CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Union University softball team defeated Delta State University in the final two games of the first Gulf South Conference series of the season on Monday afternoon. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 10-6 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Delta State dropped to 10-7 overall and 2-4 in conference play. 

The series sweep was the first for Union versus a GSC team since 2017 versus Christian Brothers and it was the first GSC road sweep for Union since joining the league in 2013. Union now has had four GSC 3-game series sweeps since 2013. The current 5-game win streak for Union matches the second longest streak since joining the NCAA and GSC in 2013. The longest streak was seven straight games in 2015.  

In the first game of the day, Union defeated Delta State 10-3. The Lady Statesmen were on the board in the first inning with a three-run homer. In the third inning, Parker Davis doubled to left, bringing in Sarah Smith, Taylor Manley, and Kaitlyn Kelley. In the fifth inning, Lexie Bates and Haley Barnette scored to put Union ahead 5-3. In the seventh inning, Smith scored off a double by Peyton Mathis, and Kristen Pickens hit a single that brought in Molly McKelvy. Mathis scored another run for the Bulldogs, and the final two runs came Ashten Petty and Pickens off a double by Barnette. 

Davis earned the win, tossing seven innings allowing four hits with strikeouts and two walks. 

In the final game of the series, Union defeated Delta State 9-7. In the first inning, the Lady Statesmen took the lead, but Morris homered to right center in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1. In the third inning, Pickens and Alyssa Ward scored runs for Union, and  Barnette homered to left center bringing in Kelley. In the fourth inning, Delta State scored another run. Smith homered for the Lady Bulldogs in the fifth. In the sixth, Harley Bartholomew scored off a single by Smith. The Lady Statesmen scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game up at 7-7. Union final two runs came from Smith and Morris off a single by  Davis. 

Morris earned the win for Union, tossing 7.2 innings allowing 11 hits with four strikeouts and six walks. Manley tossed .1 innings allowing one hit with zero strikeouts and zero walks. 

Next up for Union is another GSC series at Valdosta State University on March 2-3. 

-UNION-