Babson Park, FL – The Webber International Softball team opened up their SUN Conference series with a 4-2 win over St. Thomas on Friday afternoon in Babson Park, using an early cushion and a complete-game effort from Taylor Thomas to hold off the Bobcats. The Warriors scored twice in the first inning, added two more in the fifth and never trailed on the way to the victory.
The Warriors jumped on the board in the bottom of the first after Sommer Zier-Norris and Thalia Romero opened the frame with back-to-back singles and Emma Newgent worked a walk to load the bases. Samantha Hudson drove in Webber's first run with a sacrifice fly, and the Warriors pushed across another run in the inning to take a 2-0 lead. Webber finished with seven hits in the game, with Zier-Norris and Romero each collecting two and scoring twice.
Thomas kept St. Thomas off the board through the first six innings, working around traffic as the Bobcats left 10 runners on base. The right-hander went the distance, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out six over seven innings to earn the win. St. Thomas managed just one extra-base hit against her, and Webber's defense backed the outing by recording 21 outs behind her.
Webber added needed insurance in the bottom of the fifth. After the Warriors put together another rally, Hudson came through again with the big hit, finishing with three RBIs in the game. That fifth-inning push stretched the lead to 4-0 and proved important when St. Thomas finally broke through in the top of the seventh.
The Bobcats scored twice in their final at-bat and brought the tying run to the plate, but Webber closed the door to secure the 4-2 win. Hudson led the offense with three RBIs, while Zier-Norris and Romero set the table from the top of the lineup with four of the Warriors' seven hits and all four runs scored between them. St. Thomas was led by Bailey LeGere's two-hit afternoon and Christina Ortiz, who doubled home both Bobcat runs in the seventh.
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