JACKSON, Tenn. – The Union University Lady Bulldog softball team swept Asbury (Ky.) College (0-4) in Union's home opener Thursday. Union took the first game 13-5 in five innings, and the second game 13-4, also in five innings. Union improved to 4-13 on the season.
Asbury took a quick lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a triple from Tisha Lane and a sacrifice fly from Madi Adair to take a 2-0 lead. Union jumped on board in the bottom of the second inning scoring four runs.
Marley Dyess singled through the left side with the bases loaded to score
Haley Barnette to get things going for the Lady Bulldogs.
Samantha Ortiz walked next to score
Reagan Schrader. Up next,
Whitney Christian reached on an error by Asbury's shortstop to score
Madison Tennyson. To cap the four run inning,
Rachel Ridolfi singled up the middle which scored Dyess.
Union went scoreless in the third inning, but came back to score nine runs in the fourth inning. In the inning, the Lady Bulldogs tallied nine hits, hitting for the cycle as a team. Barnette blasted a homerun over the center field fence, Tennyson tripled to right-center, Schrader doubled to left field, and multiple hitters singled in the inning.
Rachel Ridolfi led the Lady Bulldogs with five RBIs, going 3-for-4.
Marley Dyess and
Whitney Christian both went 2-for-3 to help Union to their first home win of the season. Lane led Asbury going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Paige Taylor (3-9) got the win for Union, going five innings, giving up seven hits and five runs. Summer Rattliff got the loss for Asbury giving up 13 runs, 7 earned, on 12 hits.
In the second game of the double-header, the Lady Eagles started off hot in the first inning getting a homerun from Kateland Hunter, scoring Adair and AnnaBeth Hill who both reached on walks earlier in the inning. The Lady Bulldogs were able to get two runs back in the bottom of the inning. Ridolfi grounded out to the shortstop, but
Emily Bennett was able to score on the play. Tennyson continued her hot hitting, singling up the middle to score
Summer Cross.
Union added three runs in the third inning and five runs in the fourth inning including a three run triple from Bennett giving Union the 10-3 lead after four innings. Asbury added a run in the fifth with an RBI double from Hunter. The Lady Bulldogs put the game away with a three run homer from Tennyson to set the final at 13-4.
Union was led by
Madison Tennyson going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
LaDesha Nelson and
Haley Barnette added three hits and two runs each.
Hailey Cummings (1-3) got her first win of the season going 4.0 innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit with three strikeouts.
Next up, Union will travel to Memphis, Tennessee to take on Christian Brothers University in a Gulf South Conference match up with a double-header starting at 1 pm on Saturday and a single game on Sunday also starting at 1 pm.
-UNION-
