FERRUM, Va. – The Ferrum softball team completed a two-game sweep of Salem by earning an 8-0 (5 inn.) win in the first game and 9-1 victory (6 inn.) in the night cap, by virtue of 26 hits and five multi-run innings in two games.
GAME 1: Ferrum 8, Salem 0 (5 inn.)
A pair of four-run innings helped Ferrum claim an 8-0 win in the opening game of the doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers (1-2), who closed with 10 hits in the contest, received five of those hits from the top-third of the order, which included Breanna Weaver (2-3, run), Arielle Eure (2-3, 2 runs) and Skyler Swaney (1-3, RBI, run). Lyndsey Sears helped her own cause on the mound by closing 1-for-2 at the plate with a double, two RBI and a run scored.
Sears (1-1) tossed four innings, surrendered two hits and fanned five Salem sluggers in the circle.
Brianne Coleman was the top hitter in the Salem (0-3) lineup, finishing 2-for-2 from the plate with a double. Madeline Brown collected the other hit for the Spirits, closing 1-for-2 in the game.
Swaney provided the Panthers with the first run of the game with a grounder to short, scoring Eure. Two batters later, Laney Jo Patterson drove a single up the middle to plate Kloe Bacon. Macey Moore tacked on the third run with a single to left, scoring both Patterson and Bayley Cunningham.
Coleman reached second with a leadoff double in the second, moving to third on a wild pitch. The Spirits stranded Coleman at third with a trio of outs in the top of the frame. Meanwhile, Ferrum stretched its lead to 6-0 with a double to left by Sears, scoring Swaney and Eure. Sears came home two batters later on a grounder to first by Patterson, resulting in a 7-0 Panther lead. The final run of the game crossed the plate on a Salem miscue, which allowed Bacon to score.
Katie Gerhardt (1-1) made her collegiate pitching debut for the Spirits, scattering nine hits and eight runs (five earned runs) over two innings. She gave way to Abby Shelton, who logged two innings, issued three walks, one hit and converted one strikeout.
GAME 2: Ferrum 9, Salem 1 (6 inn.)
The Panthers evened their record to 2-2 on the early season with 16 total hits after four Ferrum sluggers had multi-hit performances. Breanna Weaver (3-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs) and Arielle Eure (3-4, 2 RBI, 3 runs, 2 doubles) led the lineup in hits. Teammates Lyndsey Sears (2-4, 3 RBI), Kloe Bacon (2-3, RBI) and Carly Nelson (2-3) also had multiple hits.
Salem capped off the second game with two hits, both of which came from the top of the order. Madison Thomas closed with a 1-for-3 performance, scoring one run, while Madeline Brown was 1-for-3 in the contest.
Brown singled up the middle to provide Salem with its first hit of the second game in the first inning. Ferrum answered with three hits in the home half of frame, including a leadoff single by Weaver, who moved to third on an error. Eure drove a single to centerfield, notching the first run, and two batters later Sears grounded out to score Eure from third.
The Panther lead grew to 6-0 in the bottom of the second by virtue of four hits. Weaver brought in the first run with a single through the right side of the infield that plated Maggie McCray. Eure stretched the margin to 4-0 with an RBI double to left, scoring Weaver, before a base knock by Sears scored Eure. Ferrum established its 6-0 lead with a single through the left side of the infield by Bacon, allowing Skyler Swaney to come home from second base.
The Panthers put their seventh run of the game across in the third, following an RBI single by Weaver.
Salem scored its only run of the afternoon in the sixth inning when Thomas reached on an error at second. A series of outs put Thomas at third, before Savanah Atkins reached on an error that plated Thomas.
Ferrum retaliated with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. The first came on a single to centerfield by Sears, scoring Eure. Laney Jo Patterson reached on an error, allowing pinch runner Mattie Friel to cross the plate for the ninth and final run of the game.
McCray (1-0) picked up the victory after tossing four innings, allowing two hits and making eight strikeouts. Swaney took over and pitched two innings, allowing two walks and one run while converting two strikeouts.
Thomas (0-2), who suffered the setback for Salem, allowed nine runs (seven earned) off 16 hits and recorded two strikeouts.
Salem returns to the diamond on Saturday, March 5th, when it heads to crosstown foe Carolina University for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The following afternoon, the Spirits host Randolph in the home opener at Blixt Field at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.