BUENA VISTA, Va. — The Southern Virginia University Softball team (14-9, 2-3) split wins in back-to-back games against Brevard College (4-13, 1-6) on a windy Saturday to begin a busy April month of conference matchups.
Coming off a close loss to the Pfeiffer Falcons yesterday, the Knights bounced back, returning to the win column on Saturday. The first game was high-scoring, with the Knights totaling 14 runs. The scoring started quickly for the home team, with
Arianna Prymak hitting a triple on the first at-bat for Southern Virginia. Directly following,
Dykell Jones and Jacie Shumway hit doubles to left center, resulting in the game's first two runs. Shortly after, an
Adisen Webster double sent Shumway to the plate, adding another point to the scoreboard. The Knights returned to the outfield with the score reading 3-0.
Continuing the streak, Southern Virginia's pitcher Prymak struck out Lauren Mann to begin the second inning. A foul out and a caught fly in left field concluded the Tornados turn to bat. A few sneakily stolen bases combined with a Jones sacrifice fly brought Prymak and
Matea Manuleleua running back to the home base, upping the score to 5-0. This early lead only continued when Jones scored with another sac fly, this time by Shumway.
The third inning was cut short for the Tornados with excellent infield play by the Knights, grounding out the first three batters. Still 6-0,
Krailyn Guymon scored early in the inning thanks to
Katie Claytor doubling on a right-field line drive. Manuleleua was thrown out at second base, but her hit allowed
Chloe Persinger to score. After this score, Brevard changed out their pitcher for the second time in the game due to the 8-0 score. The inning's scoring didn't stop there, with Claytor reaching the plate to add another tally, awarding the home team a nine-point lead.
Yet again, the Southern Virginia outfielders did not allow any scores for Brevard in the fourth inning, but the visitors put some points on the board in the top of the fifth. Ivelysse Leighton and Gabby Hooper scored after a throwing error and a passed ball. Mikayla Morgan hit the game's first home run, bringing in another two runners.
Southern Virginia was unable to bring in any runs in the fifth inning but held back Brevard from scoring in the sixth. Multiple Knight Freshmen shone in the bottom of the sixth, with
Sydney Steskal and
Kaydence VanDivner joining the game for the first time, both gaining a walk. VanDivner took an opportunity to steal second, with Steskal able to score on the throw. On a
Brooklyn Davis sacrifice fly VanDivner also came home.
Malia Davis, now pitching, struck out two of the three outs for the Tornados, securing the victory with impressive pitches, 11-4.
A short half hour later, the teams returned to the field, battling intense wind, ready for the second game of the doubleheader. Unwilling to lose again, the tornados fought back hard, winning the game with a final score of 6-2.
The first two innings were fast, with three hitters and three outs for both teams. In the top of the third, Brevard brought in a whopping four runs to tie the total score they made last game. Southern Virginia could not reciprocate any runs and allowed Brevard another two scores in the top of the fifth, with another Morgan homerun.
Southern Virginia scored its first points of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Jones and Persinger scoring. After a long and hard battle, with the score at 6-2, the Knights concluded the game, giving up the win to the Tornados, wrapping up the Saturday games at Harvey-Dryden Field.
On the road, Southern Virginia will take on Greensboro in another conference game on Wednesday, April 5.
For the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University softball, visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_softball on Instagram.
