Salisbury, N.C. - The No. 9 Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team (42-6, 13-1) swept Catawba (29-20, 5-9), 9-3 and 6-1, Wednesday at Whitley Field to win the 2010 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Title.? The Bears' championship is their sixth in the last 11 years.? L-R also won in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Game One - Lenoir-Rhyne 9, Catawba 3
L-R broke a two-all tie with seven runs in the top of the fourth inning en route to the win.
The Bears hit three home runs in the fourth frame.? Freshman first baseman Jessica Fellmeth (Waxhaw, N.C.) started things off with a two-run home run and was immediately followed?with junior third baseman Brandi Haithcock's (Snow Camp, N.C.) solo shot for back-to-back round-trippers.? Senior designated player Ashley Duckworth (Conover, N.C.) capped off the inning with a three-run home run.
Duckworth's home run was her 17th of the season, which tied teammate Kat Rivers (Royston, Ga.) for the team lead and tied the South Atlantic Conference Regular Season record.
Fellmeth finished with three hits and two runs batted in while sophomore catcher Sarah Atkins (Newport News, Va.) added three hits and three RBI for the Bears in the win.
Catawba's Allie Marshall (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) drove in a pair of runs in the losing effort.
L-R sophomore Dawon Millwood (Hixson, Tenn.) improved to 18-3 on the year after earning the win while Catawba's Sami Santoli (Nesconset, N.Y.) fell to 3-6 with the setback.
Box Score
Game Two - Lenoir-Rhyne 6, Catawba 1
L-R freshman Alex Smith (Cocoa, Fla.) (17-3) limited Catawba to just one unearned run while striking out eight batters to help the Bears sweep the Indians.
Lenoir-Rhyne staked itself to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a solo home run from sophomore second baseman Carlee Carpenter (Newton, N.C.) and a run-scoring single by Fellmeth.
A solo home run by senior outfielder Brittany Cherry (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), L-R's all-time leading hitter, pushed Lenoir-Rhyne's advantage to 5-0 in the top of the fourth inning before Catawba scored its lone run of the game in its half of the fourth.
Freshman outfielder Megan Laxton (Taylorsville, N.C.) rounded out the scoring with an RBI double in the seventh.
Catawba's Kelsie Hudson (Mechanicsville, Va.) fell to 8-4 after suffering the loss.
Box Score
Lenoir-Rhyne, which is also ranked second in this week's NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Poll, hosts Brevard on Senior Day in a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
