BURLINGTON, N.C. --
The Peace College
softball team
advanced into the winners’
bracket in the USA South conference
tournament after a 6-5 win over Methodist
University in today’s
opening round. The
Pacer defense held off a five-run
Monarch rally
in the seventh inning to
seal the win.
Peace’s
Ashley Stansbury (13-8) earned
the win for the Pacers allowing 10
hits, 3 runs earned with 1 walk and 1 strikeout.
Jessica Pridgen
(4-4) took the loss for the Monarchs allowing seven hits, two runs
earned with two walks and 1 strikeout.
Both teams
remained scoreless until the Pacers opened with a three-run lead in
the
bottom of three. Catcher Melissa Williams advanced on a walk
and her pinch runner
Allison Gilmore moved to second on a sacrifice
form Morgan Weathington. Second
baseman Amanda Beach doubled down
the right field line to score Gilmore and move
Courtney Long, who
singled on a bunt, to third. After Stansbury reached on an outfield
error, the Monarchs closed out the inning.
Methodist
earned two hits over the next two innings but could not score. Jody
Eyler
doubled to left center in the fourth but was left on base.
Shortstop Sara Poling picked up
her second hit of the game in the
top of five and Cortney Kerns singled to left.
In the
bottom of the frame, Peace completed another three-run inning on
three hits and
one Monarch error to push the lead to six.
The
Monarch’s catcher Darci Martin unleashed a five-hit, five-run rally
in the top of seven
with a homerun to left. Singles from Pridgen,
pinch hitter Alex Bass, and Kerns loaded
the bases, and Stansbury
walked in the second run. Kayla Talbert earned an RBI-
single to
right field. Weathington and Beach allowed two more on two Pacer
errors
before Stansbury struck out Martin and center fielder Tiffany
DeLeone completed the
third out on a fly ball catch.
Methodist
will face Mary Baldwin College in the nightcap. The Pacers play the
winner of
today’s 1:00 pm Christopher Newport/Averett University
game tomorrow beginning at
Noon.
