The Belmont Abbey softball team split a doubleheader with the visiting Lenoir-Rhyne Bears, taking game one 6-1 and falling 6-0 in the nightcap. The Abbey is now 1-3 on the year, while the Bears are 1-1.

In game one, the Abbey charged ahead 4-0 in the bottom of the first and never looked back as freshman pitcher Samantha Jacobs stymied the Lenoir-Rhyne offense, allowing just one run on seven hits and striking out eight in a complete-game effort to give first year head coach Brooke Le Sage her first collegiate win as a head coach.

In the first, Lenoir-Rhyne starter Maryann Hoskins issued four conseutive walks to bring in the first run of the game in the form of Carol-Anne Sherrill, who drew the first walk. She scored on a base on balls to Courtney Barrineau. After a pitching change, Kinsey McClure reached on an infield single that plated Jena Reisanauer. Two batters later, Reisanauer scored on a wild pitch to up the lead to 3-0. McClure scored the final run of the inning on a single by Brooke Baliles.

Four innings later the Abbey made it 6-0 as Baliles brought home two runs with a single to left, scoring Barrineau and Nikki Faust.

The Bears scored their only run of the game in the sixth on a Haily Jarman solo homer, and they threatened in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs as the tying run stood on deck, but Jacobs retired Jessica Fellmeth to end the game.

Jacobs earned her first career win as she fanned eight, giving up one run on seven hits. She threw 122 pitches. Hoskins was charged with the loss after working just a third of an inning, allowing four runs on zero hits, walking four.

Belmont Abbey finished with just four hits, two by Baliles and one each from Barrineau and McClure. Jarman totaled two of L-R's seven hits, including the homer in the sixth.

In the nightcap the Bears struck for 13 hits as they scored four in the third inning to take command of the game. In the first inning the Bears loaded the bases on three hits but could not bring a run home, but in the third they struck four times.

Jarman worked a one out walk and scored on a double by Brittany Coursen. Megan Laxton followed with a single, the first of her three hits of the game, that plated Fellmeth to increase the lead to 2-0. Emily Self then retired Ciera Cokerham for the second out, but the Bears struck for two more after that second out was recorded, as Kristin Lackey singled home Coursen and Julia Wakefield chased Laxton home from third on a single to left.

The Bears added two more in the seventh as pinch hitter Katie Carpenter delivered a two RBI single to the gap in right center.

Hoskins earned the win in game two after taking the loss in game one, as she allowed two hits over four scoreless innings, striking out seven. She did not walk a batter. Laxton worked the first three innings and allowed just one hit, walking four and fanning three.

Self was charged with the loss after yielding four runs on nine hits in two and two-thirds innings, walking one and striking out one.

Laxton finished with three hits and an RBI, while Jarman, Lackey and Wakefield each had two hits as the Bears totaled 13. Sherrill finished with two of the Abbey's three hits. Shanie McConnell had the other.

Game 1 Box

Game 2 Box