FLORENCE, S.C. – Jordan Hunt smashed home runs in both games, Courtney Pearson (6-1) notched her second and third wins of the weekend, and the Queens University of Charlotte softball team captured a Sunday doubleheader sweep to round out the Swamp Fox Sizzler at Francis Marion University Softball Stadium in Florence, S.C. 
 
With two wins on Sunday, the Royals improve to 8-4 through the first 12 games of the 2019 season.
 
Game One: Queens 8, West Liberty 2
 
West Liberty jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead through two innings, but after eight unanswered runs from Queens, and for the second day in a row, the Royals got the best of the Hilltoppers, as they went on to down West Liberty by a final score of 8-2. 
 
Entering the game in relief for starting pitcher Kate Hunter, Courtney Pearson pitched the final four innings of one-hit ball for the Royals, allowing no runs while striking out five en route to picking up her fifth win of the season. 
 
Queens was led by a pair of home runs and a trio of doubles in game one. Grace Valchar and Jordan Hunt both went deep, Gerlea Patton, McKenzie McCullen and Cierra Robinson all recorded doubles, and the Royals scored eight runs on seven hits, drawing six walks, in their six-run victory to start the final day of the Swamp Fox Sizzler on Sunday.  
 
After falling down a quick two runs in the first two innings, McCullen singled in leadoff hitter Patton for the Royals' first run in the bottom of the third. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, smashed a solo shot over the center field fence, the freshman's first-career home run and fifth RBI of the season, tying the game at two-runs apiece. 
 
The Royals poured on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend the lead to 4-2 thanks to a Patton double. After the hit scored Breanna Martinez from second base, Patton went all the way around to score on a throwing error by the Hilltoppers' shortstop. 
 
Hunt then broke things open in the fifth inning, driving a three-run shot over the center-field fence, scoring Sara Ingoldsby and McCullen, to extend the lead to five, 7-2. For Hunt, it was her third home run of the season and eighth RBI, both of which are second-highest on the team. 
 
McCullen followed with a RBI double of her own in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Sydney Ditto to extend the lead to 8-2, and that proved more than enough cushion for Pearson, who went on to retire the side in order in the top of the seventh to end the game and help the Royals pick up its seventh win of the year. McCullen notched her third double of the season and team-leading fourth RBI after a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. 
 
Game Two: Queens 7, Francis Marion 1 
 
Queens (8-4) made a statement in game two, downing Francis Marion (12-4) and giving the Patriots only their fourth loss of the season. Pearson picked up the win in the circle for the Royals for the second time in as many games, Hunt homered again, and the Queens took the second game of the weekend against Francis Marion by a score of 7-1.
 
Pearson (5-1) was the story once again for the Royals as the junior captain earned her sixth victory in seven decisions. After blanking West Liberty for the final four innings of game one, Pearson carried her command over to game two, going on to pitch a complete-game performance on only three hits and one earned run. She struck out eight and walked only three. 
 
At the plate, Hunt and McCullen continued to crush. After hitting a two-run single in the top of the third inning, scoring Adriana Wilson and Sydney Ditto to make it a 5-1 game, Hunt blasted her second long-ball of the afternoon, and fourth of the season, sending a two-run shot soaring over the wall in center field for her second home run and seventh RBI of the afternoon.
 
Meanwhile, McCullen got the Royals started at the plate with a single up the middle in the game's first frame, a base knock that allowed Kelly Winter to come around and score the Royals' first run after reaching first base on an infield single earlier in the inning. 
 
Hunt and McCullen have done serious damage at the plate thus far in 2019 for Queens. The duo has combined for eight home runs (a team-leading four apiece) and 27 RBI through just 12 games of the regular season. 
 
The Royals accumulated a total of 10 hits in game two against Francis Marion, while gifting Patriots' freshman pitcher Janecia Hemmingway her first career loss. Winter finished with two hits, and also scored twice, while Ditto had one hit, one run and two RBIs, both of which scored to give Queens a 3-1 lead in the third inning. McCullen finished with a team-high three hits, Hunt had two and Ingoldsby and Robinson each had one. 
 
Queens looks forward to a packed upcoming schedule with three home doubleheaders scheduled in the next week. The Royals will begin their 10-game homestand with two games on Thursday, Feb. 28 against Augusta University in a makeup of postponed games from earlier in the month. The first game of the doubleheader is slated for 2 p.m. at Park Road Park, followed by game two at 4 p.m.