From Meredith Sports Information Department, March 7, 2015
RALEIGH, N.C. - With little daylight remaining on the Meredith College softball field, senior Amanda White ripped a homer over the left field fence scoring Brittany Bucklin for a 4-3 win over the Huntingdon Hawks. The victory capped off a sweep in Saturday's USA South opener as the Avenging Angels used an extra inning to win 2-1 in game one.
After a scoreless three innings to start off the first game on the day, rookie pitcher Taylor Jackson walked in a run to put the Hawks on the scoreboard.
Angel Eran Artigues scored Katlyn Johnson in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game.
Meredith left White at third base in the seventh to force an extra inning, But Jackson struck out the first two Hawks to give her defense an edge. White knocked off the third out with a clean play at short to send the Angels back to the dugout.
With Sarah Watson placed on second in the bottom of the eighth per NCAA tiebreaker rules, Erica Occena moved her to the corner on a sacrifice. Kayla North found the gap through the right side to send Watson home for the win.
The thrilling nightcap started quickly as a single from Heather McGuirk scored Gabby Alcantar to put Huntingdon on the board early.
Three quick outs from the Meredith bats sent the Hawks back to the dugout, and the visitors scored an unearned run on an infield misstep.
White led off in the bottom of the frame with a home run, and aggressive base running from Watson scored an extra run to tie the game at twos. With the sun falling and the possibility of a shortened game in sight, the Hawks' McGuirk scored Alcantar again to edge Huntingdon back into the lead.
Jackson struckout two Hawks in the sixth and the defense took care of the first three batters in the seventh to give Meredith one last shot to catch HC. Bucklin recorded her fourth hit on the day with a double to left center, and White's homer scored two to log the win.
Jackson earned a pair of wins in two complete games pitched. She allowed nine hits with three earned runs and nine strikeouts. Katy Messick took the loss in game one for Huntingdon, and Raina Lanier earned the second.
Box Score - Game One
Box Score - Game Two
