BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb University softball team returned home for the first time in over two weeks on Tuesday afternoon, taking two wins in doubleheader action against visiting ETSU

Game One - Gardner-Webb 4, ETSU 1
The Runnin' Bulldogs got off to a slow start in the early game, hitless through five innings. But it would be a big sixth inning where GWU finally broke through, scoring four times in the bottom half of the frame in a 4-1 win.

With the 'Dawgs down 1-0, junior center fielder Emily Garcia started the GWU rally with a double to the gap in right center to open the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Lauren Spainhower came in to run at second, scoring the game-tying run on a single through the left side by junior shortstop Ella Christopher.

Part of a big day individually, junior designated player Alli Stidham drove in the go ahead run with a sac fly, before sophomore first baseman Carmen McRae added some insurance runs with a two-out, two-RBI single back through the box.

Freshman right-hander Anna Hornbaker allowed a leadoff single to begin the top of the seventh, but finished the frame otherwise unscathed. The Berryville, Va. native was excellent for Gardner-Webb, with 7.0 innings pitched, six hits allowed, and just one earned run early in the game.

Gardner-Webb finished with four runs on four hits, all recorded in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Game Two - Gardner-Webb 12, ETSU 4 // 6 innings
The big Gardner-Webb sixth continued into game two, where the Runnin' Bulldogs erupted for 12 runs and finished the contest an inning early.

In the late game, GWU scored three in the first and second innings, added four more in the third, then capped the game off with two runs in the sixth, overall scoring 12 times on 13 total hits.

McRae continued an excellent day at the plate to begin game two, smashing a double off the wall in left, more than enough to push home the game's first three runs.

ETSU hit back for two in the top of the second, but Stidham made sure the game wasn't close for long. The Saginaw, Texas native launched a three-run home run off the roof of the hitting facility in left in the bottom of the second, giving GWU a commanding 6-2 lead through three.

Senior right fielder Jailyn Tineo had the big swing in the third, giving Gardner-Webb an 8-3 lead with a two-run double hooked down the left field line. The Runnin' Bulldogs wasted no time adding two more right after- one from a walk and one via a fielder's choice.

With a six-run lead in the bottom of the sixth and an early finish on the line, the Runnin' Bulldogs sent junior Alyssa Bonilla to the plate as a pinch hitter. Bonilla ripped a double to the gap in right field, scoring two runs without a play and giving GWU a 12-4, run rule victory.

Stidham and junior left-hander Kalyn Kyle tossed two innings each in relief for the Runnin' Bulldogs, with the pair combining to allow just two hits and a run across the game's final four innings of play, striking out five.

UP NEXT
Gardner-Webb continues a busy week on the diamond on Wednesday, hosting Appalachian State in the 'Dawgs final non-conference home game of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Boiling Springs.