Game 1 Box Score /
Game 2 Box Score
PINEVILLE - The Louisiana College Softball faithful who braved the cold weather in Central Louisiana Wednesday night got their money's worth from the Lady Wildcats in the home opener versus NCAA Division I Southern University at Coca-Cola Lady Wildcat Field, watching the LC women improve to 6-0 on the year with back-to-back dramatic wins over the Lady Jaguars, 4-3 and 7-5.
In the first half of the doubleheader, one which had been rescheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday due to torrential rains in the region Sunday and Monday, the Lady Wildcats rallied from one down in their last at-bat to defeat Southern with a two-out walk-off double by senior shortstop Mary Alice Roy.
With the strong pitching of Rene' Schwartzenburg (4-0), who hurled a complete game and struck out 10, LC had kept the Southern offense at bay for most of the contest, but gave up two unearned runs to fall behind 3-2 in the seventh.
With just three outs to play, the Lady Wildcats got two players on base, senior first baseman Aimee Dubroc and senior outfielder Allison Frye, with singles before freshman Brittany Menard sacrificed to move both into scoring position and Roy delivered a double off the left center field wall to win the game.
Roy finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Catcher Amber Thomas went 2-for-2 and delivered a two-RBI single in the fourth to give LC its origninal lead.
Lanaya Jenkins took the loss for Southern.
In the second game, the Lady Wildcats scored four runs in the first third of an inning but had to ward off a hailstorm of hits from the Lady Jaguars in the late innings of the game to seal the win.
In LC's first at-bat, Menard, Roy and senior outfielder Jodi Montagnino all reached safely to load the bases with one out, a situation that would chance with a base-clearing, three-RBI double to center field by five-hole hitter and third baseman Devan Greene. Greene would later score an unearned run to make it 4-0.
For the first time all season, junior hurler Kellie Williams was able to put in time for the Lady Wildcats, and delivered to the tune of three scoreless innings and six strike outs.
Her reliever, freshman Carli Wheeler, picked up the win to improve to 2-0 on the season with four innings pitched and one strike out, but allowed four earned runs.
Most of those five runs were attributable to Southern shortstop Shawntall Steamer who, after hitting a solo shot off Schwartzenburg in game 1, delivered a two-run homer in the fourth to pull the Lady Jaguars to within 4-2 of the lead.
It was all part of a 2-for-4 game 2 performance for Steamer that included a run scored and three batted in.
Luckily for the Lady Wildcats, Montagnino was good for a two-run bomb of her own in the bottom of the fourth to reestablish LC's four-run lead.
Southern would score two runs in the fifth, one earned and one unearned, and another in the seventh, this a solo home run off the bat of Victoria Stewart, but a run by the Lady Wildcats in the sixth, on a double steal that allowed Montagnino to score from third while Greene advanced to second, provided enough cushion for the win.
In game 2, LC was led offensively by Montagnino (2-for-3 with three runs scored and two driven in) and Greene (1-for-2 with three RBI).
Next up for LC softball is the annual American Southwest Conference Crossover Tournament in Dallas beginning Friday.