PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University softball team swept a twin bill against Curry on Wednesday afternoon at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex. JWU posted a 4-1 win in the opener and completed the sweep with a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.
In game one, the Wildcats got on the board first in the top half of the first inning after three miscues by the Colonels helped senior Tayla Gardner (Orangeburg, N.Y.) and sophomore Kristen Solari (Old Bridge, N.J.) cross the plate for the first runs of the game. In the bottom of the second, Paige Smigiel (Lisbon, Conn.) reached on an error and advanced to second base. A sharply hit single to the fence in center by Meaghan Leary (Andover, Mass.) brought Smigiel around to score to cut the Wildcat lead to 2-1. JWU grabbed two more in the fifth with Gardner and Solari each hitting sacrifice flies to extend the lead to 4-1. Senior Taylor Cwalinski (Jackson, N.J.) cruised through the next three innings en route to the 4-1 victory and her third win on the season. Cwalinski struck out five in the winning effort for the Wildcats.
In game two, sophomore Jessica George (Andover, N.H.) led off the second inning with a single and came around to score on a miscue. Classmate Carly Cabral (Warwick, R.I.) knocked in freshman Kaycee Babineau (Medway, Mass.) for the 2-0 lead after two innings. After tacking on one run in the third, JWU scored two more in the fourth on a two-run single by freshman Emily Gorecki (Bremerton, Wash.) to put the Wildcats up 5-0. Curry got on the board in the sixth with back-to-back lead off singles by Leary and Allie Carver (Marlborough, Mass.). Marissa Bruno (Milford, Conn.) and Heather Carrier (Scarborough, Maine) used singles of their own to score Leary and Carver and cut the Wildcat lead to 5-2. The Colonels threatened in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't produce a run as Gardner forced Bruno to fly out to end the game. Gardner struck out seven in the complete game victory for JWU.
With the pair of victories, the Wildcats improve to 6-4 on the season while Curry falls to 4-6. (Recap courtesy of JWU Sports Information)
