CLERMONT, Fla. - - A walk-off single capped a good comeback performance for the Wilmington University softball team on day two of their Florida trip, as it defeated Le Moyne, 5-0, before walking off against Findlay, 5-4, at the National Training Center on Tuesday.
After a pair of losses on Monday to start the week, the Wildcats (5-5) answered back with a pair of wins, collecting 20 hits combined in the two games.
The Wildcats jumped out in front of East Region foe Le Moyne early before tacking on insurance runs later in the game to secure the victory. It was Rosa'Lynn Burton was the catalyst once again for the Wildcats.
Burton doubled down the left field line to start the bottom of the first before getting moved over to third by Alyssa Velasquez. Kaitlyn Slater put the Wildcats on the board with a squeeze bunt, scoring Burton for the 1-0 lead.
Jayme Richardson led off the third inning with bunt single before another infield single put runners on first and third with one out. Slater added another RBI single, scoring Richardson and Mirabella Klebart capped the third with a single down the right field line, giving the Wildcats the 3-0 lead.
A wild pitch scored a run in the bottom of the fifth before Jazmeen Llamas scored in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI groundout by Velasquez.
On the other side of the ball, sophomore Caitlyn Whiteside only gave up four hits while only walking one in the complete game shutout. She struck out a pair for her third complete game shutout of the season.
In the nightcap, the Wildcats needed to use a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to secure the sweep despite leading 4-1 going into the top of the seventh.
The Wildcats scored twice in the bottom of the third to break a 1-1 tie. Llamas scored on a throwing error on a double steal before Velasquez singled through the left side to bring home Burton. Becca Stanley came home in the bottom of the fourth inning following a Danielle Bradley infield single.
But with one out and runners on first and second in the top of the seventh for the Oilers, Madison Arnold tied the game with one swing of the bat, homering to center for the three-run bomb. Bradley was able to get out of the inning though, giving the bats one more chance with the game tied 4-4.
And the Wildcats came through.
Llamas started the inning with a single back to the pitcher before Burton put runners on first and second with no outs with another infield single. Velasquez leaded the bases with a bunt single, setting up the walk-off. Slater took a pitch back up the middle and into center field, scoring Llamas for the win.
Bradley struck out eight while giving up five hits for the win, improving to 2-2 on the year.
Burton went 2-for-4 against Le Moyne before adding a 4-for-4 performance against Findlay. Velasquez added two hits in each game as well while slater had three hits in the doubleheader.
The Wildcats return to action at the NTC on Wednesday when they play Wayne State (Neb.) and Stonehill. Their day starts with a 9:00 a.m. first pitch before playing Stonehill at 2:00 p.m.