WISE – UVA Wise and South Atlantic Conference-leading Wingate split the season softball series Saturday afternoon at the Bill Gatton Softball Field.
The Bulldogs took game one via the run rule in five innings and game two went the distance and then some as the Cavs came from behind to win on a walk-off single in the eighth inning.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result Game One – Wingate 11, UVA Wise 0, 5 innings
Result Game Two – UVA Wise 4, Wingate 3, 8 innings
Records: UVA Wise (19-22, 5-13 SAC); Wingate (26-17, 14-4 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | Bill Gatton Softball Field
GAME ONE
- The Bulldogs scored ten runs in the top of the first via six hits and three Cavalier errors.
- Things settled down and the Cavaliers only allowed three hits over the rest of the game but were only able to get two hits off of Wingate's Jillian Thomas.
- Wingate added another run in the third off a sacrifice fly.
GAME TWO
- The Bulldogs scored two in the top of the first on a single to center field. The Cavalier defense then stiffened and didn't allow another Wingate run until the fifth inning.
- The Cavs cut the Wingate lead in half in the bottom of the fourth as
Emma McCauley was hit by a pitch and then scored on a double by
Mataya Ausmus.
- UVA Wise then tied the game in the bottom of the fifth as
Taylor Clay notched her third double of the year, later scoring when
Lindsey Polan hit her seventh double of the season.
- The score stood through the end of regulation. In the eighth, Wingate scored when the tiebreaker runner reached third on a wild pitch and was later brought home on a sacrifice fly.
- Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, the Cavs advanced the tiebreaker runner to third on a sacrifice bunt. The runner was thrown out at home when the Bailey Allison hit into a fielder's choice. With only one out remaining, Ausmus then stepped to the plate and hit a triple down the left field line, her third of the year, that tied the game when Allison scored.
Abagail Mills then came up to hit and laced a single down the first base line that scored Ausmus from third and won the game for the Cavs.
- Ausmus was 2-3 with two RBI and a run for the game, while Clay was also 2-3 with a run.
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Olivia Shockley earned the win as she entered in relief in the seventh and gave up one run of a wild pitch with no hits and a strikeout.
GETTING WISE
- The win was the third by the Cavs over Wingate since the two teams first met in 2016. The other two wins were in Wise in 2021.
- For the series, Ausmus was 3-5 with a double, a triple, two RBI, and a run. Clay was 2-4 with a double and a run.
UP NEXT
The Cavs will make the short trip to Lincoln Memorial for a Wednesday showdown with the Railsplitters on the Dorothy Neely Field in Harrogate, Tennessee. They lost both games of a doubleheader at Catawba earlier today. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
