LYNCHBURG, VA – Randolph College center fielder Brittany Willingham (Glen Burnie, MD/Glen Burnie) went a combined eight-for-eight Friday afternoon as the WildCat softball team ended a four-game skid with a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Castleton State College (VT) from the Randolph Softball Field.
Willingham came into the game hitting .364, but raised her average 124 points over the two victories for the WildCats (8-4). In the first game, she posted four singles along with two runs scored while finishing game two with four hits, two RBI and three runs scored.
Randolph returned to its winning ways thanks to timely hitting and good defense. Randolph was a combined 16-for-34 with runners in scoring position Friday, also posting two errorless contests. When the WildCats commit no errors in a game, they are 3-0 this season.
In the opener, Randolph jumped all over their friends from the north, plating four runs in each of the first two innings. The big blow in the first inning was a two-run double from senior Gina Pagano (Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley). First-year Jessica Sanabria (Burgaw, NC/Pender) duplicated that in the second stanza, driving in Patti Vinson (Williamsburg, VA/Lafayette) and Brittney Via (Charlottesville, VA/Monticello).
Sanabria was stellar in the circle in game one for the WildCats, going the first three innings while allowing no hits and striking out four Castleton State (0-2) hitters. Sophomore Kristen Hutchinson (Rockville, MD/Richard Montgomery) came on and fanned three hitters in two scoreless innings of relief. Vinson was three-for-three in game one, while Via finished two-for-two with two RBI and two runs scored. Lauren Stevenson (Virginia Beach, VA/Tallwood) had two hits and two runs in the victory.
In game two, things were a little tighter as the Spartans started to get their bearings. Today marked the first day Castleton State had been outside playing this season. Randolph scored in the bottom of the first thanks to an Ashley Gardner (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) RBI single.
Castleton State and Randolph exchanged runs in the second frame, but the Spartans scored two in the top of the third to take their first advantage to the day. Randolph responded with three in the bottom of the fourth to retake the lead, as Willingham drove in two runs on a double. The ‘Cats added three insurance runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach, as Vinson singled in a pair.
Gardner finished the second game three-for-four with two RBI, while Stevenson added another two-hit, two-run contest for the WildCats. Stevenson now has a hit in all 12 games this season, and has posted six straight two-hit performances and nine multi-hit games on the year.
Sophomore Logan Carter (Richmond, VA/Midlothian) worked four innings to get the win, while Hutchinson got the save after tossing three scoreless innings of relief, fanning three. Carter struck out six in the win.
Randolph returns to the diamond Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. with a non-conference doubleheader with the Fighting Squirrels of Mary Baldwin College on the Randolph Softball Field.