PLEASANT GROVE, Ala. -- The Delta State University softball team combined for 20 runs and 21 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Miles College, in non conference action, on Monday at Pleasant Grove Park. DSU took the first game 8-4 and claimed the nightcap 12-0 in five innings.

GAME 1: DELTA STATE 8, MILES 4 
 
GAME CHANGER:
- With Miles leading 3-2 in the fifth inning, the Lady Statesmen regained the lead using an RBI single by Mallory Myers and a sacrifice fly by Abi Gibson.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- DSU finished the game with a 9-4 advantage in hits.
- Kelly Byrd, Kailyn Lofton and Olivia Dick led the Lady Statesmen with two hits apiece. Byrd led DSU with four RBIs.
- The Lady Statesmen had four extra base hits and four stolen bases.  
- Madison Bigner (2-0) allowed one run on two hits, with five strikeouts, in 3.2 innings of relief.

KEY PLAYS:
- DSU opened the scoring in the third with a two-run home run by Byrd.
- Miles plated three runs in the fourth, as it took advantage of an error, an RBI groundout and a solo home run.
- The Lady Statesmen regained the lead in the fifth when Myers had an RBI single and Gibson's sacrifice fly scored Dick.
- DSU added four insurance runs, to complete the scoring, in the sixth on a double by Lofton, a throwing error and Byrd's two-RBI double.
 
NOTEWORTHY:
- The four RBI's for Byrd mark the second time this season that she has driven in four runs in a contest. The Terry, Miss., native has 15 RBIs in the last seven games.
- Bigner has allowed just one run on six hits, with nine strikeouts, in her last nine innings of relief.
 
Game 2: DELTA STATE 12, MILES 0 (5)
 
GAME CHANGER:
- The Lady Statesmen batted around in the second inning, scoring eight runs on seven hits, including five extra base hits.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- The Lady Statesmen outhit the Golden Bears 12-5.
- Eight of the 12 DSU hits were for extra bases, including home runs by Byrd and Kaitlyn Eaves. 
- Gibson, Byrd, Lofton and Miranda Smith all collected two hits apiece. Byrd also scored three runs.
- Taylor Johnson (4-2) allowed five hits in five innings of work. She struck out five and walked a pair.
- Just one of the five Miles hits was out of the infield.

KEY PLAYS:
- Lofton opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single that scored Byrd.
- In the eight run second inning Dick, Byrd, Eaves, Lofton and Smith all recorded extra base hits. Smith recorded two hits in the inning. 
- The Lady Statesmen added three runs in the fifth, to complete the scoring, on Byrd's RBI double that scored Myers, and an RBI double by Marissa Landrum. Byrd capitalized on a throwing error to score from third, following her double.

NOTEWORTHY:
- In its three meetings, DSU has outscored Miles 31-6.
- Through 15 games the Lady Statesmen have recorded six triples, which is already more than all of last season (5).
- DSU has 28 extra base hits, which is 25 percent of its total (112).
- Byrd has recorded an extra base hit in six of her last seven games.
- The shutout by Johnson is the first for DSU since a 1-0 victory over Arkansas Monticello on March 21, 2017. It is Johnson's first since she blanked Alabama Huntsville 8-0 (5) on March 19, 2016.
- The two hits by Smith, which both came in the second inning, are the first of her career.

NEXT TIME OUT:
- The Lady Statesmen return to GSC play with a three-game series at Valdosta State. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24, and a single game on Sunday, Feb 25. First pitch on Saturday is set for 1 p.m.