Hickory, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team (26-3), ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II, saw its school-record 20-game winning streak come to an end with a doubleheader split of King (Tenn.) (14-10) Tuesday afternoon at Bears Field.

Game One – Lenoir-Rhyne 5, King 4
Lenoir-Rhyne junior designated hitter Mackenzie Cates (Efland, N.C.) totaled two hits and two runs batted in while sophomore Brandi Parks (Roaring River, N.C.) improved to 15-0 on the season after holding off King for the victory.

King's Olivia Lawson (Rogersville, Tenn.) hit a two-run double and the Tornado plated two runs in the top of the seventh inning with two outs but the Bears were able to escape.

Parks allowed just two earned runs in addition to five strikeouts while Lenoir-Rhyne took the lead for good with a three-run six inning highlighted by junior shortstop Madison Carter's (Bessemer City, N.C.) game-winning single.

King's Morgan Matthews (Tallahassee, Fla.) fell to 3-4 after suffering the loss.

Game Two – King 4, Lenoir-Rhyne 3
Emma Hughes (Rogersville, Tenn.) improved to 7-2 on the year after earning the complete game victory while Candace Maness (Lexington, Tenn.) drew the game-winning, bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning as the Tornado salvaged the split.  Hughes struck out five batters and registered the final out with runners on first and third base.

For Lenoir-Rhyne, junior outfielder Christina Walker (Roxboro, N.C.) totaled three hits while senior designated player Sarah Kenley (Charlotte, N.C.) and senior first baseman Sydney Landreth (Disputanta, Va.) drove in runs in the losing effort.  Freshman Sydney Miller (East Bend, N.C.) fell to 4-3 on the year after taking the loss in relief.

Lenoir-Rhyne remains at home to host Limestone in a doubleheader on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., while King faces Erkine in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader on Friday in Due West, S.C., beginning at 2:00 p.m.