AIKEN, S.C. – Seniors
Haleigh Epperson,
Lexie Coxe,
Jamie Johnson,
Taylor Gerhart and
Toni Nelson combined for eight hits, five runs scored, three RBIs and four stolen bases to fuel the UNC Pembroke softball team to a 6-0 victory over USC Aiken in the second game of Sunday's Peach Belt Conference (PBC) doubleheader at J.H. Satcher Field. The Pacers won game one by a 6-3 score.
The Braves (25-25, 3-17 PBC) snap a five-game losing skid with the game-two victory and win number 25 gives UNCP its third season of .500 or better under head coach
Brittany Bennett. The Black & Gold wraps up its fourth-straight campaign of at least 25 victories. USC Aiken (15-35, 5-15 PBC) improves to 41-17 all-time against the Braves, including a 22-6 mark in Aiken.
Johnson and Epperson each logged a pair of hits in the game two triumph, while Gerhart, Coxe and Epperson all drove in a single run. All five seniors in the starting lineup scored a run and had at least one base knock.
Freshman
Breezy Yelton (10-6) went the distance in the circle to notch her eighth complete game and fourth shutout of the season. She allowed just four hits on 72 pitches, while logging three strikeouts. Yelton ends her first campaign as a Brave with a team-best 10 wins and 3.96 ERA.
Johnson opened the scoring in the second inning when she stole second and scored on a two-base error. Gerhart followed with her fourth home run of the season to double the UNCP lead. Coxe scored on another Pacer error later in the inning and Epperson stole home to put the guests up 4-0 after two frames. Coxe and Epperson each drove in a run with a single in the fifth to cap the Black & Gold scoring. Johnson and Epperson each stole two bases in the victory, while Coxe was hit by a pitch for the PBC-high 14th time this season.
Freshman
Mary Sells led the UNCP offense with a 3-for-4 effort in game one, while Johnson drove in two runs. Sells swiped two bags to make her a perfect 6-for-6 in her freshman campaign.
Malerie Leviner (9-13) tossed her team-best 11th complete game, but surrendered six runs on eight hits. She struck out four Pacers and walked one.
USC Aiken's Chandler Terrapin drove in three runs with a pair of home runs and went the distance in the circle for the hosts. Her first-inning solo shot put the Pacers up 1-0 and a sacrifice fly in the second stretched the lead to 2-0. Johnson cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly in third, but Terrapin's two-run bomb in the bottom half put the hosts up 4-1. Johnson plated two runs with a single in the fifth before a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth built the Pacer lead back to three.
Johnson ends her season campaign leading the PBC in batting average (.435), on-base percentage (.512) and triples (5), while ranking second in hits (64), slugging percentage (.762) and assists (116). She also ranked among the league's top 10 in runs (48), doubles (14), home runs (8), RBIs (43), total bases (112) and stolen bases (24).
Sells ranked fifth in batting average inside PBC play at .452, while
Rendi Wetherington's 23 stolen bases slotted fifth in the conference.
