to intentionally walk
Breyonna Shell. The second pitch of the intentional walk slipped away from the Gyrene catcher and
Alison Yawn scored with ease and Richards moved up to third.
Breyonna Shell then grounded out to the pitcher and it scored Richards from third picking up her 34
th RBI of the season placing her in second overall in the nation. The Royals tied the game at 2-2.
Still tied, in the bottom of the 5
th inning,
Ashton Owen powered through a ball down the middle and hit a 2-run shot to center field giving Warner the 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the 6
th inning,
Kasey Heslin hit another single up the middle for an RBI and gave the Royals an eventual 5-2 win.
Tiffany Dodson took the back-to-back wins throwing a complete 7 innings and earning her 14
th victory of the season. Dodson held the Gyrenes to just 4 hits over 7 innings and striking 3 strikeouts.
Warner improves to 18-6 overall and 3-1 in Sun Conference play. They're 6-1 in their last seven games and improve to 12-4 at home on Daly Field. They'll shift their focus over the weekend to next Thursday when they welcome the (25) Fire of Southeastern to Lake Wales.
