By Matthew D. Stokes
BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

ROME, Ga. – Behind the pitching of Caillee Shamoun and Andrea Cole, Berry extended its winning streak to seven games after beating Centre twice on a sunny Saturday afternoon at South Ford Field. Berry won the opener 3-2 and took the second game 7-3.

In the opener, Berry starting pitcher Shamoun opened strong, striking out five in the first two frames. Her offense, however, struggled to muster much run support for her.

In the bottom of the third, Berry scored one run on a Jessica Washington single that Centre's rightfielder misplayed, allowing Critter Dawsey to cross the plate all the way from first.

Centre's offense broke through in the fourth. With runners at first and second, Molly Ely ripped Shamoun's pitch between first and second for a surefire hit, but it caromed off the lip of the outfield grass and over Dawsey's head in right for an unlikely two-run triple.

Centre would hold that 2-1 edge until the bottom of the sixth when Lacey Herring drove an Emily Meador pitch off the base of the leftfield fence for a game-tying RBI double.

Shamoun retired the side in the seventh, setting up a dramatic finish.

Following two singles, a flyout, and an intentional walk, Holly Todd lined what would be Meador's final pitch into center for the game-winning RBI, scoring Denice Aleman.

"Holly's hit was awesome," said Berry head coach Cori Thiermann. "She smoked that ball."

Shamoun (10-2) fired a complete game six-hitter for Berry, allowing six hits and two earned runs. She surrendered one walk and struck out eight. Meador also tossed a complete game, scattering nine hits over six and two-third innings and giving up three runs (two earned).

"She came out and threw a great game for her defense," Thiermann said.

Washington singled in all three at-bats and walked in her other plate appearance.

In the nightcap, Cole started for Berry and opened with five and a third scoreless innings before allowing three runs in her final two frames.

"Andrea hasn't been throwing a ton of innings recently, so we wanted to get her in there," Thiermann said. "She did a great job getting ahead, and she had her changeup working, which was keeping the batters off-balance."

And this time around Berry's bats answered the call early.

Herring kicked off the scoring, launching another ball to left, but this time it went over the fence for a two-run home run in the first. In the second inning, Sara Vigue, Kristen Stoll, Herring, and Krista Woody each drove in one run apiece. To cap Berry's scoring, Washington drove home a run in the third on a fielder's choice.

With her team leading 7-0 to start the sixth, Cole (5-3) began to tire, but managed to finish what she started. She scattered ten hits over those seven innings and allowed three unearned runs. In addition she struck out seven while walking only one.

Emily Landherr took the loss for Centre, laboring through one and two-thirds innings and surrendering six earned runs.

Herring, Woody, and Todd each had two hits for Berry. For Centre, Katie Martello finished with three singles, and Ashley Simpson and Hannah Simpson each had two apiece.

Berry will host a doubleheader this Tuesday against Covenant starting at 3 p.m. The time of the first pitch was changed from its original time of 2 p.m.

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