Lynchburg, Va. -- The Lynchburg softball team split their contests against Greensboro, winning the first 10-2 and losing the second 6-5.
In the first game of the afternoon,
Lexi Powell led the batting order with a flawless three-for-three performance from the batter's box. Powell tabbed a double, two singles, a walk, and an RBI.
Sarah Watts also contributed two base knocks, one of which left the ballpark, and drove in a team-leading three runs.
The Lynchburg bats were strong from the opening inning, Watts singled to center and brought
Lexi Powell in for the first run of the contest.
Madison Barnes added to the Lynchburg total with a triple, allowing
Kaleigh Hackett to score.
Anna Grace Terrell kept the party going in the opening frame with a single that drove in Barnes for the third run of the first inning.
In the top of the third inning, The Pride began to chip away at the Lynchburg lead. Greensboro strung four hits together followed by one walk, all with two outs on the board, to add two runs of their own.
In the bottom of the fourth, Watts tallied her second home run of the year. Watt's home run gave the Hornets two more runs with her and Powell scoring. In the bottom of the fifth, the Hornets continued to add to their total, finishing with five total runs in what became the final inning. Alex Dinardo closed out the first game of the day with a single to left field that allowed Watts and
Bryanna Orange to score the final runs.
Kailey Dorcsis threw all five innings for Lynchburg, finishing with three strikeouts with eight hits and two runs allowed.
In game two, Barnes had a phenomenal performance, recording four hits in four at-bats for two RBIs. Watts tabbed three hits that brought three runs in.
Georgia Thompson and
Alyssa Talayumptewa notched two hits as well.
Barnes got her second contest started with a single to left, bringing in Powell for the first run.
At the top of the third, the Pride batting order began to erupt. Greensboro tabbed five hits, four of which went for extra bases, and resulted in a four-run frame. Watts helped cut into the deficit at the bottom of the inning with an RBI double, so
Carly Hudnall could make it a 4-2 ballgame.
A two-run homer from Greensboro in the fourth inning gave Lynchburg their largest deficit of the day.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lynchburg began to rally and inch their way back into the contest. Watts and Barne hit back-to-back doubles which combined for 3 RBIs and brought the game back within one run. However, the Hornets would ultimately go three up-three down in the bottom of the seventh and drop their first game of the season.
Lynchburg now turns to the road for the William Peace Triangle Classic next weekend, March 8-9, for four contests in Raleigh, N.C.
