PULASKI, Tenn. – Playing its first games in a week, Martin Methodist showed no signs of rust in a pair of conference-opening victories over Mid-Continent (Ky.) Wednesday afternoon at the East Campus.
In the opener, Emily Robb tossed her second career complete game shutout as the RedHawks picked up a 4-0 win over the Cougars.
In the nightcap, Dana Winfrey cranked a grand slam in the bottom of the third to lift the RedHawks to a 7-3 win that improved the RedHawks to 2-0 in the conference for the first time since the 2009 season.
Martin Methodist 7, Mid-Continent 3:
After postponing last week's conference-opening doubleheader against Bethel (Tenn.) University due to inclement weather, the RedHawks (14-14, 2-0) finally opened their conference slate with a balanced blend of pitching and hitting in the wins over the Cougars (2-14, 1-5).
Winfrey's grand slam stole the show in the nightcap, however, as the freshman roped the first pitch of her third-inning at-bat over the left field wall and into the siding of the school's nearby indoor practice facility.
Tied 2-2 entering the frame, the RedHawks got the inning started thanks to a shaky performance from the Cougars on the mound. In the first two at-bats of the inning, Veronika Fukunishi drew a four-pitch walk and Chae Ellis was hit by a pitch. After an Alley Benefield pop out, Waleska Soto smacked a single to shallow-right center to load the bases for Winfrey, who cleared them with one swing of the bat.
Leading 6-3, the RedHawks would tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Morgan May came in to score on Fukunishi's double to deep right-center.
On the mound, RedHawk starter Dharianna Familia calmed down after a shaky first inning to record the victory (5-3) in five full innings of work. Caroline Ezell pitched two nearly-flawless innings of relief work to nail down her second save of the season.
Offensively, the RedHawks cranked out 11 hits as a team, their 10th double-digit hit performance of the season.
All four of Winfrey's four runs batted in game via the grand slam and as part of a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Courtney Grooms, Fukunishi and May also finished with two hits apiece in the victory. Benefield added a pair of RBIs with a two-out double in the bottom of the first.
Martin Methodist 4, Mid-Continent 0:
In the opener, the RedHawks capitalized with timely hitting but ultimately relied on a standout performance from Emily Robb, who scattered seven hits across seven innings to notch her second-ever complete game shutout.
After putting a pair of runners in scoring position in the first inning, Robb settled down allowing just five hits across her next six frames of work – recording a total of three strikeouts.
Robb's shutout was put in serious jeopardy in the top of the fourth when the Cougars capitalized on a pair of singles and a RedHawk error to load the bases with just one out. A sharp defensive play from RedHawks catcher Veronika Fukunishi, however, allowed the RedHawks to escape the inning unscathed.
After a called strike, Fukunishi fired a snap throw to third base and caught Cougars pitcher Colby Smith off of the bag, leading to a tag out. On the subsequent action, RedHawk third baseman Dana Winfrey fired a throw down to second base and caught Cougars third baseman Kelsey Tramel off the bag for a double-play.
The threat would essentially be the last of the game for the Cougars, who recorded just three hits the rest of the ballgame.
Robb would also receive more than enough run support to notch her fifth victory of the season (5-9) on the mound.
Fukunishi put the RedHawks on the board early, powering a 2-0 fastball well over the center field fence for her second home run of the season.
The RedHawks added another run in the bottom of the second when Alley Benefield cranked a double to deep left-center before coming in to score two batters later on a Megan Anderson groundout.
The RedHawks posted their final runs of the afternoon in the bottom of the third when Courtney Grooms and Fukunishi drew walks to put the pressure on the Cougars early in the frame. After Fukunishi's walk, Chae Ellis would advance the runners to second and third on a bloop single to right-center. Benefield would plate Grooms one batter later, advancing Fukunishi and Ellis into scoring position in the process. After Fukunishi was forced at home on a fielder's choice, Winfrey drew a walk to plate Ellis and give the RedHawks their 4-0 score.
In the opener, the RedHawks recorded five hits – three of which came from Benefield, who cranked two doubles as part of a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate. Ellis and Fukunishi recorded the only other base hits in the first-game victory.
With the wins, the RedHawks snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 9-5 at home this season. The RedHawks joined Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) as the lone unbeaten teams remaining in the TranSouth.
The RedHawks return to action April 2 for a series at Blue Mountain (Miss.) College, before hosting Freed-Hardeman in a doubleheader on April 4.
