ASHLAND, Va. - The 23rd – ranked Randolph-Macon softball team swept Shenandoah on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets received another impressive pitching performance by
Gracie Ellis (New Kent, Va./New Kent); recording her third no-hitter in an eight-start season. The senior also notched her 75th win in her career at Randolph-Macon to break the school record.
The Basics:
Score: #23 Randolph-Macon 8, Shenandoah 0 // #23 Randolph-Macon 11, Shenandoah 0
Venue: Ashland, Va. // Randolph-Macon College // Carol Estes Park
Records: Randolph-Macon (14-2, 2-0 ODAC), Shenandoah (6-8, 0-2 ODAC)
How it Happened
Game 1:
- Randolph-Macon broke open the game in the bottom of the third inning. Reagan Hill (Hanover, Va./Hanover) drew a two out walk and scored all the way from first by Kayla Davis (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) hitting a double down the left field line.
- Ellis kept Shenandoah off balance all game, sitting down the first 14 batters she saw. The Hornets did reach base with two outs in the fifth inning by way of an error, breaking up the perfect game and would keep the no-hitter bid alive.
- Jacy Ramos (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette) began the bottom of the fifth inning with a hit by pitch for the Lemon and Black. Hill doubled the Yellow Jacket lead with a single to bring home Ramos. Hill moved over to third with wild pitches from the Hornets and scored on Kayla Davis' single up the middle, extending the lead to 3-0 for Randolph-Macon. Alyssa Meharg (Glen Allen, Va./Glen Allen) pinch ran for the Yellow Jackets and Ellis would draw a walk to put runners on first and second. Mya Davis (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) would be called on to pinch run with Meharg and both would cross home on a Charlotte Boswell (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) double into right center field. In the next at bat Blayne Talley (Richmond, Va./Cosby) singled up the middle to score Boswell as the sixth run of the game. Madison Faries (Colonial Heights, Va./Colonial Heights) ended the game with a single down the left field line to score Blayne Talley and Naomi Sadler (Emporia, Va./Brunswick). Randolph-Macon erupted for seven runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning to win the game in early walk-off fashion 8-0.
Inside the Numbers:
- Ellis recorded her third no-hitter of the season in just eight starts for the Yellow Jackets. The senior struck out five batters in the sixteen total batters she faced in five innings of work.
- Kayla Davis ended game one going 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
- Boswell and Faries each notched two RBIs for the Lemon and Black.
- Blayne Talley and Hill accounted for the two other runs the Yellow Jackets managed to cross the plate.
How it Happened
Game 2:
- Amanda Lanyon (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) led off the game with her second homer of the season, grabbing the quick lead for the Yellow Jackets.
- In the second inning, Randolph-Macon loaded up the bases, starting with a Boswell walk. Blayne Talley and Ashley Bush (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes) followed up Boswell with back-to-back singles. Shenandoah managed to get Courtney Guthrie (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) to line into a double play to get two quick outs. Sadler would come through clutch for the Lemon and Black, shooting a line drive down the left field line to score Blayne Talley and Bush. Sadler moved all the way to third with the Hornets throw home and she crossed home on a Lanyon infield single. Tori Powell (Freeman, Va./Mecklenburg County) kept the hits coming with a single of her own. Hill broke the game wide open, hitting a two RBI double to the fence to score both Lanyon and Powell. The five run inning would push the Yellow Jacket lead to 6-0 after two full innings.
- Sadler added another run to the Randolph-Macon lead with another double down the left field line to bring home Guthrie that doubled earlier in the inning.
- In the fourth inning, the Lemon and Black added four more runs to take an 11-0 lead. The inning was highlighted by a Bush two-run home run.
- Guthrie was elite in the circle for Randolph-Macon, keeping the Hornets off the board and base paths. The junior did not allow a hit until the middle of the fourth inning. Dylan McNerney (Amherst, Va./Amherst County) would come in to pitch in the fifth inning and sat down Shenandoah in order to secure a dominant 11-0 win.
Inside the Numbers:
- Guthrie received the win in game two, pitching four innings of shutout softball for the Lemon and Black. The junior allowed only one hit and struck out one in game two. McNerney sat down the Hornets in order in the fifth inning with three straight flyouts.
- Lanyon, Bush and Sadler all recorded two hits in the game. The trio mounted seven RBIs together to lead the Yellow Jackets at the plate.
- Hill had two RBIs and one hit in the second game of the day.
Up Next
Randolph-Macon will welcome in #20 Tufts to Carol Estes Park on March 19 at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.
