The Belmont Abbey softball team gained a split with the visiting Lees-McRae Bobcats, dropping the opener 4-1 before rallying from a 5-0 deficit by scoring six unanswered runs to claim a 6-5, eight inning victory in game two. Belmont Abbey moves to 11-19 overall and 5-5 in Conference Carolinas, while Lees-McRae is now 17-20 overall and 5-3 in Conference Carolinas.

"Lees-McRae definitely came ready to play today," Head Coach Ellie Hanover said. "They hit the ball well in the first game. We made some mistakes but we couldn't catch a break at all. In the second game, luck was on our side and we managed to find a way to win. I was happy with a split today. Tomorrow is another important day for us against Barton. We will honor our senior captain Alysia Stewart and I hope that we can play well for her."

In game one, after the Bobcats jumped ahead 2-0 in the opening frame on a two-run homer to right center by Karli Robb, the Crusaders got one back in the bottom of the second to inch within a run.

Carol-Anne Sherrill led off being hit by a pitch and moved to second when Anna Smart reached on an error by the pitcher on a sacrifice bunt. On the next at bat, Smart bolted for second and got caught in a run down. With Sherill inching towards home, the throw to nab Smart running back to first hit her in the arm and bounced away, allowing Sherrill to score easily.

That was all of the scoring until the fifth when Lees-McRae took advantage of a Crusader error to score two runs, getting RBI singles from Lori Fulmer and Magen West.

The Crusaders made a serious threat to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, as the first two runners reached on bases on balls, but a fly out and a ground ball double play ended the game.

Laurel Gregg picked up the win in six innings of work, allowing an unearned run on three hits and striking out five. Sami Michaelis took the loss. She gave up four runs, two earned, on 12 hits in seven innings. She fanned five. Bryce Campbell notched the save. She retired all three batters she faced in the bottom of the seventh.

In the nightcap, the Abbey erased a 5-0 deficit by scoring the last six runs of the game to pull out a split of the series. The Bobcats scored two in the first and single runs in the second and third, and added another in the fifth to open up a 5-0 lead.

West held the Abbey's offense in check, as she retired 11 straight batters after allowing a leadoff bunt single by Chelsea Elmore, before the Crusaders mounted their comeback in the bottom of the fifth.

Michaelis reached on a one out infield single and then stole second. After a walk to Emily Peek, Michaelis raced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a fielder's choice out off the bat of Elmore that cancelled Peek at second to close the lead to 5-1. Sherrill brought home Elmore all the way from first with a ringing double off the wall in right center to close to 5-2.

One inning later, Alysia Stewart cut the lead to 5-3 when she led off with a double and scored on a single by Kelly Schweizer.

Down to its final three outs, the Abbey scored twice to force extra innings. It began with a one out single by Sherrill, followed by an infield single from Smart. A groundout moved both runners up one base. With two outs, Stewart smacked a grounder to short that was misplayed, scoring Sherrill and moving Smart, representing the tying run, to third. Schweizer followed with a grounder to second. The throw went to second base in order to force Stewart, but she beat the throw, keeping the game alive as Smart scored the tying run.

Brooke Baliles almost ended the game on the next at bat, as she blasted a single down the rightfield line. Stewart barreled around third to score the tying run, but the throw from rightfield beat her by two steps as she was tagged out to force extra innings.

The Crusaders held the Bobcats scoreless in the top of the eighth, and the Abbey ended the game in the bottom of the inning. West, who left the game in the top of the seventh, came back on to pitch. Michaelis sacrificed Baliles to third. After a groundout by Kelsey Spangler, Elmore hit a seeing-eye single through the hole in left to score Baliles with the winning run.

Michaelis picked up the win in an inning of relief, retiring all three batters she faced. West took the loss after giving up three runs on eight hits in six and two-thirds innings.