Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Rocky Mount, NC - The Piedmont College softball team made it 18 in a row with a doubleheader sweep at North Carolina Wesleyan College earlier this afternoon in a road USA South test for the Lady Lions.  Piedmont trailed only once on the day though both games would be close as the visiting girls from Demorest knocked off the Battling Bishops 3-0 in the first game before taking a 5-2 win in game two.

Game one featured a spot on performance from Jordin Ellingson in the circle as she would have a busy day both pitching and hitting.  Ellingson went the full seven innings allowing no runs on six hits while striking out seven and allowing just one walk in the 3-0 opening win.

Piedmont got on the board first when Christine Mobley came home on a throwing error by the second baseman from NC Wesleyan giving the Lady Lions a 1-0 lead in the top of the third.  Mobley reached on an error earlier in the inning as PC plated a run without a hit in the inning capitalizing on the pair of mistakes by the Battling Bishops. 

In the Piedmont 5th, the visitors added to their lead with a pair of runs coming on a two-out double by the pitcher Ellingson who went two for three in game one to lead PC at the plate in the opener as well.  Catcher Olivia Duncan and infielder Allison Vaughn both scored on the 2-RBI double by their pitcher as the Lady Lions went up 3-0 after five. 

Ellingson faced a bit of trouble in the bottom half of the frame giving up three hits to the home team who loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 5th as the go-ahead run came to the plate.  However, Ellingson induced a grounder to Whitney Wolfe at short who made the play to get PC out unscathed as the Lady Lions held their three-run advantage. 

After that scare, Ellingson retired the side in order in the NC Wesleyan 6th and sat down three of the fourth she saw in the 7th to improve her record to 14-1 with the 3-0 victory in game one.  The pitcher also lowered her ERA to a paltry 0.69 on the season as she shut out the home team on the day.

Game two featured a three-run inning in the Piedmont third after NC Wesleyan had taken the lead briefly in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Roberts.  The Lady Lions took advantage again of NC Wesleyan miscues in the top of the third though as two Battling Bishop errors would lead to a three-spot in the inning with two runners scored on an error by the third baseman while the final run came on a Laura Carter groundout. 

NC Wesleyan got a run back in the home half of the inning but Piedmont went on to score a single run in the 4th and 5th to extend its lead to 5-2 as a Jessica Perschka groundout and a RBI single by Duncan proved key in a three-run ballgame.  With a 5-2 lead in hand, pitcher Brittney Head was in line for the win as she threw six complete innings giving up both runs on just four hits as she struck out seven and did not walk a single batter.

After opening the season with nine walks issued in her first four starts, Head has found her veteran form having walked just three batters in her last eight starts, a stretch dating back to February 28th.  Head has not allowed a base on balls in her last four appearances.

Ellingson would be called on in the 7th to complete the sweep as she tossed just the one inning in game two with a three-run lead allowing a pair of hits but no runs to pick up the save.  It was the first save issued to a Piedmont pitcher in 2014 as only one was issued in 2013 the entire season, that came to Head.

Allison Vaughn went three for six on the day with three runs scored to lead PC in average and runs.  Carter and Duncan each went two for six with an RBI as Duncan also accouned for two runs scored on the afternoon.

With the pair of wins, Piedmont moves to 22-2 overall and 12-0 in USA South play as the Lady Lions have now won 18 straight.  The streak is the longest in the NCAA era for the PC softball program besting a 16-game stretch back in the 2010 season, the first of three seasons when the Lady Lions made their way to a NCAA Regional appearance.

The Lady Lions will continue their road stretch through the Carolinas as they face Meredith College tomorrow afternoon in Raleigh.  First pitch in the USA South doubleheader is set for 1:00 pm, and fans can follow the action via live stats and live video.