In their last home action of the 2019 season, the UNCP softball team welcomed the Francis Marion University Patriots to UNCP Softball Field on April 16th for a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader. The Braves split the twinbill with their conference foe by taking the first game 2-1 and dropping the second 7-1.
While UNCP’s red-hot bats as of late were lukewarm on the day, the matchup turned into a fierce pitching battle through both games outside of a seventh-inning outlier in game two. Right-handed pitcher Malerie Leviner continued her stalwart play on the mound for the Braves in game one.
“She just absolutely came to shine today,” said Head Coach Brittany Bennett. “She’s won the last five Peach Belt games she’s thrown because she’s just almost untouchable. They put the ball in play but its just outs all day.”
Game 1:
The Braves would score their only runs of the game and all they would need to secure the victory in the opening frame. Jordan Adcox’s triple down the right-field line brought Rendi Wetherington in for the first score of the game and Cam Davis would hit a single to right field to plate the second run of the inning.
“I think one run games are one hit away or one shot away. You get the right hit at the right time… It’s really who scores first and how you respond and then how long it is before you score,” said Bennett.
Game 2:
The Patriots climbed on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the second frame and the Black and Gold would respond in the bottom of the third when Adcox smacked a double to centerfield to bring in Wetherington for her second run of the day to knot the score up at 1-1.
Francis Marion would tack on another run in the top of the fifth and take a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh frame where their offense exploded for five runs thanks to a pair of home runs that soared over centerfield with runners on base each time.
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