By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – William Carey softball has established a high standard of performance over the years, and this season is no different.
The nationally-ranked Lady Crusaders stayed red-hot as they approach the end of the regular season and the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament with a weekend sweep of Bethel (Tenn.) University.
Carey got a dramatic home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 3-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at Joseph and Mary Fail Field, then used two big innings for a 9-4 win in the nightcap.
WCU, No. 15 in the latest NAIA rankings, improved to 34-10 overall and is still in contention for at least a share of the SSAC regular-season title at 22-6 in league play. Bethel dropped to 23-20 and 15-13.
“I hope we’re peaking at the right time,” said Lady Crusaders’ coach Craig Fletcher, whose team has won seven straight games. “We had a good run there earlier in the year, then we lost three in a row. Now we’re back on another good run here.”
Carey locked up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which begins May 2 at Decatur, Ala., after winning all four games over Bethel this weekend. WCU swept the Lady Wildcats 8-2 and 2-1 on Friday.
“I think we’ve grown a lot as a team as the season has gone along,” said third baseman Kaitlyn Thompson, one of four seniors honored before Saturday’s twinbill. “We’re doing all the little things right and never giving up.”
It was Thompson who had the big blow for Carey in the opener, with a wind-blown two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning, after Bethel took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth.
Until then, neither team had gotten much done offensively. The Lady Crusaders got two singles to open their half of the second but got nothing else in the inning.
The Lady Wildcats took advantage of some uncharacteristically shaky play in the Carey infield to produce both of their runs.
Madison White led off with a double, then the Lady Crusaders threw away a sacrifice bunt to allow one run to score, and another error set up Bethel for its second run, on a groundout.
But WCU freshman left-hander Haley Nations settled down to get out of the fifth, then retired the Lady Wildcats in order in the sixth.
“I just had to put what happened (in the fifth) behind me,” said Nations, who improved to 13-4 for the season. “I just go out like it’s 0-0 every inning. I just had spot it up good and hit my locations like I was told then let it go from there.”
Bethel left-hander Maddie Cochran (8-10) got two quick outs in the sixth, but Carey senior Harli Crow stroked a single up the middle and scored on Abby Kennedy’s double to the base of the wall in left-centerfield.
Thompson got a high fastball that she muscled up on and the breeze did the rest, taking it beyond the fence in left for a two-run homer.
“I was looking for a pitch right in my wheelhouse,” said Thompson. “I knew she had been throwing it up, and I just got a good swing on a good pitch and good things happened. I definitely thought it had a chance the way the wind was blowing.”
Nations the Lady Wildcats out in the seventh 1-2-3 to nail down the victory. She allowed just three hits, struck out seven and walked two.
“That was huge,” said Fletcher. “We were down and just never could seem to do the things we needed to do to respond. I stayed on them about continuing to swing the bat, and I challenged them in the sixth to get it done. I’m very proud of them for what they did there.”
The momentum carried over into the second game, as the Lady Crusaders scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Junior Kristen Sexton led off with a single, and her sister Megan sacrificed her to second. A wild pitch moved Sexton to third and Thompson drove in the run with a single. Odom got two runs home on a dropped fly ball, and Caitlyn Castille made it 4-0 with another single.
Bethel got two of the runs back with solo tallies in the third and fifth, but the Lady Crusaders got the final out on a play at the plate after a two-out double.
Carey then scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth on just one hit and three Bethel errors.
Sophomore Lindsey Johnson (16-6) pitched six innings, allowing four hits, striking out four and walking two. Junior Olivia Holley surrendered two unearned runs in a seventh-inning relief stint.
The Lady Crusaders will complete the regular season next week with doubleheaders next Friday and Saturday at Blue Mountain.
“It’s always tough to play on the road,” said Fletcher. “They played us tough last year, and I know they won’t give us anything free up there. All we can do is take care of business for ourselves.”
Carey Softball Linescore
Saturday at Joseph and Mary Fail Field
William Carey 3, Bethel (Tenn.) 2
Bethel 000 020 0 – 2 3 0
WCU 000 003 x – 3 6 2
BETHEL (23-19, 15-12 in SSAC): Gillian Grahn 2 1B; Madison White 2B. LP – Maddie Cochran (8-10).
WILLIAM CAREY (33-10, 21-6 in SSAC): Harli Crow 1B; Anna Kennedy 2B, 1B; Kaitlyn Thompson HR (2-run), 1B; Mary Blair Owen 2B. WP – Haley Nations (13-4) 7 Ks.
William Carey 9, Bethel (Tenn.) 4
Bethel 001 010 2 – 4 7 5
WCU 200 050 x – 9 10 2
BETHEL (23-20, 15-13 in SSAC): Madison White 1B; Iesha Kizer 2B, 1B; Gillian Grahn 1B; Maddie Cochran 1B; Jezebelle Quintana 1B; Lexie Miller 1B. LP – Jezebelle Quintana (2-3).
WILLIAM CAREY (34-10, 22-6 in SSAC): Kristen Sexton 2 1B; Megan Sexton 1B; Kaitlyn Thompson 2 1B; Macy Monk 3 1B; Caitlyn Castille 2 1B. WP – Lindsey Johnson (16-6). Also pitching – Olivia Holley.
