Lions Sweep Shelton State on the Road, Move to 8-0 in Conference Play
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Blakelyn Austin paced the offense and Madeline Howard delivered a clutch relief performance as the Wallace State Lions swept Shelton State in a road conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon, winning 5-2 and 2-1 to push their ACCC record to 8-0 and extend one of the hottest streaks in junior college softball.
GAME 1: Wallace State 5, Shelton State 2
The Lions wasted no time establishing control on the road. Wallace State struck for two runs in the first inning when Brooklynn Sertell singled to plate a pair, and Kaelyn Jones extended the lead to 3-0 with a double in the second inning that kept Shelton State's Harper on the ropes from the outset.
The Lions added two more runs in the fifth to push the margin to five before Shelton State posted a pair in the sixth — too little, too late against a Wallace State team that had controlled the game's tempo from the opening pitch.
Camdyn Bassett started in the circle and earned the win, working five and one-third innings while surrendering seven hits and two runs, striking out two and issuing no walks. Madeline Howard closed things out with one and two-thirds innings of perfect shutout relief, allowing no hits, no walks, and no runs to preserve the victory.
Offensively, Austin led the way with a 2-for-3 day at the plate, including a double, finishing with three total bases and one RBI. Sertell drove in two runs from the cleanup spot, while Jones contributed a hit and an RBI of her own. Wallace State drew four walks and turned a double play in a clean, well-executed road performance.
GAME 2: Wallace State 2, Shelton State 1
If Game 1 was comfortable, Game 2 was a gut-check, and the Lions answered on enemy turf.
Shelton State grabbed a 1-0 edge in the fourth inning when a passed ball scored a run, and that lead held entering the seventh. With the sweep on the line in hostile territory, Wallace State manufactured the two runs it needed in the seventh. Reese Decker singled down the left-field line, and Charli Kyser followed with a sacrifice fly to score two runs and give the Lions a lead they would not relinquish.
Ava Smith opened the game with one and two-thirds scoreless innings before Howard took over and delivered again, working five and one-third innings, allowing three hits and just one unearned run while walking one. Howard's performance across both games was the quiet story of the doubleheader.
Jones, Sertell, Austin, and Decker each collected a hit in the nightcap. Kyser and Decker each drove in one run. Sertell and Jones each added a stolen base, and Wallace State committed zero errors behind a Shelton State pitcher who struck out eight Lions across seven innings.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Blakelyn Austin (G1): 2-for-3, 2B, 1 RBI, 3 total bases
- Brooklynn Sertell (G1): 1-for-3, 2 RBI
- Madeline Howard (G1 & G2): Combined 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 0 K
- Reese Decker (G2): 1-for-3, 1 RBI, key seventh-inning single
- Charli Kyser (G2): Walk-off sacrifice fly, 1 RBI
UP NEXT
With the road sweep, Wallace State improves to 8-0 in ACCC play and 25-4 overall. The Lions return home Thursday to face second-ranked Northeast Alabama (26-1) in a doubleheader on the Hanceville campus. It shapes up as the marquee matchup of the conference season so far, with Wallace State's unbeaten league record on the line against one of the nation's elite junior college programs.