SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Erskine College softball team (19-10, 9-3 CC) swept a doubleheader against Converse University (13-27, 4-12 CC) in convincing fashion at Tyger River Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. An 11-run sixth inning fueled a 12-4 victory for the Fleet in Game 1, and then Erskine was dominant from start to finish in a 11-0 win in Game 2.

THE ESSENTIALS 
Conf. Carolinas Standings | Stats | Scores
Div. II Scores | Record Book | CC Digital Network
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Erskine 12-4 Converse (Final / 6 innings)
After a scoreless first inning, Mary Elizabeth Ballard opened the scoring with an RBI single, giving the Fleet a 1-0 in the top of the second. But, Converse took control of the game after that, scoring the next four runs, and taking a three-run lead into the sixth. Maddie Ingram and Hayden Bradley each singled to start the frame as Erskine loaded the bases with nobody out. Amber Clark singled up the middle to score a pair and get the Fleet within a run. Then, a few moments later, Kyndall Chandler flipped the script of the game with a clutch three-run home run over the right field fence as Erskine regained the lead, 6-4. And, the Fleet were far from done, as a Peyton Rabon ground-rule double restarted another rally in the sixth. Savannah Koester singled home Rabon and Brooke Patterson doubling Erskine's lead 8-4. Koester would come around to score as well, and Clark and Chandler each had RBIs singles to cap an inning in which Erskine scored 11 runs and brought 16 hitters to the plate to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 12-4 lead. Payton Cox sealed the win in the bottom half of the sixth with a scoreless frame as she went the distance on the mound for the Fleet.

Game 2: Erskine 11-0 Converse (Final / 5 innings)
The momentum from the end of Game 1 carried over into Game 2 for the Fleet as they picked up right where they left off. Peyton Rabon gave Erskine a lead in the very first inning with an RBI single. Then, in the second inning, Erskine got RBI doubles from Mary Elizabeth Ballard, Amber Clark, and Kyndall Chandler and took a 5-0 lead, The Fleet added two more in the third thanks to RBIs from Hayden Bradley and Hailey Watson, before a Brooke Patterson sacrifice fly in the fourth extended the lead to 8-0. Ballard recorded another RBI double to start a three-run fifth inning, capping a total outburst from the Erskine lineup in Game 2. While the Fleet offense scored in every inning, starting pitcher Payton Cox was lights-out on the mound, tossing a five-hit shutout as Erskine took care of Converse, 11-0, to secure the doubleheader sweep.

THE PLAYER
Freshman outfielder Amber Clark was an eye-popping 7-for-8 at the plate in the doubleheader. She went 4-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs in Game 1, and then was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and two more runs driven in, leading the way for a Fleet lineup that totaled 23 runs as a team in the doubleheader.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine has a quick turnaround for another conference doubleheader on the road on Thursday against North Greenville University (18-20, 6-8 CC), starting at 3 p.m. The Fleet have won 7 of their last 9 meetings against the Crusaders, including a doubleheader sweep at home last season.

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