DOTHAN, Ala. — Keeley Quillen had a monster day for Walters State in its season opening softball tripleheader in the Visit Dothan Invitational as the Lady Senators won one of three games Friday.
Quillen drove in seven runs, rapped six hits, including a triple, double, home run and three singles, while Sydney Dukes had six RBIs in her collegiate debut in the opening game of the day.
Walters State claimed a 14-4 win in six innings over Coastal Alabama-Brewton to open the slate before leading 2-1 into the sixth inning against Northwest Florida State before a late rush by the Lady Raiders pushed them to a 10-7 victory. In the nightcap, Quillen drove in two runs in the first inning, but WSCC couldn't muster anything else in a 9-2 loss to Gulf Coast State.
In the opener, Taylor McConnell and Jenica Brown both had four hits, with both scoring three times and driving in a run, while Quillen, Kallyn Newport and Dukes each had three hits, with Dukes driving in six runs and belting two doubles, Quillen tagging a triple and driving in three runs and Newport clubbing her first collegiate home run. Laura Brickey added two hits, including her first homer as a Lady Senator in the win.
Dukes got WSCC on the board with a two-run single in the first inning, and Quillen ripped a run scoring three-bagger in the second frame and added an RBI single in the third before Dukes drove home a run with a double in the fourth. In the fifth inning, McConnell had an RBI single and Quillen plated a run with a sacrifice fly before an eruption in the sixth inning allowed the Lady Senators to end the game early.
WSCC had two quick outs in the sixth before pushing across seven runs to close the game by the mercy rule. Newport and Brickey went deep back-to-back to start the scoring, while Lexi McDowell added an RBI double and Brickey drove her home with a single. With the bases full, Dukes clubbed a double to bring the game to an end, driving in all three runs.
Brickey picked up her first win inside the circle in the contest, working 4 2/3 innings of relief and allowing two runs on two hits. Delilah Malczewski was the starter, allowing two runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings of work.
In the second game, WSCC led 2-1 into the sixth inning, but a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the sixth by Northwest Florida State allowed the winners to score nine times in the final two innings to claim the win.
The Lady Raiders took a 10-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh before the Lady Senators pushed across four runs but fell short in a comeback attempt.
Quillen smoked a two-run homer in the second inning to give WSCC the lead, but they couldn't score again until they trailed 6-2. Brickey had an RBI double in the sixth, making it 6-3, and Dukes added an RBI double in the seventh before Mia Edwardson smacked a three-run round tripper, her first collegiate homer.
Newport, Brickey and Quillen each had two hits in the defeat. Raylon Smith took the loss.
In the finale, Quillen pushed across two runs in the first inning with a double, but that was all the Lady Senators coulee put on the scoreboard in the 9-2 loss to Gulf Coast. Megan Bell was the losing pitcher. Brown and Newport both had two hits in the defeat.
The Lady Senators will return to the diamond this morning for a 10 a.m. first pitch against 13th-ranked Wallace State before finishing up the two-day trip with a 3 p.m. contest against Fayetteville Tech.