CLINTON, S.C. – The longest undefeated streak to begin a season in the 15-year Division I history of the Presbyterian College softball program was matched on Saturday afternoon during the second day of the Pinnacle PC Invitational, as the Blue Hose's stubborn defensive play persisted through all 14 innings in order to boost the club's record to 7-0. Only conceding a single run in two victories over Seton Hall (5-1) and IUPUI (3-0), the home side extended its home win streak to eight bouts dating back to the 2022 finale.

Runs were mostly hard to come by for everyone involved on Saturday – mostly due to the frigid weather conditions and low wind movement in Clinton – although the Blue Hose arms weren't phased in the slightest, pitching back-to-back complete games with 15 combined strikeouts. Six of the seven W's clinched by head coach David Williams' squad have involved the team's starting pitcher never leaving the circle at any point, a theme that continued as the sun set.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of PC's twirling genius was the fact that two underclassmen were running the show, with sophomore overachiever Morgan Hess taking down seven batters on just three hits in the curtain-jerker over the Pirates. True freshman Peyton Duncan assumed the reigns in the next contest – her second-ever collegiate appearance and first in a starting role – promptly picking up a shutout on over 100 tosses to preserve another stringent victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Duncan forced IUPUI into seven stranded runners as the Blue Hose tallied their 34^th win in which the opponent was left off the board in the Williams era, facing off with 28 hitters and only allowing six to reach base (four hits plus two walks).

- The newbie's controlling presence as the shutout orchestrator was nearly a necessity for Presbyterian during their second showing versus the Jaguars in as many days, keeping a scoreless game at its status quo until PC was finally able to break through in the bottom of the sixth to conclude an intense pitcher's duel.

- Fresh faces to the program contributed in major ways across both wins on Saturday, including a combined 3-of-4 batting sequence by second-year infielder Kendall Owens (along with three total RBI), as well as a 2-of-3 mark by rookie centerfielder Gracie DeCuir in the nine-hole against Seton Hall.

- Another pair of newcomers raised eyebrows in the second half of the DH, capping off the team's three-run 6^th frame against IUPUI with a Ciara Hanson RBI-double that wrangled in first-year pinch runner Morgan Farthing.

- All three of Presbyterian's featured slingers (Hess, Duncan, and ace Jenna Greene, who defeated the Jaguars 24 hours earlier) have seen at least two wins go beside their name in the stat sheet, finding a combined ERA of 0.71 through 49 innings. That three-headed monster's incendiary start to the year has allowed PC to outgun the opposition by an added margin of 33-6.
 
GAME 1: PC (6-0) def. Seton Hall (2-3), 5-1
- It took all of one pitch for the Blue Hose to declare their intentions in the four-run triumph over SHU, as senior shortstop Layna Johnson delivered a rocket beyond the leftfield barrier to make it 1-0 in the blink of an eye. The 11^th homer of the Aynor native's career, her electric first swing made a residual effect to the rest of that frame, ending the 1^st stanza on top by three scores.

- Johnson's second run of the afternoon came in the very next inning from the bat of junior second-baseman Kaitlyn Tucker on a base hit that traveled all the way down the rightfield line. Owens' second RBI of the outing and third of the year dropped in the 5^th, providing a five-run hole that Seton Hall failed to dig out of.

- Hess was the beneficiary of that final score (in the midst of another terrific effort on the other side of the field too), doubling to put herself in position to round the final two bases. When adding two more doubles of a similar nature by Tucker and Hanson in the follow-up game, the Blue Hose can now boast that 48% of their entire hit count on the season has led to at least one extra base.
 
GAME 2: PC (7-0) def. IUPUI (1-6), 3-0
- Duncan was undoubtedly the main catalyst towards PC's preventative efforts in their fourth shutout of the campaign, although the aforementioned sixth-inning eruption deserves an equal amount of credit for silencing the defensive slugfest that preceded it. Owens at last conveyed the tiebreaking run on a dart past the Jaguar second-baseman that scored Tucker, opening the door for pinch runner Jenna Borkey to secure another just a few pitches later.

- Hanson's first RBI in a Presbyterian uniform sealed the deal for the Blue Hose, who provided the final three outs via a pair of pop-ups to Johnson and a fly ball to leftfielder Rebecca Clark.
 
NEXT UP
- The eighth consecutive meeting to occur from Clinton, coach Williams and co. will finish off the busy weekend schedule on Sunday afternoon in the sixth all-time matchup against Appalachian State. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. as Presbyterian looks to make even more history, a theme that has permeated through this roster over the past 12 months.