BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The tables were certainly turned in Saturday afternoon's Big South Conference doubleheader between the Presbyterian College softball team and Gardner-Webb, with the Blue Hose taking a huge step forward in their postseason hopes by defeating G-W twice (12-2 in five innings and 11-10 in nine innings).

Head coach David Williams' group pulled off an improbable 7-2 comeback to win the rubber match, withstanding a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the 8^th and ultimately winning the series with a fielder's choice that Avery Fielden scored on.

The Scotsmen scattered 23 total runs on 28 hits throughout the DH, torturing the same pitcher who never let them advance to third base in the entirety of Friday's series opener.

PC's 19 hits in the finale are the program's second-most in a single game across their entire Division I history, good enough to accomplish their first league series win away from home since 2023.

The blue and garnet will take a much-deserved week-long break before returning to the Big South crowd, entertaining Charleston Southern in their last home series which entails a single game on Friday and a two-parter less than 24 hours later.


 
NOTABLES

 
- Presby's offensive numbers were simply outstanding against the Runnin' Bulldogs, avenging a nine-inning loss to that same opponent 12 months ago. PC was also victorious in a nine-inning marathon versus North Carolina A&T earlier this season.

- Two-time Big South Freshman of the Week Hali Duke was tremendous all day, posting two singles and two doubles while combining for seven RBI in the doubleheader. She drove in the series-clinching fielder's choice that allowed Fielden to beat the throw from the shortstop.

- That was Duke's fifth RBI of the game, denoting the first time that a PC player had that many runs-batted-in since Morgan Hess did it three years ago at East Carolina.

- Sophomore Baxleigh Arnette was also very productive to help take down the Dogs, reaching base six times to finish off a five-game week where she hit a team-best .529.

- Catcher Molly Mattas (one of six seniors that will be recognized next weekend) started the five-run comeback in Game 2 with a sixth-inning solo home run. She added an RBI knock in the 8^th to keep the team's mojo intact.

- Webb's Alli Stidham may have been the biggest obstacle in yesterday's curtain-jerker, but the Blue Hose had zero issues against her in their second try, leading to 17 hits and 10 earned runs.

- Senior Peyton Duncan reached two separate milestones in the first matchup, a 10-run rout where she surpassed 300 career strikeouts and also achieved her 30^th personal victory.


 
GAME TWO: Presbyterian def. Gardner-Webb, 12-2 (Five Innings)

 
- Coach Williams' bunch was determined to erase Friday's shutout and ended up equaling their largest margin of victory all season (tying a similar 12-2 mercy rule at Mercer back in March).

- By the time Gardner-Webb stepped up to bat in the bottom of the 3^rd, they were already facing a 9-1 deficit as eight different players had already batted in at least one score at that point.

- A couple of bases-loaded walks and an RBI double from centerfielder Gracie DeCuir gave PC an insurmountable 11-run advantage, while Duncan gave way to rookie Kaylee Huckaby for the final out.

- G-W opted to use four different pitchers as the Blue Hose assertively tied up the series at one win apiece. Presby's six runs in the 3^rd were their second-most in a sole inning all semester, only behind an 8-run effort against Mercyhurst in February.


 
GAME THREE: Presbyterian def. Gardner-Webb, 11-10 (Nine Innings)

 
- With the series up for grabs, the finale delivered arguably the game of the year in the Big South. Both sides combined for 34 hits and PC did not commit an error despite the Runnin' Bulldogs piling up 46 at-bats.

- The mood was bleak with just six outs in Presbyterian's tank, but Mattas' homer kickstarted a titanic rally that G-W never quelched.

- Duke and Audrey Burton went back-to-back with a double and single that scored three runs, rapidly cutting the deficit down to just a single score.

- Webb managed a sacrifice fly in the home half of the 6^th, forcing PC to manufacture two runs in the last inning of regulation in order to extend the game.

- Freshman Ava Coggins distributed exactly that with a rightfield single, sending in Mattas and pinch-runner Sabrina Rose.

- Presbyterian snared their first lead of the game in extra's on a wild pitch and Mattas' second hit. Just when it seemed that the series had been buried, G-W blasted a two-run bomb off of Kylie Rast to once again tie things up with no outs.

- Rast responded by never letting anyone else reach for the rest of the game, sitting down the next six challengers. She prevented the Blue Hose from getting walked off, as Fielden's sprint to home plate in the top of the 9^th was the final blow.