LIVINGSTON,
Ala. – The University of West Alabama belted
nine home runs to tie the school record for home
runs in a season with 63, as UWA cruised past
Stillman 20-1 and 13-0 on Tuesday at the UWA
Softball Complex.
The second win of the double dip earned Tiger
skipper Will Atkinson his 200th
career win. He entered his second season with
163 career wins. The Tigers’ win total now
stands at 37-8 overall. Atkinson spent six
seasons at Lambuth University before joining the
UWA program in 2006 as an assistant coach.
The 2007 squad set the home run standard with 63
in a season. The home run total ranks seventh
in the Gulf South Conference record book.
The Tigers scored 13 of their 33 total runs off
the long ball. Senior Ashley Edgar, who
connected on a pair of dingers on the day,
drilled the first of three home runs in the top
of the first of the opener. The Roseville,
Calif.-catcher finished the day with four hits
combined, three for extra bases. Edgar extended
her 12-game hitting streak to 14 games, dating
back to March 24. Kelli Hartley powered a
three-run blast along with Angela Smith’s grand
slam to left field. After UWA opened with an
eight-run first, it strung together a six-run,
seven-hit second at bat to extend the lead to
14-0. Lauren Mills lifted a two-run homer to
left center in the frame along with a trio of
doubles in the frame. In the UWA third,
Courtney Gordon led off with a walk and was
plated on Emily White’s round-tripper to left
center. Valisha Fincher posted the final runs
of the shortened contest with a three-run homer
to right.
UWA starter Brittany McGee turned in her third
complete game of the year, allowing just four
hits and fanning four in the affair. SC touched
McGee for a run in the third, as Bathsheba
Wariso scored on April Ball’s ground out. The
Demopolis, Ala.-senior pushed her season mark to
13-2 on the season.
Senior Laura Bagwell jumped on the home run
carousel to start the scoring in the second
game. Bagwell’s two-run shot in the second
inning, scored Gordon, who started the four-run,
five hit frame. Edgar added a pair of runs with
her second round-tripper of the day to close out
the second. The Tigers added four more runs in
the third before posting five in the fourth
inning. Jessica Powell closed out the home run
tally with a two-run blast to left field.
Junior Jessica Cervantes faced two batters over
the minimum en route to a two-hit shutout.
Cervantes, who leads the nation in saves for
NCAA Division II with 12, remained perfect in
wins with her seventh of the season.
The Tigers return to GSC East
activity on Friday, April 10, traveling to
Carrollton, Ga. to face West Georgia in a
twinbill. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
