DeLand, Fla. - Sophomore pitcher/designated player Meredith Owen (Jackson, Miss.) went three for three with a double and a home run and also tossed three scoreless innings to lead the Stetson softball team (6-0) to a 4-0 shutout win over visiting Volusia County rival Bethune-Cookman (1-7) Sunday afternoon at Patricia Wilson Field. The Hatters are 6-0 to start a season for the first time since 1985, the program's first year of existence.
Owen started the game in the circle and held the Wildcats scoreless on one hit for three innings before being relieved by freshman Courtney Brandt (Dade City, Fla.). Brandt struck out four in four innings, scattering two hits and two walks for the combined three-hit shutout; she picked up her fourth victory of the season.
Stetson scored all the runs it would need in the bottom of the first as two B-CU errors contributed to two runs scoring. Senior left fielder Brittany Knipp (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) reached on a one-out error and came around to score on freshman shortstop Demi Meza's (Oxnard, Calif.) RBI single. Junior third baseman Jordan Cleghorn (Ball Ground, Ga.) also got an RBI in the inning on a misplayed grounder with the bases loaded.
Owen, who singled in the first and doubled to center with two outs in the third, added the insurance runs for the Hatters by smacking a Shanel Tolbert offering off the scoreboard in left center for a two-run home run, her second of the season, with two out in the bottom of the fifth. That homer scored Meza, who had singled immediately prior to join Owen in the multi-hit column for Stetson.
Meza also stole her team-leading third base of the season while senior first baseman Carolyn Boyd (Germantown, Tenn.) collected her first double of 2012. Stetson swept the three-game series from B-CU this weekend after 8-3 and 11-3 victories over the Wildcats yesterday.
Stetson tries to keep its hot start rolling at 4:00 pm Friday against Mount St. Mary's in the opener of the Hatter Classic at Patricia Wilson Field. Stetson will re-match with Bethune-Cookman at 6:30 that evening. Also competing in the three-day event is St. Bonaventure. Live Stats and Hatter Vision will be available at GoHatters.com.
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