VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan held off a strong Meredith College softball team to claim a pair of wins in Sunday's non-conference doubleheader. Head Coach Kim Scavone placed three rookie pitchers on the front line, alongside returning sophomore Sarah Gundlach, to face off with the nationally ranked Marlins.

And the underclassmen did not disappoint. Hannah Weigle and Brie Caldwell threw game one, holding VWU to just one run in five hits. Game two started with Gundlach in the circle, and she kept the Marlins off the scoreboard until the fifth inning, allowing two during her 5.2 inning tenure. Fallon Wimberly relieved Gundlach in the bottom of the sixth to finish out the frame earning one run on a pair of hits for the loss.

Offensively, Meredith's Anna Goldman recorded the first hit for the Angels in the fourth inning of game one. Alyssa Drake, who led off with a walk, found her way to third before VWU's Hannah Hull interrupted MCSB's rally. Cecilia Coleman's walk in the fifth and Tatum Smith's single in the seventh offered the only other breakthrough's for the Angels amidst Hull's dozen strikeouts.

The Avenging Angels settled in early during game two as Kelsey Mabe led off with a walk. She advanced to second on the next at-bat, and Bryce Smith pushed her to third on a single before Carla Hall closed out the inning.

Madison Hamilton's first of two hits on the day came in the second, but she added an RBI in the fourth with a double to left for Meredith's first run on the day. Hamilton advanced the remaining two bases on a pair of wild pitches to give MCSB a 2-0 lead.

Rachel Johnson reached first on an error for the second time in the top of the fifth but was held up at second, and the Marlins scored one in the bottom of the frame. Meredith left two runs on base in the sixth, and VWU scored two on four hits in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.

The Avenging Angels travel to Demorest, Georgia, next Saturday to face off with the USA South's Piedmont College. Make plan's to watch MCSB's home opener Thursday, Feb. 27, versus the Shaw Bears.