WISE – The UVA Wise softball team played at home for the first time this season as they played a pair of games Thursday and Friday vs. Lock Haven and North Greenville. They split with each team, falling to North Greenville 10-6 and Lock Haven 3-0 on Thursday, and winning 4-3 over Lock Haven via a walk-off home run and holding off a late rally from North Greenville 7-6 Friday afternoon.
The games open up a 24 game homestand for the Highland Cavaliers, who will next hit the road March 12.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
Game One Result: North Greenville 10, UVA Wise 6
Game Two Result: Lock Haven 3, UVA Wise 0
Game Three Result: UVA Wise 4, Lock Haven 3
Game Four Result: UVA Wise 7, North Greenville 6
Records: UVA Wise (3-4); Lock Haven (2-2), North Greenville (6-4)
Location: Wise, VA | Bill Gatton Softball Field
GAME ONE
- North Greenville scored first in the second inning, and the Cavs tied the game up in the bottom of the third.
- The Trailblazers then scored twice in the fourth, only to see the Cavs immediately tie things up at 3-3.
- The score stood at 3-3 until NGU had a seven run seventh inning to put the game seemingly out of reach. The Cavs rallied in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs via three singles, but were unable to get any closer than 10-6.
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Taylor Clay had an impressive home debut as the local product had two runs off of three hits with a RBI.
Savannah Johnson also had two hits.
Bayleigh Allison took the loss.
GAME TWO
- The Highland Cavs and Lock Haven had a pitcher's duel through most of the game until the Bald Eagles broke the stalemate with a run in the fourth inning and a single up the middle in the fifth that scored two runs.
- LHU's Keiva Middleton pitched a gem for the Bald Eagles, as she only allowed five hits in the shutout.
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Lindsey Polan had two hits to lead the team; while
Adyson Gibson,
Kaylynn Baker, and Clay had a hit apiece.
GAME THREE
- Baker had a single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the third that scored
Abagail Mills and Clay to give the Cavs the 2-0 lead.
- Lock Haven rallied in the top of the seventh and took a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the inning,
Emma McCauley walked and was moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Clay. Polen then came up to bat and after taking a ball and hitting a foul ball, she drilled her first career homerun over the left field fence to win the game with a two run walkoff home run.
- Polan again led the team with two hits, while Baker and Mills had a hit apiece.
Alivia Nolley claimed the win in the circle.
GAME FOUR
- Polan led things off the same way she ended the previous game, with a two run homer in the bottom of the first.
- The Cavs would add three more runs in the next inning.
- The Trailsblazers tied the game with a five run fifth inning, but the Cavs regained the lead in the sixth with two runs.
- NGU scored a run in the top of the seventh and had a runner at third, but
Jillian Jones, who had entered the game earlier in the inning, picked up the save as she struck out the batter to stop the rally.
- Baker and
Savannah Johnson had three hits apiece, while
Adyson Gibson had two hits.
Bayleigh Allison earned the win as she entered in the fifth inning with the score tied, and Jones earned her first save of the season.
UP NEXT
The team is scheduled to host West Virginia State in a doubleheader moved from this weekend to Tuesday. However, the forecast has changed since then and is now calling for extremely cold temperatures in the area that day, so it might be moved again. If it goes on as scheduled, first pitch for game one is set for 2 p.m.
