Stacy Peralta earned her first career victory on the pitching mound with an 8-7 win over Benedict
Box Score 1 Game One Box
Game Two Box
Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's softball team split games with Benedict College in a non-conference doubleheader on Monday afternoon inside Biddleville Park. JCSU lost game one 2-1, but rebounded in game two with an 8-7 victory. The Golden Bulls improve to 1-5 in the overall standings.
JCSU faced a 2-0 deficit after the top of the first inning. Freshman pitcher
Stacy Peralta (Brooklyn, NY) only allowed one hit, but two errors let in two runs for Benedict. Peralta held the Lady Tigers scoreless for the remaining six innings and only gave up five more hits. Unfortunately, the Golden Bulls had trouble producing runs of their own.
Johnson C. Smith finally scored a run in the bottom of the sixth. Senior
ShaDella Reese (Atlanta, GA) singled with a bunt to get on base and later stole second. Freshman
Jena Rae Serranzana (Panorama City, CA) smacked a RBI double to right field, which brought home Reese.
Benedict closed out the sixth inning up 2-1. With an opportunity to tie or go ahead, the Golden Bulls went three up, three down in the final inning. Peralta is charged with loss, despite only six hits and two runs. She also had a season-high eight strikeouts.
Game two boiled down to the fifth inning for Johnson C. Smith. Sophomore
Ashton Byrd (Atlanta, GA) started out on the pitching mound, but Peralta checked back in by the third. Benedict built a 7-5 advantage heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Senior
Elizabeth McElveen (Florence, SC) and Reese both took base as the tying runs off singles. Serranzana stepped up to the plate and hammered a homerun nearly 250 feet over the centerfield fence. The 3 RBI shot put JCSU ahead 8-7 going into the sixth.
Both teams went scoreless in the sixth inning. The contest came to an unexpected end when the lighting in the ballpark went out. The officials ruled the game over due to insufficient lighting to play.
Peralta picked up her first career win at the mound. She allowed five hits and one run in four innings pitched. Serranzana bailed out the Golden Bulls with five RBIs, three hits, and two runs scored; including her game winning homerun.
JCSU returns to action on Wednesday, February 22nd against Montreat College inside Biddleville Park. First pitch in the non-conference doubleheader is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
