ASHLAND, Va. – The 12^th – ranked Randolph-Macon softball team hosted the 13^th-ranked and third-seed Virginia Wesleyan Marlins for a chance to go to the ODAC semifinals. The Yellow Jackets capitalized on Marlins errors to take a 6-2 win and move one win away from the ODAC championship series.

The Basics:

Scores: Randolph-Macon 6, Virginia Wesleyan 2

Location: Ashland, Va./Randolph-Macon College/RMC Softball Field

Records: Randolph-Macon (35-7, 17-3 ODAC), Virginia Wesleyan (34-8, 16-4 ODAC)

How it Happened (Game 1):

• The Marlins went 1-2-3 in the first inning and Amanda Lanyon (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) led off the bottom half with a single but was stranded on second.
• VWU opened the scoring with a leadoff home run in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead. After Amanda Lanyon picked up her second hit of the game in the bottom of the third, Rilee Baughan (Warsaw, Va./Rappahannock) drove her in with a two-out single to tie the game at one.
• The fifth inning began the same way, with Madison Hudson of VWU blasting her second homer of the game to take a 2-1 lead. RMC answered again, scoring five unearned runs in the bottom half to break the game open and take a 6-2 lead. Baughan, Olivia Owens (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett), and Gracie Ellis (New Kent, Va./New Kent) each picked up RBI hits in the inning, with Owens' hit scoring two runners.
• Gracie Ellis sat down the Marlins in order in the final two innings to seal the 6-2 win to advance to Sunday's matchup.

By the Numbers (Game 1):

• Amanda Lanyon picked up two hits for the second straight day, going 2-4 at the plate with three stolen bases and a run scored.
• Rilee Baughan had two separate hits that drove in runners, helping the offensive efforts with one RBI and one run scored.
• Olivia Owens provided a big two-run single in the fifth to help break the game open for the Yellow Jackets.
• In her second start in as many games, Gracie Ellis threw a complete game with seven strikeouts to pick up the win. Ellis also had a hit and an RBI in the game.
• Kiley Lamberth (Mechanicsville, Va./Mechanicsville) had two knocks in the game for the second straight game.

Up Next:

Randolph-Macon will host the winner of Virginia Wesleyan and Randolph in the pod final at noon on Sunday in Ashland.