SUWANEE, Ga. - Birmingham-Southern kicked off the SCAC Softball schedule with a road sweep over Sewanee on the road. Jenna Franks led the Panthers with 18 RBIs and four home runs. Defending conference champion DePauw University got its season underway opening up 3-1 on the year.

- AROUND THE SCAC -

Austin College swept Murray State College in the team’s only doubleheader of the week to improve to 7-5 overall this season, the best start since the program returned to Austin College four years ago. The ’Roos picked up a 4-2 win in game one against MSC before finishing off the two game sweep with a 12-5 win in game two. In game one, the ‘Roos took advantage of a Murray State error and Stefanie Faith blasted a two run homer in a four run third inning and AC would hold on from there to pick up the win. Faith was 2-for-3 in the victory while Sam Matulis earned the win, throwing a complete game while scattering five hits and striking out six batters. In game two the ‘Roos broke open a close game with eight runs in the seventh, with Faith hitting a grand slam with two outs to seal the win. Faith went 3-for-5 with five RBI in the win and Heather Farquhar went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. Courtney Nitson picked up the complete game victory on the mound.

Birmingham Southern remained undefeated at 10-0 this week with a four-game sweep of Sewanee on the road. On Saturday, the Panthers won by the scores of 25-2 and 21-0, both in five innings. The 25-2 win broke the program single-game scoring record, besting the previous record of 24 runs set against Alabama A&M on April 9, 2003. On Sunday, BSC won 14-0 and 14-1, also both in five innings. Through 10 games, BSC is now out-hitting its opponents 121-47 and .393 to .205. The team has recorded 18 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, and 102 RBIs. The Panthers are 21-of-24 on the base paths and have a .984 fielding percentage with only four errors on the season. The BSC pitching staff owns a 1.49 ERA with four shutouts and 91 strikeouts. BSC is on the road next week for Spring Break, taking on Northwest Florida State College and Murray State College in exhibitions games, March 15 in Niceville, Fla., followed by a doubleheader against Spring Hill College, March 16, in Mobile.

Centre went 1-3 on the week, as they split with St. Catharine in the team’s first two games of the season, which took place on Monday. St. Catharine won the first game 6-4, as they scored four runs in the final inning to pick up the victory. In the second game of the series the Colonels picked up the 13-12 win as St. Catharine could not score enough runs in the seventh inning. Defiance then swept the Colonels in the double header that took place on Friday. In the first game the Colonels made a comeback in the fourth, but could not hold on as Defiance went on to win 6-3. During the second game the Colonels again were able to make a comeback as they tied the score 7-7 in the fifth, but again could not come away with the win as they lost 9-7. The Colonels will take on Hanover College on Wednesday before participating in their March Mayhem Tournament, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday. Centre will face Manchester and Oberlin in a game a piece on both days.

#14 DePauw opened the season with a 3-1 record after defeating Maryville (Tenn.) twice and splitting their games with Transylvania. On Saturday, DePauw shut out Maryville, 3-0, and also blanked Transylvania, 4-0. The Tigers topped Maryville on Sunday by a 6-2 score, but were shut out by Transylvania, 2-0. Cymone Allen paced DePauw with a .500 batting average (5-10) and was successful in both stolen base attempts. Jen Kosinski and Rachel MacBeth each hit .385 with Kosinski driving in four runs. Megan Soultz pitched all four games for a 1.04 ERA with 28 strikeouts and four walks in 27 innings. She tossed a one-hitter against Transylvania on Saturday.

