ROCK HILL, S.C. – Breaking a scoreless stalemate midway through Sunday afternoon's Big South Conference series finale by virtue of a 4^th-inning trio and superb defensive play, the Presbyterian College softball squad earned two out of three in a league set for the second time in a row, downing Winthrop on the road by a 3-1 clip.

A contest mostly defined by a game of one-upmanship between starting twirlers Morgan Hess and Reese Basinger, the last laugh went to the former in her 10^th complete game of the semester and second instance in the past 24 hours throwing the full seven innings. Allowing just four hits and a minor hiccup in the bottom of the 4^th, Hess zoomed her way to win number seven on the campaign while repeating yesterday's 7-2 triumph to help PC clinch back-to-back league W's.

Dating back to the 2022 campaign – a record-setting spring for head coach David Williams' program – Presbyterian has now gotten the better of the Eagles five times over their last six rounds, having swept their in-state foe a year ago. Sunday's defensive-minded triumph marks PC's first time winning a pair in Rock Hill in exactly a decade.
 
NOTABLES
- Mallory Fletcher and Morgan Farthing continued their increased presence in Blue Hose highlights as an underclassman tandem, as the latter brought home the former and Rebecca Clark in a two-RBI triple that handed the visitors a 3-0 advantage. Farthing, in particular, shined all series long in starting nods at third-base, collecting three runs, three scores batted in, and a couple of extra-base swings over the past two days.

- Hess powered through her fifth performance of the season with seven strikeouts or better, outplaying Basinger in 26 fewer pitches to claim the fourth Big South W for her squad, all within the last 11 days. For a moment near the contest's close, Winthrop seemed as if a resurrection was possible by harboring runners on the corners with just one out tallied, although a K and a groundball to Kaitlyn Tucker wrapped up the win in short order.

- Win #22 in Hess' collegiate career included six scoreless innings of work in the circle, a feat that was accomplished for the second straight day to improve Presbyterian's team ERA to 2.76. The sophomore sensation mustered at least one K in five different frames, already inside the school's all-time top ten for victories before her PC tenure is even halfway over.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After taking two wins off of preseason league favorite USC Upstate last week, the Eagles were stymied twice in as many meetings by Hess, who only conceded three runs combined in 14 innings through the series. Going through the entire WU order before a hit slid by, Presbyterian solidified their 13^th win of the year allowing one score or fewer.

- Leaving two stranded in the top of the 2^nd, coach Williams' crew ensured they'd make the most of their chances once they arose again, drawing first blood on the 11^th RBI this year from Clark to bring Hess home. That set the stage for Farthing's big swing two plays later down the rightfield line, remarkably the first triple of 2023 for PC to go along with their 39 doubles and 29 homers.

- The offense may not have inflated quite like it did in Saturday's W – a sequence that saw three longballs down the stretch that broke the Eagles' backs – although the two runs that followed through in the 4^th were more than enough to preserve the result, combining Hess' excellent work with an errorless defense.

- Grabbing his 100^th PC win since accepting the job in 2019, Williams earned another on Sunday to denote his 82^nd victory when his side struck first. Additionally, the Blue Hose moved to 13-0 since February when in possession of the lead after four innings.
 
UP NEXT
- Doing their part to climb back in the hunt of postseason contention with a 4-2 Big South record over the past two weeks, Presbyterian remains on the road for the next conference set to be held on Friday and Saturday. A visit to Charleston Southern awaits for Game 1 on the 21^st and a doubleheader the ensuing day.

- Downing the Buccaneers in last season's league tourney, PC will go head-to-head with a CSU club that is now 6-8 against fellow Big South schools after salvaging a Game 3 victory over Longwood by a 1-0 extra-inning decision on Sunday. The series opener five days from now is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.