Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MEMPHIS—Clutch late-game hitting lifted the Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Delta State in the Gulf South Conference opener for both schools Wednesday afternoon at Bland Field, winning 7-5 in the first game and rallying for a 6-5 win in extra innings in the nightcap.  The sweep gives the Lady Bucs a 2-0 record in GSC play for the third time in school history and the first since 2004.

In the opener, the Lady Bucs (6-8, 2-0 GSC) exploded for a six-run sixth inning to rally from a 2-1 deficit.  DSU (8-9, 0-2) took an early lead, cashing in on three errors to score twice in the top of the first.  The Lady Bucs scored an unearned run in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk.

The 2-1 score held until the bottom of the sixth inning.  Rachel Kelly (Olive Branch, Miss./DeSoto Central HS) led off with a walk, and Nikki Story (Southaven, Miss./Southaven HS) followed with a single.  A successful double-steal moved them up to second and third, and Emily Schmidt (Olive Branch, Miss./Center Hill HS) smoked a two-run single to left-center to put the Lady Bucs ahead.  Allyson Grooms (Buena Vista, Tenn./Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central HS) and Amy Gracia (Fontana, Calif./International Polytechnic HS) singled to load the bases again, and Sammi Canizaro (Nesbit, Miss./Horn Lake HS) followed with a two-run single.  After the single, she was caught in a rundown between first and second, giving Gracia an opportunity to score as well to give CBU a 6-2 lead.  A pair of groundouts scored Canizaro, who advanced to second in the rundown after DSU threw home.

DSU answered with three runs on a single, a double, and a two-run Ashleigh Allgood homer to set the final margin at 7-5.

Gracia went 3-for-4 in the game, and Canizaro and Joiner each went 2-for-4.  Schmidt drove in three runs, and Canizaro drove in two.  Kim Adams (Southaven, Miss./Southaven HS) allowed five runs, three earned, on seven hits and two walks against five strikeouts, earning the win.

In the second game, DSU scored once in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead.  They scored in the first on two walks and two singles, and an error and a single created a run in the second.  A single, an error, and a wild pitch brought home a third run for DSU in the third inning.

After only collecting one hit in the first three innings, the Lady Bucs' comeback began with three singles pushing a run across in the bottom of the fourth, with Story driving Joiner home on a two-out single.  Joiner hit an RBI single to left in the fifth inning to score Gracia, who reached on a fielder's choice.  In the sixth, Jennifer Gonzalez (Covina, Calif./Charter Oak HS) was hit by a pitch and came home on a two-out squeeze bunt by Grooms, tying the game at three.

DSU appeared to put the game away in the seventh.  After a pair of walks, CBU brought Adams back in relief, but a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, and a two-out single gave DSU a 5-3 edge.  The Lady Bucs would answer with two in the bottom of the seventh.  A Joiner double and two walks loaded the bases with one out, and a groundout marked the second out with no runs in.  Adams worked a bases-loaded walk to bring the Lady Bucs within a run.  Grooms followed with a soft grounder to the right side of the infield.  DSU threw home to try to force Olivia Kegler (Ballwin, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) out, but she slid in safely to tie the game at five.  Another groundout ended the threat, sending the game to extra innings.

Adams retired the side in order in the top of the eighth to set up the win in the bottom of the inning.  Canizaro reached on a fielding error to start the bottom of the inning.  Joiner singled to right, and Kelly hit an RBI single into the gap in left-center to score Canizaro for the game-winning run.

Grooms went 4-for-4 with two RBI in the game, giving her five hits in six at-bats on the day as a whole.  Joiner went 3-for-5 with two runs, and Kelly and Story each went 2-for-4.

The Lady Bucs continue their eight-game homestand this weekend.  Saturday, they host No. 5 Alabama-Huntsville for a doubleheader at 2 p.m., and they host North Alabama Sunday at 1 p.m. for another twinbill.  They wrap up the homestand next Thursday with a non-conference doubleheader against Rogers State.