EMORY, Va. – The No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne University Softball Team (39-11, 16-6 SAC) earned a pair of South Atlantic Conference wins over Emory & Henry College (17-20, 8-14 SAC) Thursday afternoon. The nationally-ranked Bears took the doubleheader by scores of 10-1 and 13-3.
The Basics
GAME ONE – No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 10, Emory & Henry 1 (six innings)
GAME TWO – No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Emory & Henry 3 (six innings)
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Wasps Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (17-20, 8-14 SAC); Lenoir-Rhyne (39-11, 16-6 SAC)
Game One – No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 10, Emory & Henry 1 (six innings)
LR jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second highlighted by a three-run home run by Julia Mardigian. The Bears extended their lead to 6-0 as Mardigian tagged a second round-tripper.
Emory & Henry got on the board in the bottom of the fifth frame when junior infielder Lydia Taylor (Salem, Va.) tagged a solo home run over the wall in left-center to make it a 6-1 contest.
Lenoir-Rhyne pushed four more across in the top of the sixth for the final 10-1 score. Madison Primm had a RBI double during the inning.
LR's Lauren Rakes earned the complete-game win, scattering one run on six hits with seven strikeouts. Wasp sophomore Kylie Cundiff (Roanoke, Va.) took the loss, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts.
Game Two – No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Emory & Henry 3 (six innings)
The Bears opened the scoring in the second with three runs as Mardigian plated a pair with a base knock to center and came around to score thanks to a throwing error. LR extended its lead to 4-0 on a single through the left side by Lauren Rakes in the third.
E&H loaded the bases in the bottom of the third and saw junior designated player Olivia Yates (Floyd, Va.) draw a walk to make it a 4-1 contest but was unable to do any more damage.
In the fourth, Lenoir-Rhyne added another pair and Emory & Henry scored two of their own on a throwing error for a 6-3 margin.
The fifth inning saw LR put four on the board as Mardigian hit her third home run of the day for a 10-3 lead. The Bears made the final score 13-3 after six as Mardigian answered the call once more, plating another pair with a single up the middle.
Madison Wilson grabbed the complete game victory, allowing just one earned run on seven hits. E&H junior MaKayla Dowdy (Blacksburg, Va.) allowed nine earned runs as she suffered the loss.
Up Next
Emory & Henry will close out the SAC portion of its season on Saturday when it visits Limestone University. First pitch for the doubleheader between the Wasps and Saints is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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