Greeneville, Tenn.--The Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team dropped a tough extra inning game in the first game at Tusculum on Monday. Tusculum scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to tie it then walked the Bears off in the 8th for a 5-4 comeback win. The Bears then rebounded and pounded out 17 hits in the night cap for a 12-1 win to earn a split on Monday. Julia Mardigian and Lauren Rakes both went deep and Lani Warren had her second four hit game of the season in the night cap.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game One Final: Tusculum 5, No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 4 (8 Inns.)
Game Two Final: No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 12, Tusculum 1
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (37-11, 14-6 SAC) Tusculum (24-19, 14-8 SAC)
Game Location: Greeneville, Tenn.
STATS AND INFO:
- The loss in game one snaps a six game winning streak against Tusculum.
- Bears also had a six game winning streak in Greeneville snapped.
- Bears are three wins away from their 12th 40-win season in program history.
- Coach Hollar won her 960th game as the Bears's head coach on Saturday against Newberry.
- The games were makeup games from the March 10th rainout.
GAME ONE INFO:
- Bears did all their scoring in the second as LR put up four runs up highlighted by Mardigian's three-run homerun.
- The Pioneers then chipped away with a run in the third and fourth inning before the two-run homerun in the bottom of the 7th to tie it up.
- LR could not score in the 8th inning as the Pioneers got a two-out hit to walk-off the Bears.
- Rakes (14-6) throw the complete game in the circle allowing five runs (four earned) and striking out nine.
- Bears had nine hits in the opener as Mardigian and Madison Wilson had a pair of hits but the Bears left six on in scoring position.
GAME TWO INFO:
- In the night cap, the Bears had a season high 17 hits as LR scored runs in the last six innings to cruise to a 12-1 win.
- Rakes got the Bears going with her 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the second inning.
- After that Rakes, Bears got seven RBI singles and a RBI double by Madison Primm.
- Four Bears had two RBIs while Warren had four hits while Primm added three.
- Wilson pitched the complete game for her 12th win of the season. Wilson added 11 strikeouts and only allowed one earned run.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Wilson's 11 strikeouts were a career high and her second double-digit strikeout game of the season.
- Rakes's homerun was her 37th career long ball.
- Bears have four conference games left and are tied for 3rd in the SAC with Carson-Newman. The two teams will square off on Saturday.
UP NEXT: Trip to Emory & Henry on Thursday. First-pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.
