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Box Score 2 JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven softball team (23-6) picked up a pair of run rule victories on Monday afternoon, sweeping Tennessee Temple University (11-21) in a non-conference doubleheader. The Blazers took the opener by a tally of 9-0 before finishing their day with a 12-4 win.
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"It was good to get comfortable at the plate and get the bats going," Head Coach
Kevin Griffin said. "That was our goal coming in today, and I feel like we accomplished that."
The Blazers scored first in the second inning before breaking things open in the bottom of the fourth.
Josie Porter highlighted the effort, driving in three runs on one of Belhaven's three doubles in the contest.
Jessica Paris drove in a pair on a double of her own, while
Dominique Corona had the team's final two-bagger.
Denee' Crawford,
Katy Adair, and
Mandy Fuller each contributed a base hit to the effort.
Ashlee Hitt ended the series opener as the only player with a multi-hit game, including a triple that turned into the first run of the game. Megan Roysden went down as the Crusader pitcher of record, allowing nine runs on eight hits and four walks through just four innings.
The offense provided Belhaven starter Paris with plenty of support in the pitching circle, as the senior pitched all five innings and allowed just one hit in her sixth victory of the year. Additionally, Paris struck out five to extend her team lead in the shutout.
Adair entered the circle for the Blazers in the second game of the afternoon, allowing just one earned run on four hits through five innings.
Kelly Rogers allowed a single unearned run in the top of the sixth, but the lineup again backed the arms enough to give Adair her seventh win.
Porter again paced the Blazer attack with a two-hit game that included her team-best fourth home run of the year, while Paris and
Victoria Sorrell combined for five hits and two RBI. Sorrell went 3-4 at the plate while driving in a run and scoring two runs of her own.
"I have been struggling to find a spot for Tori all year long," Griffin said. "If she continues to swing the bat like this, she is going to force her way into a regular lineup."
Eight other Blazers chimed in a base hit, and it proved to be more than enough to hand Tennessee Temple's Savannah Brownlee a loss. Brownlee allowed 12 runs on 15 Belhaven hits, including a walk-off single by Paris that gave the home team their second run rule victory of the day.
The Crusader offense fared much better in the nightcap, managing to cross the plate four times after five base hits. Brownlee led the effort by driving in a pair, while Jacqueline Crawford scored half the squad's runs.
Belhaven returns to action on Friday, when they will travel to Alabama to take on third-ranked Auburn University-Montgomery in Southern States Athletic Conference play. The battle between top ten teams is set to begin at 3:00 pm.
"We have huge conference games this weekend, but the sky is the limit for our group when we believe in each other," Griffin said. "If we come to play with the same enthusiasm we brought today, we have some positive results waiting for us."