In case you haven't been paying attention, our softball squad is legit, y'all. The Bulldogs rounded out another successful weekend with a 2-0 win over Mercer today. That took them to 5-0 for the weekend, and 18-2 on the year. These Diamond Dogs are justifying all the preseason hype and proving they're worth the number 7 national ranking.
On Friday, the Dawgs carded victories over Cleveland State (4-2) and Rutgers (12-1). Sophomore Morgan Montemayor pitched against the Vikings, striking out eight batters and allowing just seven hits. The Lady Dawgs didn't need any extra offense to beat Cleveland State after scoring four unanswered runs in the first. Not much needs to be said about junior Tess Sito's performance other than that she gave up a lone run in the fourth... after homering in the first. The Scarlet Knights had no answers for Paige Wilson's and Niaja Griffin's huge third and fourth innings, with double RBIs for each in each frame.
The Fourth Annual Bulldog Invitational got off to a slow start on Saturday, with rain delays pushing the day's matches back a few hours. That didn't stop the Dawgs from scoring wins over Ohio (7-3) and Minnesota (9-5), though. Senior Erin Arevalo gets pitching credit for the win over Ohio, giving up just three runs against ten Ks, with four hits and two walks. Montemayor had a career-high day against Minnesota, allowing just four hits against twelve strike-outs. Paige Wilson was Saturday's offensive MVP, scoring a run after walking in the fifth against the Bobcats and batting in two runners in the first against the Golden Gophers.
Sunday saw the Dawgs playing excellent defense with a 2-0 win over Mercer. Montemayor got yet another win, striking out five while allowing just three hits in three innings. Arevalo struck out four in the final four innings. Tess Sito and sophomore Tiesha Reed each notched an RBI against the Bears.
Furman comes to town on Wednesday before the Dawgs head out to Starkville to start league play against the Bizarro Bulldogs. Get your popcorn ready because this is shaping up to be a special season.
Go Dawgs!