JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After the Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take Game One of this afternoon's doubleheader, 3-1, the No. 21 Queens University of Charlotte softball team rebounded with an impressive all-around performance to notch a 7-1 win in Game Two on the road at Carson-Newman University's Vickee Kazee-Hollifield Softball Complex.
Queens moves to 27-5 on the season and improves to 4-2 in South Atlantic Conference play. Carson-Newman, the 2017 SAC Champions, now holds a 20-10 record, going 2-4 in league action.
After recording just three hits in seven innings in Game One, the Royals bats came to life in a big way in Game Two led by a five-run sixth inning.
Abby Lathan sparked the offensive attack with a two-run homer over the left-center field fence. It was her third home run in four games and increases her season total to six, which ties both
Sydney Ditto and
Jordan Hunt.
Allison Lopez followed with a RBI double that scored
Elaina Frantellizzi before
Breanna Martinez and Ditto finished off the scoring with RBI singles.
Frantellizzi had four hits on the day, three of which came in Game Two, to go along with two RBIs and two runs scored. Her good day at the plate bumps her season average above .400 as she now sits at .405, tied for second highest on the team with
Sara Ingoldsby. Ditto leads the team with a .412 average and totaled two hits on Sunday.
Shannon McGuire picked up the win on the day, pitching a strong 4.1 innings and allowing only four hits and one earned run. She struck out three batters and improved her season record to a flawless 11-0. After picking up both wins on Friday,
Courtney Pearson relieved McGuire in the fifth inning and was credited with the save, her third this season. She struck out four while not allowing a single hit over 2.2 innings.
Pearson pitched all six innings of Game One, giving up three runs, two earned, on eight hits. She pitched five-straight innings striking out seven batters and not allowing a run before Carson-Newman struck for three in the bottom of the sixth.
Queens will take only one day off before heading to Salisbury, N.C., for a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader against Catawba College. The first game will begin at 2 p.m., and the second is scheduled to follow at 4 p.m.
