BABSON PARK, Fla. (February 17, 2021) – One week after its first doubleheader of the season against a fellow top-25 nationally-ranked team in the NAIA, the No. 25 Webber International University softball team earned a pair of wins over No. 12 William Carey University. The Warriors took game one 7-2 before winning game two 11-4.

The Warriors fell behind after multiple runs in the top of the first inning for the Crusaders in both games, but used strong pitching and timely hitting to take advantage of errors by William Carey to win both games.

In game one, William Carey struck first with a two-run home run to left center in the top of the first before a sacrifice bunt by Victoria Atkinson scored Mary-Margaret Maggard to make it 2-1 in the bottom of the first.

Webber then pushed across three unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-2 lead, added a run on a solo homer to left center by Maggard in the fourth to lead it 5-2, and then scored two more unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth to lead it 7-2.

After giving up the two-run home run to William Carey in the top of the first, Webber's starting pitcher Kayla Swinson (3-0) settled in to retire the next seven batters she faced, and did not allow another hit throughout her five innings to record the third straight win to start her collegiate career.

Senior Dariyen Moss then came in to finish off the final two innings allowing only one hit and one walk to earn her first save of the season and the third of her career.

After the Warriors finished game one with seven runs on only five hits, they belted out 14 hits in game two.

After a three-run top of the first for William Carey to start game two, Webber stormed back with five runs over the first two innings. Then after the Crusaders made it 5-4 with an unearned run in the top of the third, the big blast of the day was a grand slam to straight away center by freshman Faith Campopiano to make the score 9-4 in the bottom of the third.

In game two, Cassidy Roberts was 3-for-4 with a double, Alyssa Rodriguez and Blakeleigh Boyett were both 2-for-3, and Maggard was 2-for-4 with a triple.

Pitcher Emma Maitland (3-1) earned her third complete game victory of the year so far, working all seven innings and finishing with seven hits, four total runs, one earned run and one walk allowed while striking out four.

It was the first meeting between Webber and Williams Carey since the 2016 season when Webber defeated WCU twice in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round – Reinhardt Bracket to advance to the NAIA World Series.

With the pair of wins over the Crusaders this time around, Webber is now 8-2 overall on the season while William Carey fell to 2-4 after sweeping No. 19 Warner University yesterday on February 16.

"Today was by far our best day as a team and as a program so far this season", spoke Head Coach Kristy Burton. "We came out ready to play and didn't let the rain or circumstances distract us from our goals. Offensively, we controlled the tempo through both games coming up with big hits when we needed them. We passed the bat and worked as a team pushing runs across through both games. Our pitching staff as a whole stepped up big time against a great, respectable hitting team, keeping them off balance and controlling the day with confidence. We were very proud to see Faith [Campopiano] hit a grand slam for her first collegiate home run in a big moment. We hope to continue the success this Saturday."

Next up for Webber this season will be its sixth straight home doubleheader to start its 2021 campaign as the Warriors host Freed-Hardeman University at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 20, in Babson Park, Florida. Last season at the Gulf Shores Invitational, Freed-Hardeman defeated Webber by a score of 5-1.