DUE WEST, S.C. – The Concord University softball team dropped the first two games of the Bearcat-Fleet Invite 10-8 to Lincoln Memorial and 5-4 to Erskine at Erskine College.
Concord is now 1-5 this season. LMU improves to 12-3 while Erskine goes to 4-2.
Game 1: Lincoln Memorial 10 – Concord 8
The Mountain Lions nearly erased a seven-run deficit in their final at-bat, but came up just short.
Down 10-3 entering the top of the seventh, CU's rally began with four straight singles as freshman first baseman
Morgan Cline plated the first run. After back-to-back RBI groundouts, Concord reloaded the bases with a walk and a base hit from graduate catcher/outfielder
Mikayah Pulliam. Junior outfielder
Imani Campbell then lifted a single into shallow left field to score two runs. LMU was able to escape with a deep flyout to center field.
Concord jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third on run-scoring hits from Cline and graduate infielder
Sarah Thompson. The Railsplitters answered with seven unanswered runs to take control of the game.
Cline finished with three hits and two RBI. Thompson was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Campbell and Pulliam both had 2-for-4 afternoons.
Sophomore
Nancy-Jo Roberts (1-2) was the pitcher of record for CU.
Game 2: Erskine 5 – Concord 4
The home run ball accounted for five of the nine runs in the game as Concord was unable to climb out of a 4-1 hole.
A leadoff single from freshman infielder
Lacie Lewis was responsible for CU's first run in the game, scoring on a groundout in the first.
The Fleet responded with a pair of two-run home runs, one in the second and another in the fourth, to grab a 4-1 edge.
The Mountain Lions were able to take advantage of an Erskine error in the fifth inning as sophomore outfielder
Delaney Fulk and freshman catcher
Morgan Gleason both hustled home on the miscue to cut the deficit to 4-3.
EC scored once in the bottom of the fifth, and Thompson came through with her first home run of the season in the top of the sixth to get the margin back to a run. However, it was as close as Concord would get.
Four different players accounted for hits in the game.
Sophomore pitcher/outfielder
Rachael Koller (0-2) tossed six innings as she allowed five runs and struck out three.
The Mountain Lions play three games Saturday at the Bearcat-Fleet Invite starting at 10:00 a.m. against Lenoir-Rhyne, continuing at 12:00 p.m. versus USC Beaufort and concluding at 3:00 p.m. against Lander.
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