Apex, N.C. -- Morgan Mitchell slugged a pinch-hit two-RBI double in the top of the seventh inning to bring University of Lynchburg's softball team back from the dead, helping the Hornets to a 4-3 win over Piedmont in the Hornets' finale Sunday at the Grand Slam Triangle Classic.

Lynchburg (6-4) dropped its opener, 4-2, to Kean.

In that opening game, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first inning and doubled it with a pair more in the third.

Lynchburg's bats finally came alive in the fourth, sparked by a one-out single from Sophie Tully. Cortney Rawes followed with a double, and Kayla Hugate brought Tully home to score with a single of her own. Olivia Herman kept the rally going with an RBI double that plated Rawes, but Kean squelched the momentum after that, and Lynchburg failed to get a baserunner in the final three innings of the game.

The Hornets took the early lead against Piedmont in the noon game, when Hugate drew a leadoff walk in the second and came home on Mya Lyburn's sacrifice fly.

Lynchburg starter Kayley Cox allowed just three baserunners through the first four innings, but Piedmont's bats woke up in the fifth. The Lions loaded the bases against Cox, and Alex Cisar entered to extinguish the flames, but PC's Mackenzie Davis smacked a two-run double instead. The Lions got another run on a wild pitch before Cisar could escape the jam.

Herman got the rally started in the seventh, reaching on an error to lead off the inning. Hugate quickly followed with a single, and Mitchell delivered the game-tying two-run double. The Hornets took advantage of another fielding miscue, and Sarah Commons brought the go-ahead run home with an RBI groundout.

Cisar held the lead with a one-two-three seventh, earning her third win of the season in the circle.

Lynchburg's softball team will hit the road for another tournament next weekend, the Salisbury Invitational in Salisbury, Md. The Hornets have TCNJ, Cortland, and the host Sea Gulls over three days.

--LYN--