FLORENCE, S.C. — The 20th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College softball team earned a pair of thrilling one-run wins en route to a road conference doubleheader sweep against Florence-Darlington Tech on Monday afternoon.

The Red Hawks, who extend their winning streak to 14 games, improve to 19-1 overall and 8-0 in Region 10 play.

Game one: No. 20 Catawba Valley 4, Florence-Darlington 3

An RBI single by Emma Kuproski in the top of the sixth inning lifted the Red Hawks to a dramatic come-from-behind win against the Stingers during Monday's opener of the set.

Catawba Valley took a 1-0 lead with a first-inning RBI single by Cali Hinnant, but Florence-Darlington answered quickly with a three-run homer by Mariah Stephens in the bottom half of the first.

Working its way back, the Red Hawks chipped away at their two-run deficit, scoring one run on a sac fly by Kyliee Lapham in the second inning to make it a 3-2 game.

Lillie Pennington's solo home run in the third inning tie the game at 3-3, and the Red Hawks and Stingers remained deadlocked until Kuproski's RBI single in the sixth inning scored Cora Olivares for the eventual game winner.

Hinnant earned her ninth win in the circle. She allowed six hits, three runs, one walk and struck out 12 batters in her complete game pitching performance.

Game two: No. 20 Catawba Valley 1, Florence-Darlington 0

A solo home run by Emma Kuproski in the top of the seventh inning was the lone run in a exciting game two victory for the Red Hawks against the Stingers.

Kuproski led Catawba Valley with two of its seven hits. Teammates Jessica Cannon, Lillie Pennington, Cali Hinnant, Kyliee Lapham and Cora Olivares also recorded on hit each for CVCC in the contest.

Red Hawk starting pitcher Jillian Jones held the Florence-Darlington bats in check, and she didn't allow a hit until the third inning of the game. She also retired the line up in order during four of the seven innnings.

Jones allowed just three hits and struck out four batters, improving to 8-0 on the season.


The 20th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College softball team returns to action on Thursday for a road doubleheader against Spartanburg Methodist. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.