UVA-Wise Softball Gets Back on Track at First Day of SCAD Smash Hit

March 11, 2007
Game 1 Boxscore

Game 2 Boxscore

Savannah, GA – The UVA-Wise softball team was able to get back on track with two wins of its first day of the Savannah College of Art & Design Smash Hit event. The Lady Cavs defeated Univ. of Illinois-Springfield, 9-1 in five innings, before pounding St. Francis (IN), 16-0 in five innings.

UVA-Wise posts two convincing wins after being swept by nationally-ranked Lee on Saturday to improve to 4-11. The Lady Cavs outscored its two opponents 25-1 in 10 innings of play.

Junior Shelley Newton (Virginia Beach, VA) had the big day. Newton produced a six for eight day with four of them extra base hits with three doubles, a grand slam home run and 11 runs batted in. Britney Lawson (Duffield, VA) had a triple and homer in the first contest. Sarah Frazier (Big Stone Gap, VA) had a single in each contest and Amber Harvey (Millboro, VA) lined her first extra base hit, a double, in the opener. Amber Quillen (Kingsport, TN) added two singles with an rbi in the late contest.

Lauren Snead (Troutville, VA) and Amanda Wheeler (Jonesborough, TN) picked up the mound wins. Snead allowed four hits and one run with nine strikeouts in the first game. Wheeler fanned seven and gave up two hits in the shutout St. Francis.

UVA-Wise started off fast against U of Illinois Springfield (2-7). In the top of the first, Lawson tripled and scored on a single by Frazier. After a Frazier stolen base, Newton doubled to drive her in and later scored herself on two wild pitches. Mary Wilson (Virginia Beach, VA) singled and scored the fourth run on a Melanie Sutherland (Birchleaf, VA).

Newton doubled to drive in Frazier and scored a second time on a wild pitch to make it 6-0 in the second. Lawson belted her second homer of the year in the third. Harvey doubled and came around on a hit from Sarah Stone (Blountville, TN). Brittany Tunnell (Wise, VA) singled and Michelle Osborne (Damascus, VA) walked before Sarah Smith (Norton, VA) drew a bases loaded walk for a 9-0 tally. The Pairie Stars scored once on a sac fly in the bottom of the fifth but the eight-run rule took effect in the 9-1 final.

The Lady Cavs exploded for the most runs of the season against St. Francis in the late game. UVA-Wise scored nine times to open the game. Newton had two of the four hits with a two-run single and later a three-run double in the first trip to the plate.

In the second, Tori Flint (Charlottesville, VA), Christine Cantone (Virginia Beach, VA) and Quillen all singled to start the inning. Alicia King (Castlewood, VA) had an rbi walk and Bobbi Mihelarakis (Sterling, VA) a run-scoring single. Newton stepped up and belted a grand slam to clear the bases to give her nine rbi for the game and a 16-0 score. The score would hold up through five innings for the final.

The Lady Cavs will play the same two teams in the same order on Monday for 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. games.

Game 1
UVA 421 02 9-11-0
UIS 000 01 1-4-5
WP: Lauren Snead (2-5) C-Shelley Newton
LP-Brittany Schafer C-Hollly Hiester
2B-Newton 2, Harvey; 3B: Lawson; HR: Lawson (2)

Game 2
UVA 970 00 16-10-1
SFC 000 00 0-2-1
WP: Amanda Wheeler (2-3) C-Newton
LP: Jennifer Nelson C-Andrea Salmon
2B: Newton; HR: Newton