Lexington, Ky. – Continuing to enjoy the comforts of home after an extended road adventure to begin the season, the Transylvania softball team improved to 4-0 at home after a Saturday sweep of Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Bluffton with a pair of 5-4 and 7-1 victories at Hall Field.

The Pioneers grew their longest winning streak of the season to five games with all of them coming against HCAC competition. Transylvania sharpened their overall mark to 11-8, and 5-1 against HCAC opponents after a successful Saturday.

Game One of the afternoon featured a sufficient amount of drama as the Pioneers dug deep to pull out a tight win against the Bluffton Beavers who were experiencing their first conference competition of the 2016 season.

Freshman Jenna Stiles took to the mound in Game One and pitched a dutiful six innings against Bluffton, allowing just two earned runs, and three strikeouts against a walk in her afternoon of work. Her fellow Transylvania batters bolstered her effort offensively with 14 hits to aid their five-run afternoon in Game One.

Lead-off hitter Brittany Mumford enjoyed a special game against Bluffton, going 3-for-4 from the plate along with an RBI in a five-RBI day for the proficient Pioneer squad.

Shelby Bailey also made her mark with a 2-for-3 day at the plate, with two RBIs resulting from her time spent at bat.

Madison Dorsey was especially potent in the nine-spot, going 3-for-3 with an RBI to ensure a balanced Transylvania attack.

Transylvania's difference-making innings came in the third and sixth frames, when they posted two runs each, including the go-ahead runs in the sixth innings. Shelby Bailey provided impactful RBIs in the third inning with a double to center field, and the pitcher Lutes contributed with an RBI double in the fifth inning to score Meg Liter on the way to a 5-3 lead.

Bluffton mounted a charge in the top of the seventh inning, scoring a run to bring the hopeful Beavers within a run, but senior Katie Hulsman shut down the rest of the threat by incuding a series of groundouts to close down Bluffton's response and secure the 5-4 victory.

In Game Two of the day, Transylvania brought a consistent two-way attack to the contest, more than doubling Bluffton's run output en route to a 7-1 victory.

Mumford finished off an outstanding weekend with a 4-for-4 game 2, tabulating an RBI in arguably the finest day of her career. Freshman catcher Jessica Powell caught fire in the bottom of the lineup with a 2-for-3 afternoon to again provide significant balance to Transylvania's all-around batting order.

Shelbi Poehlein capitalized upon a magnificent team day with three RBIs, highlighted by a third inning three-run homer to bring in Liter and Krista Deburger to cap off a massive five-run inning. Thanks in part to Poehlin's damage, the Pioneers carried a 6-0 lead to the fourth inning and never looked back.

Deburger also imprinted her signature on Game Two versus Bluffton with a timely sacrifice fly RBI to drive in Mumford and give the Pioneers a lead they would never relinquish.

The Pioneers added one more insurance run in the foruth inning as Stiles punctuated her all-around day with a double to left field that brought in Mumford for a 7-1 lead.

The multi-faceted sweep concluded a consistent and powerful week for the Pioneers, who vanquished a set of HCAC opponents with a pair of one-run and blowout wins to decorate their five-game winning streak for a team that was selected to finish eighth out of 10 teams.

Following the complete four-game homestand, the Pioneers will try to lengthen their win streak as they journey up to Northern Kentucky on Sunday with a double joust against Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. First pitch of Game one of the doubleheader is set for 1:00 p.m.

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