The Belmont Abbey softball team was swept at the ninth-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Bears this afternoon in the season opener for both teams, falling 6-1 in the opener and 7-4 in the nightcap.

"We definitely have things that we need to work on but there were a lot of good things that happened today," Head Coach Ellie Hanover said. "We hit the ball very well. The numbers will tell you different, but our outs were tough outs. We strung some hits together and started to make a bit of a comeback. We showed a lot of heart tonight. We never gave up. If we eliminate some of the errors we made, we have ourselves a tight ball game with the number nine team in the country. Onward and upward. We have a lot to look forward to and I'm very excited to see what my girls can do this season."

In the opener, the Abbey had a chance to strike first in the top of the first as Amber Faust ripped a one out double to center, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat.

Lenoir-Rhyne would capitalize on its chance in the bottom of the inning, as a single and two walks loaded the bases for Haily Jarman, who ripped a grand slam to put the Bears ahead 4-0. The Bears would add one more in the third to move the lead to 5-0.

The Crusaders scored their run in the sixth as Aleisha Peek led off with a single and moved to third on a double to left by Faust. After a strikeout, Peek scored when Jordan Killian reached on an error by the second baseman to produce the Abbey's first run of the season.

Lenoir-Rhyne matched the Abbey's run in the bottom of the frame to close the scoring.

Faust finished with two of the Abbey's four hits, both doubles, and she drove in a run. Peek and Killian both had one hit.

Dawon Millwood earned the win in the circle for the Bears, allowing four hits in a complete-game effort, fanning nine. Nikki Faust took the loss.

In the nightcap, the Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first before the Abbey cut it in half in the top of the second. Carol-Anne Sherrill reached on a one out error, moved to second on a passed ball and to third on a single by Kelly Schweizer. After Schwezier stole second, Sherrill scored when the throw sailed into the outfield to close the gap to 2-1.

L-R responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and one more in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-1. The Abbey made it 6-2 in the fifth as Faust ripped her third double of the afternoon, this one scoring Peek, who earlier drew a walk.

Down to its final three outs, the Abbey scored two more in the seventh to close the scoring. Chelsea Elmore worked a leadoff walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a double by Peek to close to 7-3. After a strikeout, Shanie McConnell reached on an error, scoring Peek from second. With the tying run on deck with only one out, the Crusaders ended the game with a pop out and a strikeout.

Faust finished with two hits in game two, giving her four for the doubleheader. She also had an RBI. Peek and Schweizer had the one hit apiece. Megan Laxton earned the win, as she gave up four runs on four hits in seven innings, walking five and fanning four. Savannah Carpenter took the loss. She allowed five runs on five hits in an inning and two-thirds, walking one.

Game One Box
Game Two Box