Riley O’Neal
Sophomore Cameron Pearson hit a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Motlow Lady Bucks a 5-3 win Saturday afternoon and complete a four-game softball sweep over visiting Dyersburg State.
The Lady Bucks (9-13, 4-8) won three of the four games in their final at bat. Motlow won Friday’s opener 7-6 after entering the final inning trailing 6-3. Pearson pitched a shutout in game two, leading the Lady Bucks at a 3-0 win. In Saturday’s opener the two teams played 10 innings before Riley O’Neal gave Motlow a 4-3 win with a run scoring single, setting up Pearson’s heroics in Saturday’s finale.
Motlow will host non-conference visitor Georgia Highlands on Tuesday at Lady Bucks Field for a 2 p.m. doubleheader, then jump back into Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) play this coming weekend with a trip to Harriman and a four-game series with Roane State.
Dyersburg State controlled much of Friday’s opening game after each team scored a pair of runs in the first inning. Riley Long started in the circle for Motlow, but gave up seven hits and six runs in 3.1 innings. Pearson got the win, allowing only two hits in the final 3.2 innings.
McKenzie Jo Anderson was the hero for Motlow when her two-run double drove in Ashton Watkins and Aubrey Crowell with the winning runs in the seventh. Crowell was 3-4 with two runs batted in and Watkins and Anderson each had two hits.
Pearson (6-5) was virtually untouchable in the circle in Friday’s second game, allowing only two hits and three walks in seven innings. Motlow scored all three runs in the third inning on RBI by Crowell, Anderson and Summer Carter. Caroline Abernethy, Crowell and Carter each had two hits for the Lady Bucks.
Saturday’s action was dramatic from start to finish. The visitors led 2-0 when Watkins slammed a solo home run in the fifth. After Dyersburg State increased its lead to 3-1, Watkins stepped up and hit another homer in the bottom of the seventh, tying the game 3-3 and sending it into extra innings. Riley O’Neal provided the big hit with a walk-off single in the 10th inning, scoring Crowell. Pearson got the win, scattering 10 hits with three walks.
After scoring twice in the first inning in Saturday’s finale, the Lady Bucks allowed the Lady Eagles to climb back in it with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth. Long (3-5) shut them down after that though, setting the stage for Pearson’s dramatic game winner, which came with two outs and Watkins on third and Crowell on first. Pearson was 3-4 with all five runs batted in.
Crowell leads the Lady Bucks with a .527 batting average and 23 runs batted in. Her average ranks her No. 16 in the nation. Watkins leads the team with three home runs and with 19 runs scored.
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