Rebekah McDaniel and Beth Overman both picked a perfect time for their first collegiate home runs as they both belted game-winners in Mount Olive's doubleheader sweep over national vote-getter Francis Marion in non-conference softball Wednesday at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field. McDaniel hit a walk-off solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give the Trojans a 3-2 victory in game one. Overman broke a scoreless tie in game two with a two-out two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth for a 2-0 victory. Lauren Smith picked up the win in relief in the opener and tossed a four-hit shutout in the nightcap.
Mount Olive (8-2) is off to its best 10-game start since winning nine of its first 10 games in 2007. Wednesday's sweep gave Trojan head coach Jaime Kylis career wins 199 and 200.
Mount Olive trailed 2-0 going into the sixth inning of the opening game before Christie Wright's solo homer with one out put the Trojans on the scoreboard. The home run was her third of the season. Jennifer Jones followed with a pinch-hit single and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. Kayla Voorhees lined a single of the Francis Marion first baseman's glove to drive in Jones and tie the game 2-2.
Trojan starting pitcher Carly White retired the side in order in each of the first three innings before Francis Marion (9-5) collected a pair of infield singles in the fourth. White appeared to be on her way to a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth before Murphy McConnell's opposite-field double to left-center started a string of four consecutive two-out hits. Ashley Jaramillo gave the Patriots their first lead with a two-run single.
After White allowed a leadoff single in the top of the seventh, Smith (5-1) took over and retired all three batters she faced to end the inning.
Patriot starter Kayla Ellingsen (5-2), who had 10 strikeouts on the day, retired the first two Trojan batters in the bottom of the seventh on a strikeout and a groundout to set the stage for McDaniel. McDaniel had been a strikeout victim in each of her first three at bats.
"I changed my approach in my last at bat," said McDaniel, a junior catcher from Woodbridge, Va. "She was pitching me in the same spot each time, so I tried to make some adjustments."
McDaniel fell behind 0-1 before sending the pitch over the left-centerfield fence to give the Trojans their second win this season on a walk-off home run.
"I wasn't thinking home run. I just wanted to put the ball in play," said McDaniel, who leads the Trojans with 13 runs batted in.
Game two was a pitcher's duel between Smith and FMU pitcher Taylor Luff, who retired the 11 Trojan batters and did not allow a hit until McDaniel's leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth. Francis Marion threatened in the top of the fourth when Olivia Zielinski singled with one out and Jazz Holiday followed with a double. But Smith got out of the jam on a strikeout and a groundout. Smith did not allow another baserunner the rest of the way, retiring the final 11 batters she faced.
Luff (0-2) quickly bounced back from her first hit allowed with a strikeout and a line drive double play on a ball hit right to her.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jones again made an impact as a pinch-hitter, drawing a one-out walk. One out later, Overman drilled the first pitch over the centerfield fence to give the freshman first baseman her first home run and give the Trojans the lead.
Smith, who entered Wednesday's doubleheader averaging just over 12 strikeouts per seven innings, got the first two batters looking in the top of the seventh. The game ended on a line out to right. Smith finished with a season-low five strikeouts, but did not walk any batters. The Trojan defense did not commit any errors in either game.
Luff finished with a three-hitter and struck out five for Francis Marion, which entered the game as the 37th-highest vote-getter in this week's NFCA Division II Softball Poll.
After the second game, the Trojans presented Kylis with a softball signed by all of the players. McDaniel said the team wanted to get Kylis her 200th win, but they didn't change how they approached Wednesday's games.
"We want to win every game we play," said McDaniel. "We go into every game with the same mindset. But we knew that Coach would get 200 if we won both games today."
McDaniel is batting .400 (12-for-30) and ranks fourth in Conference Carolinas with 13 rbi's in eight games, which is already more games than she played in all of 2011. An early-season injury sidelined McDaniel for virtually the entire remainder of the year. But when asked, McDaniel is more focused on the team's accomplishments during the first three weeks of the season rather than her own.
"We did tons of stuff in the fall for conditioning," said McDaniel. "We've been working harder than ever and it's paying off."
Mount Olive completes its season-opening homestand Saturday as the Trojans play host to Virginia Union in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is at noon at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field. Next week, Mount Olive takes its annual Spring Break trip to Florida as the Trojans face four Sunshine State Conference teams in four days.
