Salisbury, Md. -- The University of Lynchburg softball team dropped its first two games of the year in a double-header with TCNJ on Friday 6-5 in 10 innings and 5-1. 

Riding a nine-game winning streak to open the season and coming off a win over No. 2 Salisbury on Thursday, the Hornets got out to an early lead on the Lions when Alyssa Talayumptewa walked on a wild pitch, and Carly Hudnall came around to score on the play. Talayumptewa walked three times in the game across four plate appearances. 

Kailey Dorcsis started Game 1 and kept the Hornets in the game allowing just two runs in the first seven innings. Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, Hudnall homered to tie the game up 2-2, a tie that held until Lynchburg's first turn at bat in the eighth. That's when Kaleigh Hackett singled to score Georgia Thompson and momentarily put Lynchburg in the lead. 

The Lions had an answer each time the Hornets scored in extras. They tied it up in the bottom of the eighth, then after the Hornets scratched two across in the 10th, the Lions responded once more, this time with enough firepower to put the Hornets away and end Lynchburg's memorable, undefeated start to the year. 

While the Hornets could have benefited from batting second in Game 1, they never got the chance to take advantage of being the home team in the second game of the neutral-site double-header. Talayumptewa singled in the sixth cutting TCNJ's lead in half 2-1, but just like the Lions did in Game 1, the Lions had an answer to Lynchburg's only run of the game and put the Hornets away with a three-run top of the seventh. Lynchburg went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame to wrap up its two games Friday. 

Jessica Strickland went 3-5 in Game 1 and was one of four Hornets with a hit in Game 2, Logan Curtis started Game 2 and pitched well over five innings but took the loss after giving up the first two runs of the game. 

The Hornets (9-2) are scheduled to finish their game against No. 2 Salisbury on Saturday, March 16 at 9:30 a.m. after it was suspended due to darkness with Lynchburg trailing 6-5 in the top of the seventh. The game will be resumed from the point of suspension where Lynchburg had two outs and the bases loaded. After that, the Hornets will play their two regularly scheduled games against NYU at 11 a.m. and King's (Pa.) at 1:15 p.m. in Salisbury, Md. 

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--LYN--