MEMPHIS—The Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs swept a pair of one-run games from West Alabama Monday afternoon as they moved to .500 on the season, winning the opener 2-1 and claiming an eight-inning 6-5 win in the nightcap.
The Lady Bucs (8-8) struck first in the bottom of the first inning as
Kathleen Nelson (Bartlett, Tenn./Bolton HS) reached on a bunt single. She moved around to third on a pair of groundouts and scored on a passed ball. UWA (20-8) answered with a run in the third as Angela Hanna singled and scored on an Anna Shartzer single.
The Lady Bucs scored the game-winner in the bottom of the sixth as
Alana Kramer (Jackson, Tenn./North Side HS) hit a leadoff double to right-center. She moved to third on a
Kaylea Brewer (Pulaski, Tenn./Giles County HS) sacrifice bunt, and
Lauren Dorsett (Mufreesboro, Tenn./Blackman HS) drove her in on a single to center.
Michelle McEachron (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS) picked up the first of two wins on the day with three shutout innings of relief. She allowed three hits and struck out three, with no walks. Nelson and Dorsett collected two hits each as the Lady Bucs were held to five hits in the game.
In the nightcap, UWA scored in the top of the first as Stephanie Beahn singled and came home on a Lauren Mills double.
Kaylea Brewer started what would become a big game as she hit a two-run double to right-center in the second inning to put CBU on the board after a
Brooke Davis (Southaven, Miss./Southaven HS) single and an
Alyse Brewer (Florence, Ala./Florence HS) walk. Davis drove in
Casey King (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound HS) with a single in the third to extend the lead to 3-1 after King had singled and stolen second with one out in the inning.
The Lady Bucs seemed to put it out of reach in the sixth on two singles and three walks, but UWA stayed in it with an inning-ending double play.
But the Tigers answered with four in the top of the seventh on three singles, a walk, two errors, a passed ball, and two wild pitches to send the game to extra innings.
In the eighth, West Alabama stranded their International Tiebreaker runner at third after a strikeout, a sacrifice, and a flyout. Dorsett hit a grounder back to the mound to start the bottom of the eighth, and UWA pitcher Jessica Cervantes threw to third to try to retire Alyse Brewer, who slid into third safely around the tag. Kaylea Brewer blasted a long single off the fence in center to end the game.
Kaylea Brewer was 2-for-3 with four RBI in the game, while Davis went 3-for-3 with two runs. McEachron (3-4) earned the win as she threw four and two-third innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Leigh Ann Henry (Nashville, Tenn./David Lipscomb HS) allowed four runs, two earned, on three hits and two walks in three and a third innings.
The Lady Bucs' games scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday against Henderson State have been postponed again due to travel difficulties for Henderson State. The Lady Bucs return to the field Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. for a doubleheader against Cumberland.