HARRISBURG, ILL. – The pitching triumvirate of Lyndsi Adamson, Kaitlynn Bennett and MiKayla Jolly combined to throw shutout softball for two games, leading Wabash Valley to a sweep of Southeastern Illinois in a Region 24 doubleheader on Thursday.
The Warriors, in stretching their winning streak to four games, improved to 29-16. Southeastern fell to 10-19 with the losses.
In the opener, a 4-0 WVC win, it was Jolly who led off in the circle with two innings of work, followed by three from Adamson and the final two from Bennett.
The rotation went Adamson, Bennett, and Jolly in the nitecap, which the Warriors won 7-0.
Adamson was the winner in game 1 and Bennett with the save.
Bennett was the winner in game 2 and Jolly with the save.
After a scoreless first four innings of the first game, Wabash Valley grabbed the lead in the fifth with two runs. Hannah Chaney hit a one-out double which scored Gracey Himelick, then scored the second run herself on a fielding error on a ball hit by Bennett.
Katie Smith made it 3-0 in the sixth with an RBI single, scoring Kellene Engelhart. And in the seventh, a sacrifice fly from Engelhart scored Lainie Milner with the fourth and final run.
Grace Colvin doubled home Casey Schweitzer with the only run the Warriors would need in the second inning of the finale. But they would tack on one run in the fifth and five in the seventh to account for the win.
Another SAC fly, this one from Bennett, scored Colvin to make it 2-0 in the fifth. But it was Engelhart who had the longest blow of the day – a three-run home run to left in the seventh (her team-high 10th of the year).
Two other runs scored in the seventh, one on an RBI single from Smith, the other a fielder's choice ground ball from Milner.
WVC, 16-6 in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference, returns to league play on Saturday in a home doubleheader against Rend Lake (7-17, 4-10). The first pitch is set for 12-noon.