Gallop, Pridgen lead Wesleyan softball to 3-2 win over Averett

Rocky Mount, NC - On 2009 Parent's Day, the North Carolina Wesleyan softball team earned a doubleheader split with Averett University at Edge Field. Saturday's first
game saw the Cougars turn in a 7-1 victory over the Bishops, while it took nine innings
for NCWC to secure a 3-2 win in game two. Sophomore Alexis Gallop twice drove in teammate Carla Pridgen with two-out singles, the first tying the game in the bottom of the seventh and the second winning the game in the bottom of the ninth. Wesleyan is now 7-11 on the season, 2-6 in USA South play. The split leaves Averett with a 13-7 mark and 4-4 league record.

In the opener, the Cougars got all the offense they would need when they plated two runs in the first. Heather Carnes and Emily Atkinson each tallied an RBI in the inning.

Down 3-0 entering the bottom of the fourth, Jessica Poindexter notched Wesleyan's first and only run to cut the deficit to two. Poindexter, who singled to lead off the inning, eventually came around to score on a passed ball.

Averett, however, would outscore the Bishops 4-0 the rest of the way to secure the 7-1 victory. The Cougars finished with 13 hits as a team, led by Carnes' 4-for-4 performance.

AU's Sandra Dennison picked up the win after scattering five hits and striking out five. NCWC's Ashley Driver (3-6) took the loss, giving up six runs (three earned) on 10 hits in six complete.

The Cougars again took an early 1-0 lead in the second game when Carnes singled and was promptly sacrificed to second. She later advanced to third and scored when an Atkinson infield single was deflected behind second base.

Starting pitcher Danielle Emerson made the lead stand up until the bottom of the seventh. Pridgen led off the inning with a single and later tagged on a foul pop-up down the left field line. After a wild pitch moved her to third, Emerson recorded a key strikeout for the second out of the inning. Gallop then delivered a high bouncer up the middle that found its way into center to tie the game at 1-1. Emerson finished the seventh but was relieved by Dennison in the eighth.

Playing under International Tiebreak rules, neither team would plate a run in the first extra frame. Averett managed a 2-1 lead in the ninth when a Heather Trainum RBI-single to shortstop scored Sara Lassiter.

In the bottom of the frame, Pridgen led off with a sharp single to left that plated Jessica Poindexter and tied the game at 2-2. Pridgen, who advanced to second on the throw home, then moved to third on a groundout to shortstop. Much like the seventh, Denison proceeded to record a strikeout to bring up Gallop with a runner on third and two outs. The sophomore delivered again when she ripped a 1-2 pitch into left, scoring Pridgen and igniting the Bishop celebration.

Pridgen finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Starter Brooke Davis (4-5) picked up the complete game win, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits and tallying four strikeouts. Dennison (9-5) took the loss.

The Bishops return to action at home on Sunday when they host non-conference foe Guilford College. Game one is slated for a 2:00 p.m. start at Edge Field.

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