The Lady Golden Bulls have been on a hot streak since the CIAA Roundup, winning five in a row
Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's softball team showed some clutch resolve to defeat Shaw University (8-3, 5-4) Tuesday afternoon in a doubleheader at Biddleville Park. JCSU improves to 8-14 overall, 4-1 in the CIAA, and 2-0 in the Western Division.
Johnson C. Smith stayed ahead of the Lady Bears from the beginning in game one. At the top of the first, Monica Grimmage hit a homerun to put Shaw on the scoreboard. Junior pitcher
Allycia Watanabe (Waipahu, HI) got the final out on a strikeout to end a two hit, one run inning.
After being walked to get on base, junior catcher
Samantha Smith (Whiteville, NC) stole second and third base. Junior shortstop
Kawehi Chan (Honolulu, HI) hit a sacrificial fly to centerfield to score Smith. Senior centerfielder
Mauranda Elliott (Tabor City, NC) also took base on balls and stole all three bases for the Lady Golden Bulls' second run scored.
Shaw went three up, three down in the second and third innings. JCSU put another run on the board in the third, but really broke loose in the fourth. J.C. Smith had three hits and four runs to go ahead 7-1 in the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Chan doubled to left center to take base. Freshman shortstop Alexandria Buckley (Charlotte, NC) connected on a RBI single to score Chan and JCSU's final run.
The Lady Bears faced an 8-1 deficit going into the seventh. Johnson C. Smith gave up two meaningless runs in the final inning, but picked up an 8-3 victory.
Watanabe earned her fifth win on the mound with four strikeouts.
Game two produced some real heroics in the final inning from a JCSU newcomer. JCSU scored two runs in the third and fourth innings for a 4-3 lead heading into the sixth. Jessica Davis stole home after a bad throw from the outfield to tie the game 4-4.
The game stayed tied until the bottom of the seventh and final inning. Freshman Alex Buckley was first on the hitting deck. Buckley saw the pitch she liked and smashed a game-winning homerun to centerfield. The hit from Buckley won Johnson C. Smith their fifth consecutive game, second divisional contest, and seventh of their last eight.
The Lady Golden Bulls waste no time returning to action against Fayetteville State University on Wednesday, March 24th. First pitch in this divisional doubleheader is scheduled for 2:00 pm at Biddleville Park.
