ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Presbyterian College softball team earned a Friday split in the first of two days at a Winthrop tournament, dropping a 2-1 bout to Drexel but responding with a season-high 15 hits and a 5-3 triumph over George Washington in the aftermath.
Both games were tight at the neutral venue, although PC was able to end the doubleheader with a positive note by scoring four two-out runs midway through the George Washington game.
The Blue Hose stay one game above .500 (6-5) after splitting Friday's results, witnessing a terrific solo effort by true freshman
Hali Duke in the GW win: 4-of-4 with an RBI double.
Head coach
David Williams will have his crew stay in Rock Hill for another two-parter tomorrow, facing the Revolutionaries again at 12:30 and ending the weekend versus Drexel at 5:30.
NOTABLES
- The reigning Big South Freshman of the Week and team-leader in total RBI (7), Duke turned heads again by scoring the first four-hit performance by a Presbyterian player since Layna Johnson in 2023 against Radford.
- Senior pitcher
Peyton Duncan grabbed her third win of the young season and the 24
th of her college career, moving her into 7
th place in the school record books. She threw 6.1 innings and struck out five.
-
Avery Robinson registered the last two outs of the George Washington win, helping strand two runners in the process and delivering the first save of the season from PC's pitching staff.
- Duke,
Audrey Burton,
Avery Fielden, and
Gracie DeCuir collectively batted .625 in the second outing (10-for-16).
- PC's first run against the Revolutionaries came from pinch-hitter
Jessica Wilson, lacing a two-out double for her first RBI in a Blue Hose uniform.
GAME ONE – Drexel def. Presbyterian, 2-1
- Despite a strong showing by
Kylie Rast in the circle (who pitched a complete game and conceded just three hits), Presby's offensive numbers were not up to par and Drexel claimed the first matchup essentially on one swing in the 5
th.
- Shortstop
Baxleigh Arnette drove in
Morgan Farthing with an RBI single in the 2
nd, but the Dragons flipped the momentum on a two-run homer with just two innings to go.
- Drexel's only two baserunners for the remainder of the game were due to walks, but PC ensured they would get no further than 1
st base.
- The Scotsmen went down in 1-2-3 fashion over the final four innings as Drexel stole the win, bolstered by Courtney Kols who needed just 82 pitches for a complete game.
- The action was delayed in the 2
nd inning by a 90-minute rain shower.
GAME TWO – Presbyterian def. George Washington, 5-3
- After allowing a two-score double in the 3
rd, PC ended the second affair on a 5-1 flurry and led for the last four innings of play.
- Coach Williams' gang was able to bury back-to-back doubles by Wilson and Burton, plus two more RBI singles from Duke and
Blair Darby, all when they were down to their final out in the 4
th.
- Another run-scoring base hit by DeCuir provided Presbyterian with some extra insurance in the 5
th, and that's all that Duncan and Robinson needed to finish the job in the circle.
- Duncan struck out five and kept the Revolutionaries at bay, while Robinson forced two straight flyballs to Farthing that confirmed the W.
- Losing their only game against George Washington last year by two runs, the Blue Hose gave them a taste of their own medicine with the same margin of victory on Friday.
