WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW softball team earned its first win of the Ashley Wade era in a two-game split vs. Purdue Fort Wayne and No. 11 Virginia Tech at Boseman Field on Thursday.
The Seahawks (1-1) rallied past the Mastodons (0-2) to win 2-1 in eight innings in the afternoon game before the Hokies (2-0) plated three first inning runs to hand UNCW a 5-1 setback in the evening contest.
UNCW returns to action early Friday morning with another twinbill against Purdue Fort Wayne (9 a.m.) and Virginia Tech (11:30 a.m.).
GAME 1 | UNCW 2, Purdue Fort Wayne 1 (8 innings)
Sophomore right-hander Kara Hammock (1-0) spun an eight-inning gem with a career-high 11 strikeouts to lead the Seahawks to a 2-1 win in the season opener vs. the Mastodons.
Hammock and the Mastodons' Alanah Jones (0-1) traded scoreless frames over the first seven innings at Boseman before both teams plated unearned runs in extras.
After Purdue Fort Wayne shortstop Brayden Lickey advanced Taryn Jenkins to third on a groundout, Mastodons' Alise Moneypenny shot a single to left field that scored the game's first run in the top of the eighth inning.
Junior second baseman Tayler Vitola, who authored her 27th career multi-hit day, advanced Logan Bjorson to third on a sac-bunt back to Jones to put the tying run 60 feet away with one out.
Bjorson crossed home one batter later when UNCW's Mary Sobataka shot the first pitch of her at-bat to the left side where it got under the glove of Lickey and rolled to the left-center wall. Sobataka raced around to third on the error.
Freshman Carson Fleming, who replaced Morgan Britt in the top of the seventh inning, popped up a ball to shallow left field just beyond the third base bag that Purdue Fort Wayne could not corral, allowing Sobataka to cross home and send the Seahawks into a winning frenzy.
Hammock was sharp from the start, striking out seven of the first 10 batters faced. The 6-2 sophomore has now limited opponents to two or fewer runs in her last 10 starts dating back to last season.
GAME 2 | #11 Virginia Tech 5, UNCW 1
Virginia Tech's Cameron Fagan and Emma Ritter each recorded two RBI to push the Hokies past the Seahawks, 5-1, in the nightcap.
Fagan and Ritter both homered in Virginia Tech's three-run first inning with Fagan's being a two-run blast to right-center that also plated Bre Peck.
The Hokies tacked two unearned runs in the fourth that featured doubles by freshman Kylie Aldridge and Ritter.
Graduate first baseman Janel Gamache added her first RBI of the season on a triple to right field to score Susie Borda, who pinch ran for Maddy Altiers, with no outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Virginia Tech's Lyndsey Grein (1-0) struck out nine batters in her first career win.
UNCW senior Amberlyn Pearce (0-1) surrendered three earned runs to go with three strikeouts and a pair of walks in four innings. Junior Carrigan Ewers tossed three scoreless innings of relief in her Seahawk debut.
GAME NOTES: UNCW has won six of its last seven season openers … The Seahawks and Mastodons met for the first time …. UNCW and Virginia Tech last played in 2011 … Hammock has totaled 19.0 innings pitched over her last two starts while allowing one earned run and striking out 21 batters … The Seahawks are slated to host 10 games over the three-day tournament … Hammock tossed 87 pitches … Britt and Elizabeth Winstead doubled vs. Purdue Fort Wayne … Vitola led the Seahawks with three hits in the two games … It was Gamache's seventh career triple … The Seahawks hosted a ranked opponent for the first time since 2016 (no.9 James Madison).
