WILSON, N.C. --- Senior Lindsey Huntsinger
(Asheville, N.C.) launched a solo home run on her birthday, and
Laurel Gregg (Mars Hill, N.C.) tossed a one-hit shutout in game one
to lead the Lees-McRae College softball team to a doubleheader
split with Barton College on Thursday evening in Conference
Carolinas play.
Lees-McRae (13-28, 4-10 CC) outhit Barton (13-20, 3-11 CC) by a
3-1 margin en route to a 1-0 win in game one, as the Bulldogs
pounded out nine runs on eight hits in the night cap to defeat the
Bobcats by a tally of 9-1 in five innings.
Huntsinger and Karli Robb (Hayes, Va.) paced the Bobcats with
two hits each, as Huntsinger celebrated her birthday with her
second home run of the season. Robb also drive in a run, as Lori
Fulmer (Prosperity, S.C.) and Alison Armstrong (Bellingham, Mass.)
both collected a hit on the day.
Gregg pitched a masterful game in the opener, tossing a
one-hitter and striking out 10 in seven innings. Holli
Crickenberger (Boydton, Va.) got the nod in game two, tossing the
first four frames and striking out four as Kristen Oakes (Lenoir,
N.C.) pitched the final two-thirds of an inning.
Game One: Lees-McRae 1, Barton 0 (Box Score)
The opener proved to be a classic pitcher's duel, as the two
starters combined to allow one run on four hits. Neither starter
would allow a base runner past second base until the fifth inning,
when Huntsinger led off the frame with a solo home run to give the
Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
Barton would put runners in scoring position in each of the
final three frames, as Gregg shut the door each time, including a
second and third situation in the seventh as she forced a ground
out to short stop with two down to close out the win.
Game Two: Barton 9, Lees-McRae 1 - Five innings (Box Score)
The nightcap remained scoreless until the top of the third, when
Lees-McRae took an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Robb that
scored Fulmer from third. Barton would answer in the bottom of the
inning, plating six runs on five hits, including a three-run home
run by Autumn Pittman to cap the frame.
The Bulldogs would push the lead to 8-1 with two runs in the
fourth before invoking the eight-run rule in the bottom of the
fifth on a bases-loaded walk by Stacy Wade.
Lees-McRae returns to the diamond on Thursday, April 12 when the
Bobcats travel to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Queens University of
Charlotte in conference play at 2 p.m.
- LMC -
