WISE -- Alicia King went 2-for-3 and knocked home three runs Friday as UVA Wise scored a 9-1 victory over Appalachian Athletic Conference rival Bluefield College in game two of a doubleheader on opening day of the new Cavalier Field.
The first victory at the new ballpark came a game later than the Highland Cavaliers (2-2 overall, 1-1 AAC) had wished. Bluefield scored three runs in the first inning and then held off a late UVA Wise rally for a close 3-2 win.
Freshman Amanda Wheeler pitched the first game for UVA Wise. She battled through a tough first inning, but then went on to shut down the Bluefield bats the rest of the game. Morgan Tomlinson earned the game one victory for the Rams, giving up two runs on ten hits and striking out four.
UVA Wise quickly jumped ahead of Bluefield in the nightcap, scoring three runs in the first, one each in the second and third frames, and then four more in the fourth.
Junior Krystal Showers went 2-for-2 at the plate, scored two runs and knocked home two others.
Nichole Poore, one of two seniors on the UVA Wise squad, threw five innings – the game ended after five via the eight-run mercy rule – and allowed a run on only two Rams hits. Poore got the game two win, and Bluefield's Mallory Hart was the loser.
The Cavs' other senior, Kendall Rainey, collected three hits and scored three runs through both games of the double dip. She also had three stolen bases, getting her to within eight of the school record of 83.
The Highland Cavaliers next play Monday on the road at conference foe Virginia Intermont College in Bristol. UVA Wise returns home to Cavalier Field Tuesday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader with AAC newcomer King College. Wednesday, non-conference opponent Cumberland College visits Wise.
Cavaliers Notes: Plenty of firsts came with the opening of Cavalier Field. Amanda Wheeler tossed the ballparks first pitch, which resulted in a ground out to second baseman Ashley Addington. Bluefield's Erin Spaulding smacked the park's first hit, a single off of Wheeler in the first inning. Spaulding also got the first run at Cavalier Field. UVA Wise's Krystal Showers drew the first walk and had the first stolen base... Cavalier Field replaces Hilltop Park, which was the Highland Cavaliers' home from 1996 to 2004. UVA Wise closed out Hilltop Park last year by clinching the AAC regular season championship there on the last day of the season with a win over Milligan College.
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