COLUMBUS, Miss. – It was a perfect start to the 2022 season by the Mississippi University for Women softball team, winning both games on Day No. 1 of its own MUW Invitational. The Owls (2-0) took down Covenant College, 5-3, and then dropped Sewanee, 3-1, at Don Usher Field.
"I was really proud of the way we came out and played today," The W Head Coach
Buddy Foster said. "For the most part we did what we talked about before the weekend. Amelia (Stalter) and Rylee (Grisham) set the tone for us in the circle. Our pitching was very good today. We played solid defense and got timely hitting! I was proud of our effort from everyone today."
The pitching tandem of Stalter (1-0) in the first game and Grisham in the second proved to be a lethal combination. Both threw complete-game wins and both demonstrated good control on opening day. Stalter rolled up nine strikeouts – walking only one - versus the Scots (1-1), while permitting three earned runs on six hits. CC scored one in the top of the first and added a pair of runs in the third, before Stalter settled in and tossed goose eggs at them the rest of the way.
Grisham (1-0) struck out three Sewanee Tigers and did not walk a batter. Grisham carried a shutout into the seventh inning before Sewanee finally managed a run. She scattered four hits by Tiger batters. Grisham had four perfect innings and did not allow a Sewanee player into scoring position until the final frame.
Versus Covenant, the top of Foster's batting order collected six of the team's eight hits in the game. Leadoff hitter
Jessica Deming went 2-for-3, with a walk and run scored. Deming had all of The W's stolen bases, going a larcenous 3-for-4 on the base paths.
Senior outfielder
Lauren Duckworth was 1-for-2, with a pair of walks in the No. 2 slot. In the third position,
Riley Phillips went 2-for-3, with a double, two runs scored and was hit by a pitch. Senior leftfielder
Madison Crosby, batting clean-up, was 1-for-3 with a run batted in.
In game two versus Sewanee,
"Buddy Ball" – the Owls' philosophy of aggressive and opportunistic base running – paid off in spades. The W had five hits in the contest – all singles – but the trio of
Maddy Suggs, Phillips and
Kaylee Quimby parlayed their base raps into scoring opportunities. Each had a single, stole second to get themselves into scoring position and eventually scored to account for all of the Owls' run production.
The MUW Invitational continues on Saturday. Sewanee and Covenant square off in the 11 a.m. game, followed by The W versus Covenant at 1 p.m. Sewanee and the Owls cap the tourney with a 3 p.m. match-up at Don Usher Field.
