ROCK HILL, S.C.- Kelsey Ritter's RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Eagles a 4-3 victory, and despite being held to three hits, Winthrop completed the sweep with a 3-1 victory over the Gardner-Webb Softball Team in a Big South Conference matchup on Wednesday afternoon.
With the victories, Winthrop improves to 15-19 overall and 4-3 in Big South play, while Gardner-Webb falls to 11-19 and 3-8 in conference action.
Game 1- Gardner-Webb 3, Winthrop 4 (11 innings)
Kelsey Ritter's RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning gave Winthrop a 4-3 victory over GWU in the first game of a doubleheader.
Tied at two after seven innings, Gardner-Webb and Winthrop would head into extra innings to break to decide the outcome.
Winthrop had a great chance to score the winning run in the ninth, getting a two out double from Haley Zuehlke, but Wark made a great 1-0 pitch to Sutton Watson causing her to ground out, and the game would head into the 10th.
Starting in the 10th inning, the international tiebreaker rule was placed in effect, where both teams place a runner of second base to start the inning. Jill Blank was put on second to start the 10th for the Runnin' Bulldogs and moved over to third base on a single by Taylar Pridgen. Beres had a chance to drive in the go-ahead run, but hit the ball to the third baseman who tagged Blank out for the first out of the inning.
The Runnin' Bulldogs would take the lead in the next at bat on a sacrifice fly by Megan Gibbons, which scored Pridgen on the play. Rachel Cumiskey struck out to end the threat and Winthrop headed into the bottom of the tenth trailing 3-2.
Watson was placed on second base to begin the home half of the 10th, and a single by Zharne Glover advanced Watson to third base. K.J. Uyeno came up huge for the Eagles, hitting an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at three. It looked as if the Eagles were poised for more runs with runners on second and third with just one out, but Wark got Antone to hit a ground ball for the first out, and forced Zharne Glover into a rundown 5-6-5-6-4-2 to complete the doubleplay and escape the inning still tied at three.
Gardner-Webb had runners on second and third in the 11th, but could not manage the go-ahead run, as Winthrop would take its at-bats in the bottom of the inning.
Maddie Antone was put on second to begin the inning for the Eagles, and Ritter sent an RBI single up the middle to score Antone and give Winthrop the dramatic 4-3 victory.
Summer Darnell got the start for the Dogs and fared quite well, scattering just four hits over five innings and Ashley Wark took over on the mound in the sixth and was equally as effective, scattering four hits over five innings.
Game 2- Gardner-Webb 1, Winthrop 3
The Runnin' Bulldogs used a trio of pitchers in the nightcap and limited the Eagles to just three hits for the game, but Winthrop used timely hitting to complete the sweep with the 3-1 victory.
Beres led off the first with a single to the second baseman, but later in the inning was called out trying to steal second base, and in the bottom of the inning Leah Young hit an RBI single to center field to give Winthrop a 1-0 lead.
Wark came it to pitch for Darnell in the third inning, and Winthrop had the bases loaded with two outs, but Haley Zuehlke grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
Gardner-Webb had an opportunity to tie the game in the fourth, as it would load the bases with two outs and Amanda Gomes at the plate. Dallas King threw a strike with the first pitch, and got Gomes to foul out to end the inning on the second pitch to escape the jam still leading by one.
Winthrop scored two unearned runs in the fourth to extend the lead 3-0, but Gibbons ended the shutout, launching her fourth home run of the season over the left field fence, but it was not enough as the Eagles would go on for the 3-1 victory.
Gardner-Webb returns home for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday when it hosts Coastal Carolina. Friday's games will be a doubleheader scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and Saturday's game in slated for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
