Southwest Mississippi softball swept East Mississippi in a doubleheader Sunday, winning 14-6 and 6-5, according to team sources.
In the first game, Allie Ladnier pitched all five innings for the Lady Bears and earned the win with five strikeouts. Southwest jumped to an early 5-0 lead after the first inning, highlighted by a home run from Tristan Allen. East Mississippi responded with three runs in the third, but Southwest answered with a five-run inning to lead 10-3. A home run from Corin Talbot and a triple from Jana Phillips pushed the score to 9-3. Allen then scored on a single, extending the lead to 10-3.
The Lions scored three more runs to cut the deficit to 10-6. In the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Bears loaded the bases and with Kate Clements at the plate, she hit a grand slam to end the game by run rule, 14-6. Clements finished with five RBIs, while Phillips and Allen each had three. Six other players had one hit each, and Alexis Dejean led with three hits. Clements and Talbot each homered, and Hannah Adams stole a base.
The second game was more competitive, with Southwest trailing early. East Mississippi took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Lady Bears tied it at 3-3 by the end of the fourth, thanks to a homer from Clements, a single from Dejean, and another from Bailey McLin. East Mississippi retook a 5-3 lead in the sixth, but Southwest scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to lead 6-5, which held as the final score.
Madelyn Ashford started on the mound for Southwest, followed by Mary Claire Salley, who pitched five innings with four strikeouts. Corin Talbot closed out the game, earning the win. Key offensive contributors included Clements, with three hits and a homer, and McLin, with two hits. Dejean and McLin each drove in two RBIs. Talbot and Ashford both doubled. Southwest improved to 16-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play, heading to Meridian on Wednesday for a doubleheader.
