LEXINGTON, KY – Freshman Becca Carpenter earned her first collegiate win and freshman Emily Smith smacked the first homerun of her career as the Wilmington College softball team earned a non-conference split with Transylvania Thursday at John R. Hall Field.
The Fightin' Quakers (7-29) lost the first game, 8-0, before rebounding to post the 7-0 win in the nightcap. Wilmington concludes the season with an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader at Mount Union 1 p.m. Saturday.
GAME ONE: TRANSYLVANIA 8, WILMINGTON 0 (6 innings)
The opener couldn't be termed as a game of missed opportunities as Wilmington had a base runner in every inning, but weren't able to get the big hit to dent the plate. Meanwhile, the Pioneers put the game away with a four-run sixth inning.
Wilmington's first threat came in the second inning when, trailing 1-0, senior Allie Noggle (Ashville, OH/Teays Valley) opened the frame with a leadoff triple. However, she was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice one batter later.
The Fightin' Quakers had a runner on third with one out in the third inning as freshman Savannah Hooper (Leesburg, OH/Wilmington) opened the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a groundout. But back-to-back grounders kept WC off the scoreboard.
Transylvania added to its lead with a single run in the fourth, and exploded for six runs over the final two innings.
Noggle was the only player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a triple.
Freshman Beth Persicano (Knoxville, TN/Cincinnati Turpin) took the loss, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 13 hits in 5 2/3 innings. She recorded four strikeouts and a walk.
GAME TWO: WILMINGTON 7, TRANSYLVANIA 0
Carpenter (South Charleston, OH/Southeastern) allowed just one runner to reach third base, scattered three hits and closed the door emphatically by striking out the side in the seventh inning to record her first career shutout and victory.
After missing most of the season with an injury, Carpenter has been solid in her last three appearances leading up Thursday's scintillating performance against the Pioneers. As the freshman mowed threw the TU lineup, it was a classmate that gave her the lead.
Leading off the third inning, Smith (Bellbrook, OH/Bellbrook) drilled her first career long ball. The frame continued as freshman Sawyer Hooper (Leesburg, OH/Wilmington) reached on an error, and back-to-back singles from Savannah Hooper and junior Megan Warren (Grove City, OH/Grove City) loaded the bases.
Sophomore Kerrie Trautman (Hartville, OH/Field) brought home both Hooper's with a single.
Sawyer Hooper's two-out single in the fourth inning scored Smith, who reached on an error, to help WC build on its lead. Junior Jessie Stewart (Fredericktown, OH/Highland) doubled home two more runs in the fifth inning, and Warren double home the final run in the sixth inning.
Warren had a season-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Smith was 2-for-3 with a double, homerun and two runs scored. Sawyer Hooper also scored two runs in the win with an RBI.