The Lady Bulldogs jumped on top in their first at-bat when April Wilson belted a 3-run homer. Ashlen Mitchell got two of those runs back for the Lady Cougars in the bottom of the frame with a 2-run homer to cut the lead to 3-2.
Cleveland State took the lead in the third after Mitchell and Halen Weeks each singled and scored on a 3-run round-tripper by Sydney Howell. Kelly Sullins pushed another run across with a fielder’s choice for a 6-3 lead.
Maura Ditto joined the home-run parade in the fourth with a 2-run dinger and Howell singled and scored ahead of her to push the Lady Cougar lead to 8-3.
Wesleyan pushed across a run in the top of the fifth, but the Lady Cougars put the finishing touches on game one in the bottom of the fifth with four more runs. Mitchell drew a bases-loaded walk, Howell singled in two more and Ditto doubled in the final run to finish the outburst.
Game two was a demonstration more of the same as the Lady Cougars put another dozen runs on the board. The Lady Bulldogs scored an unearned run in the top of the first, but it was all Cleveland State after that.
Mitchell knocked in a run and Ditto added another with a single for a 2-1 lead after one inning. Five more runs in the second inning pushed the Cleveland State lead to 7-1. Five more in the third ended the game in quick order. Casey Griffin doubled in a run during the impressive offensive show, Mitchell and Ditto singled in another run each and Howell tripled in two more as the home team completed the sweep.
Meghan Smith and Kenly Lambert got the wins for Cleveland State (2-0) while Myranda Hughes and Sarah Kilgore took the losses for Tennessee Wesleyan.
“This was a great way to start off our season,” commented Lady Cougar coach Katie Willingham. “Scoring 24 runs is a stellar way to start the season. We were strong offensively today, but we still have a lot to work on, especially defensively. Meghan and Kenly did a good job for us on the mound today. I hope this is an example of things to come.”
The Lady Cougars will travel across town for a matchup with Lee University on Thursday at 3:30.
