By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – It has been business as usual for William Carey University softball this season.
Near the halfway point in the Southern States Athletic Conference season, the Crusaders remain the team to beat after sweeping a conference doubleheader over Talladega College Friday afternoon, taking a pair of 8-0 six-inning run-rule wins at Joseph and Nancy Fail Field.
Carey, ranked seventh in this week’s NAIA national poll, remained undefeated in SSAC play at 10-0 and is 30-3 overall. Talladega dropped to 8-10 and 2-4.
“We needed to swing the bats a little better today, but I’m proud of where we are at right now,” said Carey head coach Craig Fletcher. “My expectations for them are very high, and it’s been a good year.
“A lot of good things have happened; we just want to be clicking on all cylinders as much as we can.”
The Crusaders showed off the whole repertoire against the Tornadoes, smothering pitching, stellar defense and timely hitting. Pitching, in particular, was strong for Carey on Friday.
Starters Haley Nations and Megan Dudenhefer, along with reliever Allison Gutierrez, allowed just four hits, struck out 20 batters and walked just two in the two games.
“Our pitching has pretty much been lights-out,” said Fletcher. “Our three losses, all of them were by just one run. Pitching has kept us in ball games when we haven’t been hitting. We can rely on them to keep it close and give us some opportunities.”
Nations set the tone for Carey in the circle with a magnificent performance in the first game. It didn’t start that way, however, as Talladega got its first two batters on base in the top of the first inning.
Sophomore Daisy Bejarano poked a single into shallow leftfield, then sophomore Mariana Perez drew a walk. Freshman Michaela Evans sacrificed the runners to second and third, and the Tornadoes were looking good.
But that would be as close as Talladega would come to scoring all afternoon.
Nations (14-2) got a pair of strikeouts to get out of the first and was perfect the rest of the way. The junior left-hander retired the last 15 batters she faced, striking out nine in 5 1/3 innings. Gutierrez got the last two outs in the sixth, also in order and also by strikeout.
“I was really trying to find the zone there at the start,” said Nations. “But once I figured that out, I settled down and it was pretty smooth from then on. I said I really don’t want that run to score, so I bowed up and got it done.”
The Crusaders wasted no time getting their offense going in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Brooke Tanner led off by hitting a high fly ball that got over the head of Tornado leftfielder Bejarano.
Tanner, running all the way, ended up with a stand-up triple and scored on a ground ball to first base by sophomore Rachel Rodriguez.
“I really thought it was going to just be a routine play,” said Tanner. “But I still ran it out, then I looked up and it was over her head, so I kept sprinting.”
Speed has been a hallmark for Carey this season, and the Crusaders put pressure on Talladega all afternoon, on the base paths and in the field.
The Tornadoes committed three errors in the opener and another critical miscue in the nightcap. By contrast, the Crusaders did not make an error in either game.
Carey scored again in the second inning, when sophomore Susie LeBert beat out an infield single with one out and came home on a two-out single by Tanner.
“Being in the leadoff spot is very important, because it’s my job to get the rally started,” said Tanner. “Normally, if I hit the ball, then everybody falls into a pattern.
“Our speed is a big part of our game. With our speed, we take extra bases, we put pressure on them, and we make them nervous.”
The Crusaders broke it open in the fourth off Talladega ace right-hander Raquel Galvan (5-3). LeBert led off with a single up the middle and senior Maranda Busby beat out an infield single to third.
Junior Aleigha Walden sacrificed the runners over, a passed ball got one run home, a throwing error on a grounder back to the circle resulted in two runs and sophomore Dee Dee West had an RBI single for a 6-0 lead.
“We’ve been able to steal some bases, although we only stole one in the first game today,” said Fletcher. “We just didn’t have the opportunities in that game. The second game, we had the opportunities, and it helps you out when you’re not swinging the bats real well.”
Senior Mary Grace Turner opened the fifth inning with a triple and scored after three walks by Galvan. Two singles and a walk with one out loaded the bases in the sixth and Busby brought the game to an end with a sharp single to leftfield.
