Hickory, N.C. - The No. 13 Lenoir-Rhyne University Softball Team (7-3) split a doubleheader with USC Aiken (7-1) Sunday afternoon at Bears Field.? The Pacers took the first contest by a 5-4 score while the Bears won the nightcap, 7-6, in eight innings.
Game One - USC Aiken 5, Lenoir-Rhyne 4
The Pacers scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to come from behind and defeat the Bears.? USC Aiken's Nicole Borden (Jacksonville, Fla.) tallied the game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly in the frame.
Lenoir-Rhyne took a 4-3 lead thanks to a two-run home run by junior catcher Sarah Atkins (Newport News, Va.) in the bottom of the fifth inning.
L-R junior second baseman Carlee Carpenter (Newton, N.C.) and sophomore designated player Megan Laxton (Taylorsville, N.C.) added solo home runs in the first and fourth innings, respectively, for the Bears despite the loss.
Borden drove in two runs and Lauren Rickabaugh (North Augusta, S.C.) improved to 2-0 with the win despite allowing three home runs for the Pacers
For L-R, Carpenter finished with three hits and two runs scored while freshman Julia Wakefield (Hickory, N.C.) fell to 1-1 after being tagged with the loss.
Box Score
Game Two - Lenoir-Rhyne 7, USC Aiken 6 (eight innings)
L-R sophomore outfielder Kristin Lackey (Hudson, N.C.) broke a six-all tie with the game-winning RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Bears salvaged the split and handed the Pacers their first loss of the year.
Sophomore first baseman Jessica Fellmeth (Waxhaw, N.C.) hit a two-run home run to give the Bears a 5-3 advantage in the sixth inning before the Pacers' Kayla Denham (Palatka, Fla.) connected on a three-run round-tripper with two outs in the top of seventh for a 6-5 USC Aiken lead.
However, Carpenter forced extra innings with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to help set up Lackey's game-winning hit.
Carpenter and freshman?third baseman Haily Jarman (Wadesboro, N.C.) both finished with four hits while Fellmeth drove in three to lead the Bears.
Denham totaled two hits and a game-high four RBI in the setback for the Pacers.
L-R junior Lauren Harris (Yadkinville, N.C.) improved to 3-1 with the victory while USC Aiken's Kylee Knop (Oxford, Ga.) fell to 2-1 with the loss.? Both pitchers went the distance.
Box Score
Lenoir-Rhyne next competes in Catawba College Invitational on Friday in Salisbury, N.C.? L-R plays Kutztown (Pa.) (2:00 p.m.) and Glenville State (W.Va.) (4:00 p.m.) on the first day Friday.?
