Mustangs stay perfect with sweep of Central Alabama

The Northeast Alabama Community College softball team is still perfect after a dozen games.

The Mustangs swept a doubleheader with visiting Central Alabama Tuesday at Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium.

NACC took the opener 9-0 before coming from behind to complete the sweep with a 3-2 Game 2 win.

The wins improved the Mustangs to 12-0, the best start in program history.

NACC scored in all four of its at-bats during a five-inning mercy-rule shortened doubleheader-opening win. The Mustangs tallied three runs in the first inning, one in the second, two in the third and three in the fourth while totaling 13 hits.

Freshman shortstop Morgan Perkins finished 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI doubles for the Mustangs and sophomore Francesca Lumpp hit a two-run home run while finishing 2-for-2. Sophomore Kiley Weston and freshman Austin McNeece (RBI) both went 2-for-3 while sophomore Chloe Hatch and freshman Marti McCluskey each had an RBI single for NACC, which got one hit and one RBI each from freshman Lorelai Sullivan and sophomore Emmorie Burke and one hit from freshman Olivia Acuff.

Addie Edwards turned in another strong effort for NACC in the pitching circle. The freshman improved to 6-0 after tossing a one-hit shutout. The right-hander finished with three strikeouts.

The Mustangs then rallied for a Game 2 victory. 

Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the fourth, McCluskey walked to start the inning and scored the tying run two batters later on Burke's RBI groundout. Perkins then singled to drive in Acuff, who was aboard on a one-out walk, with the go-ahead run. Central Alabama put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in both the fifth and sixth innings but were unable to push them across, and freshman NACC pitcher Erin Harrelson struck out the final two batters to retire Central Alabama in order in the top of the seventh to close it out.

Harrelson pitched the final four innings in relief to get the win and improve to 2-0 in the circle. She finished with six strikeouts while fellow reliever Kayleigh Warnock had one strikeout while pitching two innings.

Weston hit a first-inning solo home run and also tripled and drew a walk for NACC while McCluskey singled, walked and stole two bases.

The Mustangs are back in action Thursday with a doubleheader at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee. First pitch for Game 1 is set for noon central time.