COLUMBUS, Miss. – The W softball senior class celebrated their special day with authority, as the Owl stayed ahead of Judson College behind a 5-2 and 10-9 doubleheader sweep.

The senior class of Hannah Hurdle, Morgan Gresham, Anna Kate O'Bryant, MacKenzie Denton, Austyn Holden, and student assistant Meredith Woolbright were celebrated on the field before game one of Saturday's two games, as friends and family turned out to help send off the class with support. Woolbright even had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

Game One (W, 5-2)
In game one, senior MacKenzie Denton threw a fantastic game during her senior day celebration. The Pontotoc, Miss. native pitched the entire seven innings for one strikeout, three hits against, and two earned runs.

At the plate, Denton also led the Owls with a 3-for-3 at-bat for one RBI. Left fielder Megan Cummins led the team in RBIs with two, and senior Austyn Holden had the most successful outing with a 2-for-3 appearance for one RBI and one run.

The Owls held the Eagles scoreless until the final inning while racking up five runs along the way. The scoring effort began at the bottom of the third, with Cummins recording an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

In the fifth, Cummins had a second sacrifice fly to send Lauren Duckworth home. Holden singled for an RBI, and Denton singled to score Holden.

Jasmine Shaw scored the Owls final run of the game in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.

Game Two (W, 10-9)

The second game of the day was a hard-fought game with every member of the Owls pitching staff making an appearance to push The W to victory.

Kaitlyn Parrish started and closed the game in the circle to receive credit for the win and improve to 5-4. In the outing, the Attalla, Ala., native pitched 5.2 innings for one strikeout, 11 hits against, and three earned runs.

Offensively, junior shortstop Jessica Deming led the Owls at the plate with a 3-for-5 appearance for five RBIs and one run. Holden added two RBIs and two hits to the effort, while Katie Beth Williams had a 2-for-3 appearance with three runs.

Judson broke the 0-0 stalemate with a single for an RBI in the top of the second. The Owls answered in the bottom of the inning with Williams scoring on a throwing error, Deming collecting an RBI on a double, and Cummins grabbing an RBI single to take a 3-1 lead.

Williams scored again for The W in the bottom of the third on a ground out by Jaelynn Palmer.

The Eagles tied it all up, scoring two runs in the fourth and an additional run in the fifth.

The Owls reclaimed the lead as Deming collected three RBIs on a double to pull ahead 7-4.

Judson continued to battle and eventually reclaimed the lead in the sixth, scoring five runs.

The W did not give up, with Deming recording a fifth RBI on a ground out and Holden securing the win on a two-RBI walk-off double.

The Owls will return to the field tomorrow, Sunday, April 18, when they host Xavier University at Don Usher Field. The first pitch of the double header is set for noon.