Lady Hawks move into 2nd in USA South with 7th conference sweep

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon softball team used strong pitching and two timely home runs to sweep North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday.

The Lady Hawks beat the Battling Bishops 1-0 in Game 1 and 6-2 in Game 2 for their seventh USA South Athletic Conference sweep of the season.

With one conference doubleheader remaining, Huntingdon (21-12) is 17-5 in the USA South and second behind ninth-ranked Piedmont. The conference tournament begins on April 11 in Rocky Mount, N.C.

The Lady Hawks are scheduled, weather permitting, to close out conference play at home on Sunday with a doubleheader against Methodist.

Junior Morgan Goshorn and senior Jenna Rimensnyder combined for two home runs and six of Huntingdon's seven RBIs on Saturday. Goshorn was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer, four RBIs and a run in the doubleheader and Rimensnyder hit a two-run homer in Game 2.

Pitchers Brooke Meadows and Katy Messick combined for 21 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. Meadows (10-4), who leads the conference with a 0.96 ERA and is tied for second with 108 strikeouts this season, threw a three-hitter, walked one and struck out 14 in Game 1. Messick (8-3) followed up with seven strikeouts in Game 2. The junior scattered six hits and allowed two unearned runs.

In Game 1, a Goshorn double in the second inning scored Lauren Welch for the only run. Halleigh DiNicholas was the only Huntingdon player with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-2.

In Game 2, Huntingdon scored five runs on two swings of the bat. Rimensnyder's two-run homer made it a 2-1 game in the third inning and Goshorn's three-run home run made it 6-1 in the fifth inning.

Ashlee Zachmeyer drove in Huntingdon's other run with a single in the fifth inning. Daisha Henderson, Zachmeyer, Kaitlynn Wiggins and Ashley Johnson each scored one run and Amy Caroline Riley was 2-for-3. Henderson had two stolen bases in Game 2.