HICKORY, N.C. — The 19th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College softball team earned a three-game conference series sweep against 15th-ranked Bryant & Stratton on Tuesday and Wednesday at Stanford Park.
The Red Hawks (19-2, 13-2) defeated the Bobcats 3-2 and 12-4 during Tuesday's doubleheader before ending the series with an 8-7 victory on Wednesday.
Game one: No. 19 Catawba Valley 3, No. 15 Bryant & Stratton 2
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, a two-run home run by Red Hawk catcher Kayla Hollar propelled the Red Hawks to a one-run victory in the opening game of the series against the Bobcats (22-6, 10-4).
Rileigh Farr also connected on a solo home run for Catawba Valley, which led off the game's scoring in the second inning, and CVCC third baseman Chesney Stikeleather tallied a team-high two hits.
Red Hawk starting pitcher Mayson Lail held Bryant & Stratton batters hitless through 5.1 innings until a double by the Bobcats' Shayla Hurley in the sixth inning.
Lail earned her 10th win of the season. She allowed just three hits, two runs and one walk while striking out 10 batters.
Game two: No. 19 Catawba Valley 12, No. 15 Bryant & Stratton 4
The Red Hawks erased a four-run deficit to earn a run-rule victory in game two of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Bobcats.
Rileigh Farr led the charge for CVCC at the plate with four RBI, including a three-run home run in the third inning and an RBI single in the fifth inning. Center fielder Miranda Valerio added a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning for the Red Hawks.
Catawba Valley pitcher Mayson Lail earned the win in relief of starter Tristan Smalling. Lail allowed one run, one hit and struck out one batter in three innings of work.
Game three: No. 19 Catawba Valley 8, No. 15 Bryant & Stratton 7
A pair of three-run home runs by Chesney Stikeleather and Macey Pennell were the difference for the Red Hawks in a one-run victory against the Bobcats in Wednesday's series finale.
Down 3-0 early, the Red Hawks notched back-to-back four-run innings in the third and fourth led by the home runs of Hollar and Pennell and an RBI single from Rileigh Farr.
The Bobcats rallied with four runs in the seventh inning, but starting pitcher Mayson Lail closed the door by forcing a fly ball out to center field to end the game and preserve the three-game series sweep.
The Catawba Valley Community College softball team returns to action next weekend for a three-game conference series against Fayetteville Tech.
The Red Hawks and Trojans play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13 starting at 1 p.m. follows by a single game on Sunday, April 14 at 1 p.m. All three games will be played at Stanford Park in Hickory.