COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College softball team took advantage of back-to-back Fort Valley State errors in the bottom of the seventh to score the winning run and take a 4-3 victory in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.
Fort Valley State scored a run in the bottom of the seventh in the first game to take a 7-6 victory.
Benedict goes to 8-4 overall. Fort Valley State is now 8-9.
FVSU took advantage of a Benedict error to score the first run in the first inning of the second game. The Lady Tigers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when
Taylor McNeal reached on the first hit of the game, a single through the left side. McNeal stole second and came home on a single by
Deneisha Wooten.
Chesney Miller hit a single that was mishandled in the outfield that allowed
Taylor Wilson to score to give Benedict a 2-1 lead.
The Lady Wildcats scored two runs in the fifth inning to take a 3-2 lead, scoring the go-ahead run on an error. Benedict tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth when McNeal led off with a single to center field, advanced to second on a passed ball and stole third. She scored on a single by Wooten.
After Fort Valley State stranded two runners in the top of the seventh,
Brianna Crosby hit a one-out single to left field.
Daisha Mitchell followed with a walk, and McNeal hit a shot back to the pitcher, who misplayed the ball to load the bases.
Zanila Booker hit a ball to the shortstop, who fumbled the ball, allowing Crosby to score the winning run.
In the first game, the Lady Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to a two-run homer by Ja'Necia Barber. FVSU added a two-run double in the fifth inning to take a 5-0 lead.
The Lady Tigers erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Deyonce Lewis started things off with an RBI single, and Booker followed with a sacrifice fly. Wooten drove in another run with a groundout. Wilson tied the game with a two-run double to center field.
Fort Valley State scored an unearned run in the sixth inning to take a 6-5 lead. Benedict came back in the bottom of the sixth with Mitchell scoring an unearned run off a FVSU error. Fort Valley State took a 7-6 lead in the seventh inning on a single, an error, and a double.
Benedict will wrap up its 2021 season with a doubleheader at Savannah State on April 23.
