BELMONT, N.C. --
Mackenzie Sprinkle homered during a three-hit doubleheader, but Belmont Abbey dropped a pair of close games to Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday afternoon at Crusader Field. The Bears won the opener 3-1, before taking a 5-4 decision in the nightcap.
In being swept for the first time in seven doubleheaders this season, The Abbey falls to 12-3, while LRU improves to 15-6.
THE OPENER
- Sprinkle singled in the third and homered in the fifth for the Crusaders' only run.
- Payton Whitley had the third hit of the game, a single also in the third.
- Lenoir-Rhyne plated single runs in the first, third and seventh, totalling six hits.
- Abby Craver (6-1) suffered her first loss of the year. She allowed six hits and two earned runs, while walking two and striking out eight.
- Lauren Rakes (8-1) earned the win for the Bears. She pitched a complete game, striking out 11.
THE NIGHTCAP
- Freshman Isabella Kretschmer enjoyed her first multiple-hit game of her career with a double in the fifth and single in the seventh.
- Sprinkle and Whitley added hits in the second game, as did Cameron Cooper.
- After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, The Abbey closed the gap when Whitley drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
- Whitley doubled in two then scored on an error in the seventh, trimming the final margin to 5-4. The game ended with the potential winning run at first.
- Alannah Browne (4-2) suffered the loss after allowing five hits and three unearned runs in 1.1 innings.
- Morgan Beeler (5-4) earned the win with Rakes getting the final two outs for her third save.
UP NEXT
- Belmont Abbey closes out a short homestand on Saturday when it hosts cross-town rival Queens.
- First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.