Queens softball closed out a two-day road swing with back-to-back wins over Conference Carolinas opponent Barton College. The Royals blanked the Bulldogs 1-0 and 3-0 to improve to 9-5 in league action and 18-21 overall. The Bulldogs drop to 7-9 and 12-20.
The Queens offense connected on three in the first game and seven in the second. Mary Lee Giurintano (Greensboro, N.C. , Glenn ) led the Royals with two hits on the day, including a triple.
Chantel Dodge (Shalimar, Fla., Choctawatchee) completed game one, giving up four hits and putting 12 away on strike outs. Brittany Stephens (Charlotte, N.C., Hickory Grove Baptist) followed suit in the second game, as she gave up five hits and struck six out.
The Royals will play their last home game of the season on Saturday, April 11 at noon. The three seniors will be honored before the game starts.
Game 1
The game passed by with six scoreless innings. It wasn't until Giurintano reached second in the fourth that any runner made it past first base.
Everything changed in the top of the seventh. For the second time this season Audra Littlejohn (Riverside, Calif., Centennial ) knocked in the game-winning run with a single. Stephens started the inning with a single to reach first and was advanced on the next play. Two batters later Littlejohn stepped to the plate and put a shot to right field allowing Stephens to round third and cross home.
Dodge gave up a double to start the seventh, but a fly out and two Ks put the Bulldogs away 1-0.
Game 2
Queens started a little earlier in the second game, posting a run in the first inning. Giurintano started the game on a walk and was moved around with an Amanda Bowman (Kernersville, N.C,, Glenn) single and two ground outs for the first run.
Two triples, one by Giurintano and one from Megan Campbell (Raleigh, N.C., Athens Drive ), and a single by Kari Kmetic (Milwaukie, Ore., Putnam) put the Royals up 3-0 in the third.
The defense did their part to keep the advantage. There were no errors made and only one batter was able to get past first base.
