After a 10-day respite for spring finals, the Transylvania softball team returned to the diamond at Raven Softball Field on Saturday afternoon and churned out a pair of 5-0 victories over the Anderson University Ravens in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader.

Junior infielder Brittany Mumford went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the Saturday opener while senior pitcher Renae Morton recorded her third straight shutout, yielding three hits on the day for the first 5-0 win.

In game two, the Pioneers enjoyed two-hit games from both Mumford and junior designated player Jessica Powell as the Pioneers proceeded past Anderson for an identical 5-0 score.

The Pioneers improved to 23-5 on the year and 9-1 in HCAC play to maintain their hold upon first place in the standings, one game ahead of second-place Franklin. Anderson fell to 2-6 in the HCAC and 9-17 overall.

Three doubleheaders remain on the HCAC schedule for Transy, who improved to 6-0 in pure road games this season.

In game one, the Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Mumford took advantage of a pair of errors to score from first base before the game settled in for a scoreless trio of innings.

Transylvania began flapping its wings in the fourth inning as the first three batters reached base to lead off the inning. Junior infielder Shelby Gambrell scored sophomore catcher Janelle Hynes on a RBI groundout and Mumford scored senior outfielder Destiny Garcia on an RBI base hit into right field for a 3-0 Transy lead.

Two more Pioneers scored via an infielding error to complete a four-run inning while Morton did the rest in the circle to finish off the Ravens.

Transylvania outhit Anderson 9-3 in the first game while Morton improved to 13-3 on the season.

In game two, freshman pitcher Kameron Bowling got the start and worked 5.1 innings of lockdown softball against Anderson, ringing up four batters for strikeouts while scattering four hits for her seventh win of the season.

The Pioneers scored slowly and steadily in game two, plating two runners in the second inning on an RBI double by Hynes to score Powell. Junior infielder Meg Liter also scored on the play as the Pioneers took advantage of the first of two errors in the inning by Anderson.

Transylvania added a third run in the top of the third inning on an RBI double by Powell and another in the fourth inning on an RBI single from freshman infielder Cece Wittry for a 4-0 Transylvania stronghold.

Morton came in for the final 1.2 innings of work, collecting three strikeouts and her third save of the season.

Article posted 4-21-18 http://transysports.com/sports/sball/2017-18/releases/20180421whvt4s