RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Western Carolina softball split a doubleheader with UC Riverside on Wednesday, taking the first game 5-2 before dropping the nightcap 6-2 at Amy S. Harrison Field.
WCU is 5-9 on the season while UC Riverside is 10-11.
Game 1: Western Carolina 5, UC Riverside 2
Myra Twitty hit her second home run of the season to break a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning as the Catamounts earned a 5-2 win in the first game of the doubleheader.
The Catamounts got on the board in the third inning as
Bailey Treadway led off the inning with a single and scored on a Highlander error. UC Riverside tied the game in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a Kat Montuya RBI single.
Twitty's solo blast down the left field line in the fourth inning put the Catamounts ahead for good. The home run was her second of the season. WCU added three runs in the sixth inning with a Treadway sacrifice fly followed by a
Brooklynn Brewington RBI single. Brewington would later score on a wild pitch. The Highlanders added a run in the seventh with two outs before a fielders choice ended the game.
Brewington, Treadway, and
Jeralynn Wells led the Catamounts offensively with two hits each. Twitty logged WCU's only extra base hit of the game.
Jayme Eilers (1-2) earned the win, allowing two runs (one earned) with six strikeouts in seven innings.
Nadia Witt finished 3-for-4 to lead UC Riverside. Marissa Burk also collected a pair of hits. Emma Falen (1-1) was charged with the loss as she threw four innings, allowing two runs with a walk and two strikeouts.
Game 2: UC Riverside 6, Western Carolina 2
UC Riverside grabbed an early lead and didn't look back as the Highlanders won the second game to force a doubleheader split.
The Highlanders plated three runs in the first inning and another in the second for a 4-0 lead.
Bailey Huneycutt worked a walk to lead off the fourth inning and scored on a
Natalie Henry single. UC Riverside got the run back in the bottom half of the inning on an infield single.
Both teams added a run in the fifth inning. Wells drove in Brewington while the Highlanders plated a run as a result of a WCU error.
Huneycutt finished the game 3-for-3 with two singles, a double, and a run scored while Brewington and Henry both recorded two hits. Wells and Twitty both smacked one hit.
Taylor Norton (2-3) was charged with the loss, allowing six runs, five earned, in 4.0 innings.
Nadia Witt collected three hits for the second straight game to lead UC Riverside. Brooke Perez (5-0) was the winning pitcher after she surrendered two runs in 4.1 innings.
The Catamounts open the San Diego Classic on Friday, facing Yale at 1 p.m. Eastern and Michigan State at 6 p.m. Eastern.
For the latest information on Catamount softball, follow @catamounts and @catamountsb on Twitter or go to
www.catamountsports.com.
