Greensboro College Pride open USA South softball play with doubleheader sweep over Mary Baldwin:Kassie Simmons(Eastern Guilford HS) WP in Game One

The Pride open USA South play with doubleheader sweep over Mary Baldwin

Greensboro, NC – After 20 games, the Greensboro College Softball team finally opened up USA South Conference play with a doubleheader against Mary Baldwin University on Tuesday afternoon at Barber Park. Behind strong pitching and an offensive outburst, the Pride swept the day to pick up two big conference wins, 9-4 and 8-0.

Game One
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning, Junior Alexis Sox (Burlington, NC) hit an RBI single to center field, driving in Senior Kailey Walker (Eden, NC) for the first run of the game. Junior Ivy Ray (Thomasville, NC) would follow that up with an RBI single of her own, to increase the lead to 2-0. The Fighting Squirrels got one back in the second inning and then in the fifth inning, to tie the game, but in the bottom of the fifth inning, Greensboro put four more runs on the scoreboard after RBI’s from Sophomore M’Kenzie Davis (Greensboro, NC) , Walker and Sophomore Kelsey Craven (Ramseur, NC). They would eventually add three more runs to earn their first conference win of the season, 9-4.

The Pride were led by Walker who finished 4-4 with two RBI’s and three runs, while Craven was 2-3 with one RBI. In addition, Davis finished 2-4 with an RBI and two runs and Ray finished 2-4 with an RBI and a run. On the mound, Senior Kassie Simmons (Gibsonville, NC) picked up the win, facing 28 batters, while only allowing four runs.

Game Two
The game remained scoreless through the first three innings, until the Greensboro offense came alive in the bottom half of the fourth inning when Freshman Makyiah Simmons (Henderson, NC), who got the start, smacked a double to right center field driving in Sox and Freshman Raven Taylor (Laurel Hill, NC) and then M. Simmons would eventually score after Davis drove her on an RBI double. The scoring continued after a another RBI double, this time by K. Simmons and an RBI single from Craven. In the fifth inning, Sophomore Brooklyn Rush (Asheboro, NC) completed the game when she hit single to score Ray and end the game on the run rule.

The Pride were led by M. Simmons who had her best game of the season, finishing 3-3 with a double, two RBI’s and a run, while Craven was 2-3 with an RBI and K. Simmons was 1-3 with three RBI’s and a run. On the mound, Junior Lauren Engel (Huntersville, NC) picked up her 9th win of the season by allowing only five hits and no runs.

Greensboro will return to action on Saturday, April 1st as they travel to Rocky Mount, NC to face North Carolina Wesleyan in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00pm.