Hickory, N.C -- The No. 20  Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team earned a sweep in day one of the LR Weekend Tournament, including a thrilling 11-10 walkoff win in nine innings over No. 1 Young Harris. The Bears topped Lees-McRae in the first game and then won a dramatic back-and-forth contest in the nightcap. The Bears scored 11 runs in each of the two games. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game 1 Final: #20 Lenoir-Rhyne 11, Lees-McRae 7
Game 2 Final: #20 Lenoir-Rhyne 11, Young Harris 10
Records: #20 Lenoir-Rhyne (16-2),  #1 Young Harris  (12-1), Lees-McRae (4-5)
Location: Bears Field | Hickory, N.C.

STATS OF GAME ONE:

• Lara Beth Wood got the Bears on the board with a two-run double in the bottom of the 1st.  It was Wood's 12th and 13th RBI on the season for LR.
• After Lees-McRae put a three-spot on the board in the top of the second, LR came back with a four-spot in the bottom half.
• Kylee Leonhardt finished 3-5 with two home runs, including a three-run shot in the 6th. Leonhardt finished with 6 RBI's
• The top three in the Bears lineup, Savannah Moorefield, Leonhardt and Talon LaClair went 9-14 on the afternoon. The trio had 9 of the Bears 15 hits. 
• Morgan Beeler started the game and pitched  four innings, giving up eight hits and three runs.  Mary Anna Clement came in relief pitching 3 innings, allowing 3 hits and 4 runs (0 earned). Beeler got the win moving her record to 8-0 on the season. 

STATS OF GAME TWO:

• LR got on the board first without a hit as the Bears used three walks and hit by pitch to take a 1-0 lead.
• After Young Harris tied in the top of the third, Bears scored twice to take a 3-1 lead on run-scoring hits from Wood and Lauren Rakes. 
• With a 3-1 lead in the sixth, the Bears saw the advantage quickly evaporate as the Mountain Lions pushed across four runs on just two hits to take a 5-3 lead.
• That lead didn't last long as LaClair drove in a run on a fielder's choice and then Wood drove in a pair with a base hit. A sacrifice fly by Mackensi Swain gave LR a 7-5 lead heading into the seventh.
• Young Harris wouldn't go down quietly as the nation's top team opened the seventh with a single and a game-tying home run. An RBI double put YHC up 8-7 heading into the bottom of the eighth.
• The instant classic continued as LR drew even on a clutch base hit from Kendall Osborne. 
• A two-out base hit from Young Harris gave the visitors a 9-8 lead in the top of the eight but LR answered with an infield single from LaClair to send the game to the ninth. 
• Young Harris seemed to grab the win with another two-out RBI hit but the Bears roared back once more. After a sacrifice bunt put a runner at third with one out, Osborne's second clutch extra inning hit was a double to tie the game setting up Moorefield with a walk off single. 
• The teams combined for 22 hits, 21 runs and five errors in a three hour and 19 minute marathon game. Rakes and Wood each drove in three and Rakes earned the win by tossing seven innings and allowing one earned run with nine strikeouts. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Bears move to 9-1 at home this season and now own impressive wins over North Georgia and Young Harris. Each Peach Belt Conference team was ranked inside the top 16 at the time of the contest. 
• This was Young Harris' first loss of the season and first in 23 regular season games. YHC's last regular season loss came on April 7 to Georgia Southwestern State. 
• The Bears won a pair of thrillers against LMC last year. In two games against the Bobcats in Hickory, LR won 3-2 and 9-8 with both going into extra innings. 

UP NEXT:  The Bears will play Young Harris again tomorrow at 12:00 PM followed by a 4 p.m. matchup with Lees-McRae.