“My dropballs and my curveballs were real active today and worked well for me,” said Nations. “We’re having a really good season. We need to touch up on a few things, but if we keep going like we’re going, we should be playing in late May.”
Dudenhefer (15-1) was in command throughout her five innings in the second game. The senior right-hander struck out nine and walked just one, a one-out pass in the first. The only hits she allowed came in the fourth on back-to-back at-bats with two out in the fourth.
“I think we complement each other really well, because we both have different pitches,” said Dudenhefer. “She has more of a riseball, and I’m more of a curveball/screwball pitcher, working both sides of the plate, while she’s working up and down.
“So, that throws the hitters off, too, because she has more off-speed pitches than I do, but because my pitches are a little slower, it throws the hitters off as well.”
Offensively, Carey did nothing against Talladega freshman starter Miranda Butler through the first seven batters in the order. Then, just like that, with one out in the third, Butler (1-5) lost the strike zone.
Busby drew a walk, Walden singled and Tanner walked to load the bases. Rodriguez drove in two runs with a single, and three consecutive walks reloaded the bases then drove in two more runs.
Busby’s leadoff single in the fourth led to a two-out RBI single from sophomore Carley Kidder. Junior backup shortstop Hannah Dufault had a run-scoring single in the fifth.
In the sixth, speed did the trick again to bring the day to an end, coming after Gutierrez worked around a leadoff single in the top of the sixth in relief of Dudenhefer.
“Probably my screwball and riseball were what was really working for me today,” said Dudenhefer. “I just did what I could to hit it on the corner and keep them off-balance.
“I still think we have some more growing to do. We need more productive at-bats, maybe a little sharper on defense and a little more focused pitching-wise. But I think we’re on the right track.”
In the bottom of the sixth, pinch hitter Hannah Gassoway led off with a single, stole second and scored on a single by Kidder. A wild pitch sent Kidder to third and she dashed home on a passed ball after a strikeout for the final run of the day.
Although Fletcher likes where his team is right now, he knows what lies ahead. The Crusaders have championship aspirations, and they were more than a match in two prestigious tournaments in the run-up to conference play.
“A lot of teams kind of go into these tournaments looking to play the weaker teams,” said Fletcher.
“My philosophy is you’re going to have to play the good teams at the end of the year, if that’s the level you hope to achieve, so you might as well play them in the regular season and see where you stand. And we matched up pretty well.”
Carey will be tested in the next few games. The Crusaders are back home Saturday for a big SSAC doubleheader against Faulkner, beginning at 1 p.m., then sixth-ranked Mobile comes to Fail Field for a doubleheader next Friday.
College Softball Linescores
Friday at Joseph & Nancy Fail Field, Hattiesburg
William Carey 8, Talladega 0 (6 innings)
Talladega 000 000 – 0 1 3
William Carey 110 411 – 8 12 1
TALLADEGA (8-9, 2-3 in SSAC): Daisy Bejarano 1B;. LP – Raquel Galvan (5-3).
WILLIAM CAREY (29-3, 9-0 in SSAC): Brooke Tanner 3B, 1B; Carley Kidder 2B, 1B; Dee Dee West 2B; Anna Kennedy 1B; Mary Grace Turner 3B; Susie LeBert 2 1B; Hannah Default 1B; Maranda Busby 2 1B. WP – Haley Nations (14-2), 9 Ks. Also pitching – Allison Gutierrez.
William Carey 8, Talladega 0 (6 innings)
Talladega 000 000 – 0 3 1
William Carey 004 112 – 8 9 0
TALLADEGA (8-10, 2-4 in SSAC): Daisy Bejarano 1B; K’Yanna Wimbish 1B; Rayna Davis 1B. LP – Miranda Butler (1-5). Also pitching – Hailey Curtis.
WILLIAM CAREY (30-3, 10-0 in SSAC): Rachel Rodriguez 1B; Carley Kidder 2 1B; Chloe Oliver 1B; Maranda Busby 1B; Hannah Default 1B; Aleigha Walden 2 1B. WP – Megan Dudenhefer (15-1), 9 Ks. Also pitching – Allison Gutierrez.
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson
