SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The UVA Wise Cavaliers earned a season-opening sweep of the Converse Valkyries on Sunday, securing a 14-4 mercy-rule win with help of sophomore Jenna McDermott's seven RBI in game one and Sydney Collin's 3-0 shutout in game two.
GAME ONE
UVA Wise (2-0, 0-0 SAC) capitalized early in the first inning, as Converse (0-2, 0-0 CC) starting pitcher Daija Irizarry walked leadoff hitter McDermott. McDermott eventually scored as fifth-year senior Kaylee Jones smacked a sacrifice fly to center field, grabbing a 1-0 lead. Back-to-back walks from Irizarry put one Cavalier on each corner, forcing the Valkyries to grab right-hander Reagan Owens from the bullpen in hopes to slow Cavalier momentum. Six-hole hitter Sarah Barrett found no trouble against Owens as she singled to right field, sending third-base runner Alexis Miles home to get the Cavs an early two-run lead. Owens forced a groundout and was able to sneak out of the half-inning without any more damage.
After a three-up, three-down half-inning from Falwell in the circle, UVA Wise came back up to the plate snagging another run from a McDermott RBI — her first of seven she would accumulate on the day.
In the bottom of the second, Converse took the lead as Alexis Newman lifted a sacrifice fly to the outfield and Brooklyn McElrath and Emily Ingle combined to knock in a trio of runs to give the hosts a 4-3 advantage.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the fifth until a Valkyrie error allowed for Barrett to run in. Back at the top of the order, McDermott drilled her first career grand slam — driving in Michaela Barney, Megan Wilson, and Collins.
The Cavs once again kept Converse from scoring in the bottom of the fifth and kept the Valkyries from reaching home plate for the rest of the game. A Kaylee Jones triple encouraged a six-hit rally in the top of the sixth, grabbing another six runs. Converse couldn't reciprocate, and the Cavs produced a 14-4 mercy rule victory.
GAME TWO
The Cavaliers once again struck early in game two of the series, as Kaylee Jones singled in the three-hole and Miles tripled to bring her home in the first half-inning.
In the circle, Collins went the distance to record the first Cavalier shutout of the season.
All of Cavalier scoring came from Kaylee Jones with her early triple in the top of the first and back-to-back homers in the fourth and sixth innings. This would mark Kaylee Jones' second multi-homer game in her career and propel her past 100 career-RBI.
CAVS LEADERS
McDermott led game one with a career-high seven RBI — only two short of the single-game South Atlantic Conference record of nine which is held by Bri Lockett of Carson-Newman (2015 vs. Bluefield State). McDermott also recorded the first grand-slam of her career.
Kaylee Jones went 3-3 in game two, with two of the three being home runs.
Falwell grabbed the win in game one, accumulating six strikeouts on the day. Collins put up nine strikeouts in game two.
Next, the Cavaliers will head back home to Cavalier Field to face non-conference opponent Bluefield State on Wednesday, Feb. 9, with 1:00 and 3:00 PM start times.
