By Kayla Berns, Staff Writer

The Pirates split games with the University of Montevallo on March 29. This accounts for first time playing each other this season. Each team was anxious to storm onto the field after dealing with the past couple weeks of play that were washed away by rainfall. The Falcons won the first game of the doubleheader 11-1 and the Pirates took the second game 6-0.

After practicing in the gym for most of the season and canceling eight of their conference games due to the weather, the Pirates celebrated as they finally took to the Armstrong Softball field this past weekend.

In the first game, the Falcons were off to a quick start in the top of the first inning with two multiple-run home runs. The Pirates only managed a single run off of junior Sierra Newman’s RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth. The Falcons moved on to win the game 11-1 with sophomore Jane Trzaska taking the loss.

The Pirates captured the second game as senior Olivia McLemore struck out a career-high twelve batters. McLemore finished her complete game only allowing one hit and no runs.

“At first I was a little upset that I threw a 1 hitter and it was the first pitch of the game that got it, but I had to stay focused on just making sure no one crossed the plate,” McLemore said. “This year has been off to an unusual start so it felt amazing to be able to accomplish that yesterday.”

On the offensive side, the Pirates plated two runs in the bottom of the third thanks to a two RBI single by junior Michelle Breen. Breen added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run home run. She finished the day 2-4 with five RBIs as the Pirates moved on to a 6-0 victory.

The Pirates are 15-9 and 4-2 in conference play after the split. The team hosted a doubleheader against GRU Augusta on April 1 and will travel to Columbus to play an important series against Columbus State on April 3.