Hendrix swept its competition in the 2010 Warrior Spring Fling on Saturday and Sunday. The Warriors took down MacMurray College, 10-2, in Saturday’s opener and then defeated Blackburn College, 25-0, in the night game. Hendrix kicked off Sunday with its third straight 8-run mercy rule win, 9-1, over Westminster College before outlasting University of Dallas, 8-3, to even its record at 4-4 overall this year. Hendrix junior RHP Jaclyn Herrera fanned six batters in the Warriors win MacMurray, while first year RHP Ashley Halbert introduced herself to the home crowd with a five-inning no hitter in the Warriors’ win over Blackburn. Hendrix sophomore LF Trace Grinnell went 3-for-3 with two runs scored to lead the Warriors win over Westminster, while Herrera pitched five shutout innings to lead Hendrix to its victory over Dallas. Grinnell finished the weekend 11-for-14 and junior DP Ellen Burr went 7-for-10. Grinnell and Burr led Hendrix with seven runs scored and three RBI apiece. Grinnell had three doubles, a triple and was 3-for-3 in stolen bases. First year OF Alyssa Barry was 8-for-14 with a team-high nine RBI. Barry had one double, two triples and scored six times. Herrera was 2-0 in the circle after 11.0 innings and seven strike outs, while sophomore RHP Liz Vaughan and first year RHP Ashley Halbert both picked up their first wins of the season. Vaughan and Halbert did not allow an earned run all weekend. Halbert sat down 10 batters on her own and forced three fly outs and one grounder in her no-hitter. She faced 17 batters in 5.0 innings and Blackburn had three players reach base via two errors and one free pass.

Millsaps only scheduled games for the week at the University of West Alabama on Tuesday were canceled due to heavy rains in the area. The Majors will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Clinton, Miss., Friday afternoon for games against Mississippi College and Huntingdon College before returning to Jackson to face the same teams on Saturday.

Rhodes used late-game rallies to go 4-0 at this weekend's Rhodes Spring Classic, defeating Millikin 5-4 and Berry 5-4 on Saturday, then defeating Berry 6-5 in 9 innings on Sunday and topping Lagrange 10-3 in the final game Sunday. Rhodes scored 3 times in the bottom of the 7th to knock off Millikin, starting with a solo home run from Rebekah Moore to ignite the rally and an RBI single from Kelli Zomer to give the Lynx the win. Against Berry, the Lynx scored 3 in the bottom of the 6th to take a 5-4 lead, going on to win by the same score. Moore again led off the inning with a solo home run to start the rally, but this time it was freshman Megan Matthews who delivered the game winning hit. On Sunday against Berry, Rhodes scored 3 times in the 6th to tie the game on, and went on to win in the bottom of the 9th on another game winning hit from Matthews. In Sunday's final game against Lagrange, Elise Suna belted 2 home runs, including a grand slam, to lead the Lynx to a 10-3 win. Rhodes is 8-4 on the season and will play MacMurray and Blackburn this week before heading to Cocoa Beach, FL for Spring Break.

Sewanee opened its 2010 season with a four-game series against SCAC foe Birmingham-Southern and the visiting Panthers picked up all four wins. Carly Warfield is the pitcher of record for Sewanee and Erin Polena is leading the Sewanee bats with a .500 batting average. The Tigers next outing will be at Centre March 27 and 28.

Southwestern had the week off as they gear up for a big week this week, playing eight games during the seven day stretch including six in Arizona. Tuesday SU faces off with Texas Lutheran at home and then hit the road to Tuscan, AZ to face Augsburg for two games on Saturday, Dickinson and Wisconsin-La Crosse for two games on Sunday and St. Scholastica and Minnesota-Morris on Monday. Southwestern is currently 5-4 on the season.

Trinity was 1-3 over the past week, splitting a doubleheader with Texas Lutheran on Tuesday, but getting swept by NAIA Evangel University on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers lost the opening game of the week against TLU, but rebounded to split the series. Against Evangel, Trinity played a tight game throughout the opener, allowing four runs – only two earned – in the fifth inning of the 4-0 loss. Trinity then lost 8-0 in the finale. Trinity will play in a doubleheader at Schreiner on Wednesday afternoon, which will be the team’s only games this week. The Tigers play six games at home next week, opening up a 10-game home stand.

To view the entire Fast Pitch Weekly for week three, click here.