Panthers up winning streak to four games with sweep of Wesleyan
March 27, 2008

LaGrange swept its second straight GSAC doubleheader Thursday at the LaGrange College Softball Complex. The Panthers (12-8, 4-2 GSAC) swept Wesleyan 5-0 and 11-3 to push their winning streak to four games. The Pioneers fell to 2-14 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

In the first game, the Panthers posted their third straight shutout. Amanda Daniel (8-6) held the Pioneers to just two hits in getting her third shutout and 11th complete game of the season. She walked four and struck out seven.

The Panthers took advantage of three Pioneer errors to build a 3-0 lead after two innings. In the first, Valeree Williams reached on an error to start the inning. She later scored the Panthers' first run on Jennifer Knight's base hit.

The Panthers added two runs in the second inning. Kayla Yeargin beat out an infield hit. The Panthers executed a double steal when Holly Hazelwood stole second and Yeargin finished the play by stealing home.  Hazelwood later scored as Katie Hein reached on a two-out error.

The Panthers closed out the scoring in the sixth inning. Erica Robinson led off the inning with her second double of the game. After a walk to Yeargin, Haleigh Kellar drove in Robinson with a single through the left side. Yeargin came home as Katie Hein reached on a fielder's choice to up the Panthers lead to 5-0.

Robinson's two doubles led the Panthers seven-hit attack. Yeargin scored two runs and defensively at catcher threw two runners out attempting to steal.

The Pioneers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Panther starter Megan Henry. Bell Thompson led off the inning with a single and came around to score on Liz Grant's base hit. The run ended the Panthers' scoreless streak at 23-2/3 innings.

Henry (3-2) retired 12 of the next 13 batters after Grant's base hit. The Pioneers took advantage of three errors by the Panthers in the fifth inning to get two unearned runs. Henry allowed only one earned run in five innings. She allowed four hits, walked one and struck out two. Kristen Woodard pitched a scoreless sixth inning in relief of Henry.

The Panthers took the lead back in the bottom of the first. Kristi Underwood's two-run single scored Williams and Hazelwood for a 2-1 lead. The Panthers added a run in the second inning and another in the third to go up 4-1. Underwood had an RBI single in the second and Leah Flowers' sacrifice bunt scored Allison Gordon in the third.

The Panthers broke the game open in the fourth inning with four runs to go up 8-1. Knight drove in two runs with her second double of the game. Robinson reached on an infield hit that scored Knight with the final run of the inning.

After the Pioneers got two runs in the fifth inning to make it 8-3, the Panthers ended the game on the mercy rule in the sixth. Hazelwood led off with a bunt single and Underwood was hit by a pitch. Knight followed with a run-scoring single for the inning's first run. Gordon reached on an error to load the bases. Yeargin ended the game with a two-run double down the left field line, scoring Underwood and Knight for the 11-3 final.

The Panthers finished the game with 13 hits. Knight led the way with three hits, including the two doubles, and had three RBIs. Underwood also had three RBIs and had two hits. Williams, Hazelwood and Yeargin also had two hits.

The Panthers are on the road Saturday at Centre for a doubleheader. They host Reinhardt in a doubleheader Sunday.