URBANA, Ohio – The UVa-Wise softball team earned a road Mountain East Conference doubleheader sweep of Urbana University Saturday afternoon. The Cavaliers (23-22, 13-11 MEC) defeated the host Blue Knights (3-30, 2-19 MEC) 6-2 in game one before claiming a 8-0 game-two victory.
 
Tied at 2-2 heading into the seventh inning of game one, sophomore third baseman Samantha Ely (Jonesville, Va.) came up huge for the Cavs when she hit a grand slam to give UVa-Wise a 6-2 lead that it would not relinquish. Eleven hits and two-run innings in the second and fourth, followed by a three-run fifth and one-run seventh, helped the Cavs to a shutout in game two of the afternoon.
 
In game one, UVa-Wise took a 2-0 lead on Urbana in the visiting portion of the fourth inning when senior designated player Mindy Combs (Lebanon, Va.) hit a two-run homer. The score was then tied in bottom of the fifth as Urbana's Cortney Moore drove in Courtney Stewart on a RBI single and Jenna VanHoose was walked with bases loaded, allowing Katelyn Edwards to score.
 
A walk, a hit by pitch and a single by senior second baseman Alexa Hernandez (Woodbridge, Va.) loaded the bases for UVa-Wise in the top of the seventh with only one out. Ely stepped to the plate and recorded her seventh home run of the season, this one a four-run shot to give the Cavs a 6-2 lead. Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Taylor Brandts (King George, Va.) retired three of four batters faced in the bottom of the inning to secure the UVa-Wise victory.
 
Brandts (13-7) claimed her 13th win in the circle this season, going the distance in game one and striking out three batters. The Blue Knights' Moore (1-17) took the loss for Urbana after striking out six in 6 1/3 innings pitched.
 
Ely went 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and one run scored to lead the Cavs, while sophomore right fielder Zoe Millard (Glen Allen, Va.) reached home plate twice.
 
The Cavs showcased more of their offense in game two of the doubleheader, scoring runs in four different innings. UVa-Wise took a 2-0 lead in the away portion of the second inning when junior right-handed pitcher Emily Kale (Shelby, N.C.) and junior first baseman Olivia Cleary (Riner, Va.) scored on a two RBI single by freshman center fielder Ava Hockey (Virginia Beach, Va.).
 
A Hernandez double to center field in the top of the fourth drove in Kale and senior shortstop Erika McLaughlin (Haymarket, Va.) to increase the Cavs advantage to 4-0. UVa-Wise scored three times in the fifth as a Hockey RBI single brought in freshman left fielder Shannon Bennett (Covington, Va.) and a Hernandez single allowed freshman catcher Lucindy Lawson (Duffield, Va.) and Kale to score.
 
UVa-Wise scored its final run of the game in the top of the seventh after Ely reached on a Blue Knight error, which allowed Lawson to score an unearned run from third base.
 
Hernandez led the Cavs at the plate in game two with a 3-for-5, four RBI performance. Kale went 2-for-3 and scored three times while earning her fourth win of the season in the circle. Tossing a complete game, Kale (4-8) struck out a season-high four batters in the game.
 
Stewart (2-12) took the loss for the Blue Knights, giving up four earned runs in four innings of work.
 
The Cavs continue their 10-game MEC road trip Sunday when they take on the Falcons of Notre Dame College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
 
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