UNF sweeps away Belmont

Thursday, March 20

Jacksonville, Fla.

5 p.m.

University of North Florida

Belmont

Gwen Williams drove in five runs in the nightcap with Belmont.

3/20/2008 9:34:52 PM | Softball

Gwen Williams tops night with grand slam

Game 1 Box

Game 2 Box

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida softball team swept an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader from visiting Belmont at the UNF Softball Complex, running its winning streak to five games.

Gwen Williams capped a 10-1 win in the nightcap with a grand slam home run to help UNF (22-14, 4-2 A-Sun) follow up its 4-2 win in the opener.

“We have power throughout our lineup and with one swing of the bat we can change a game,” UNF head coach Sonya Wilmoth said. “Gwen proved that tonight.”

Williams' grand slam topped off a seven-run rally in the bottom of the fourth that saw UNF send 11 hitters to the plate and take advantage of three-straight Belmont walks and a pair of hit batters.

After taking a 3-1 lead with three unearned in the bottom of the third inning on two-out RBIs by Devyn Findley and Williams, Kacie McCloud began the fourth with a single to left. She would later come into score on a Kara Rutenbar base hit. The Bruin pitching staff struggled from there, walking three-straight before Williams sent her eighth home run of the season sailing into the night sky behind the wall in left-center.

Tori Ahern (9-5) finally finished Belmont off in the top of the fifth, working a 1-2-3 inning to end the game by the mercy rule. Ahern allowed only one unearned run in the game, while giving up two hits and striking out three.

Findley and Williams each had a pair of hits in the nightcap to lead the UNF offense, combining to drive in eight of the team's 10 runs. Williams had five of those RBIs.

UNF opened the doubleheader with three runs over its last two at-bats to secure a 4-2 victory. The Lady Ospreys broke open a 1-1 tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Ashley Battaglia got the scoring started in the fifth when she reached on fielder's choice, scoring Rutenbar from third. She later came around to score what turned out to be the winning run thanks to an error by Belmont center fielder Meghan Pipkin.

Findley (12-7) allowed a run in the top of the sixth, but held off a Bruin rally in the seventh to secure the win. She outdueled Belmont's Sammi Parks (6-7), despite walking six batters. Findley struck out seven, while Parks had four strikeouts on the night, allowing four runs – one earned – on eight hits.

Battaglia and Ashley Parenteau had two hits apiece to lead the Lady Ospreys.

The pair of wins marked the first A-Sun doubleheader sweep of the season for UNF, which returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Rider in a non-conference doubleheader at 3 p.m.