WISE, VA — UVA Wise struggled to combat fielding miscues in their doubleheader against Tusculum as the Pioneers outscored the Cavs by 12-1 on Thursday, April 21 in a conference battle.
GAME 1
Tusculum (26-19, 12-10 SAC) made their presence known right off the bat as Mya Maddox led off the day with a single to the right side. The Cavaliers (16-18, 8-14 SAC) lost control in the field after two back-to-back errors would send Maddox home unearned. A sacrifice fly from Tusculum would score another run before the Cavaliers could snag their final out.
Tusculum would find another opportunity to score in the top of the third inning after four hits and two UVA Wise errors would bring in two more runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Cavaliers were able to begin a rally with a Mady Buchanan single and a Michaela Barney double but weren't able to force any to score.
Cavalier bats were hushed by Emily Sappington in the circle for seven straight innings as she put up seven strikeouts and allowed five hits, aiding in the 4-0 shutout win.
GAME 2
After a shutout from Cavs pitcher Sydney Collins in the top of the first, UVA Wise's Jenna McDermott got her squad rolling with a leadoff homer to centerfield to put the Cavs on top.
As Tusculum got their chance to respond in the top of the second, a walk from Alloway and a single through the right side from Hughes would bring a run home, putting the score even at one.
Four more hits from the Pioneers and an error from the Cavs would bring in four more runs at the end of the cycle, giving Tusculum a 5-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the second, Buchanan roped a single to the shortstop but would be the sole hit of the inning.
Pioneer Alloway added another run to the scoreboard and she knocked a home run to left field, upping the score to 6-1.
The Cavaliers would end the second game with only four hits and would be held off home plate for the remainder of the contest.
Back-to-back triples and a blooper single would score the rest of Tusculum's runs in the top of the fourth, securing a convincing 8-1 win.
Ireland Cavanaugh snagged the win in the circle in Game 2 for the Pioneers as she struck out eight Cavs.
With the losses, UVA Wise sits at a 8-12 conference record and 16-18 overall.
