JACKSON, Tenn. – On Feb. 24, the Union University softball team won games two and three of their series with Delta State University to sweep the Lady Statesmen. Union is now 12-4 (5-1 GSC), while Delta State falls to 2-12 overall (0-3 GSC).
In game two, the Lady Bulldogs were down 7-0 going into the bottom of the third. Courtney Marler doubled to score Macey Neal and Morgan Jennings, and Zoey Neal followed with a two-run homer to cut Delta State’s lead to three. Union was able to tie the game 7-7 in the bottom of the fifth. However, the Lady Statesmen took the lead right back in the sixth. Macey Neal singled in the bottom of the inning to tie it again, and after Zoey Neal gave the Lady Bulldogs a 9-8 lead, Mackenzi David hit a three-run bomb, making it 12-8. Delta State scored one in the seventh, but Union held on for a comeback 12-9 victory.
Macey Neal led Union, going 3-4. Zoey Neal and Marler each went 2-3 in the game. Zoey and David led the team in RBIs with four a piece, and Zoey and Marler led in runs scored with three each.
Riley Vaughn started the game for Union, going 2.1 innings and giving up seven runs (only one earned) while striking out four. Addison Abell came in for 3.2 innings of relief. She gave up one run on no hits. Lainey Baker finished it out for the Lady Bulldogs, allowing one run. Abell got the win, bringing her record to 2-0 on the season.
In game three of this series, Union was looking to sweep, and that’s exactly what happened. The Lady Bulldogs went down early in this game as well with the score being 5-1 after 2.5 innings. In the bottom of the third, Marler crushed a two-run homer to make it 5-3. Going into the home half of the seventh, Union was down 7-4. Jennings tripled to lead off the inning. Then Macey Neal was unintentionally intentionally walked, and Marler was hit by a pitch, making the bases loaded with Zoey Neal coming to the plate. Zoey obliterated the 1-0 pitch over the center field fence for a walk-off grand slam with the final score being 8-7.
Union had six hits in the game, two each from Macey Neal and Marler and one a piece from Zoey Neal and Jennings. Zoey led Union with four RBIs in the game, and Macey led in runs scored with four.
Emily Claire Felder got the start for Union, going 5.1 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits. Riley Vaughn threw 1.2 scoreless innings of relief and went down as the pitcher of record, getting the win to make her record 3-0.
Up next for the Lady Bulldogs is a midweek doubleheader at home against Trevecca Nazarene University on Feb. 27. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
