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GREENWOOD, S.C. – With bases loaded in the second inning, senior Taylor Cloninger stepped into the box and drilled a blast over right centerfield for her first-career grand slam to assist the visiting UNC Pembroke softball team in a Peach Belt Conference victory over Lander, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon.

The victory for the Lady Braves (18-21, 6-11 PBC) snapped a nine-game losing streak and marked the first win in the month of April for UNCP, while the loss was the 25th in a row for Lander (6-37, 0-15) who has not clinched a win in over a month.

Cloninger went 2-for-3 with five RBI and one run, as Kaytee Wilson scored two runs on two hits and logged one RBI. The Lady Braves finished the contest with eight hits as Whitney Jackson, Shelby Holland and Morgan Davis each collected one hit, while Jackson, Caitlin Steel and Brea Hartley also crossed home plate during the contest. Four different Bobcats placed notched hits for Lander as Destiny Clyde scored one run and collected an RBI. 

Senior Natalie Klemann opened up the first three innings in the circle for UNCP as she allowed a pair of runs (one earned) on two hits with three walks before junior Selena Ashley (8-10) grabbed the win in the middle after going four complete innings. Ashley struck out five of her 17 batters faced and allowed one earned run on two hits and a pair of walks.

Mary Katherine Pegram (1-14) began the first 2-1/3 innings and gave up five earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks before being relieved by Tyler Riendeau for the final 4-2/3 innings. Riendeau registered two strikeouts and one earned run on three hits.

Wilson began the scoring session with a homerun over left field on the first hit of the game to give the Lady Braves an early lead in the game in the first inning. In the third, Wilson used a hit to reach base again and was followed by Steel walking and Hartley getting hit by a pitch to load the bases for Cloninger, who gave UNCP a 5-0 lead with her grand slam.

Lander saw two runners cross home plate in the bottom of the third and another run in the fourth before UNCP added its final run in the top of the seventh. Jackson led off the inning with a base hit to third and was moved by Wilson's sacrafic bunt, a wild pitch and scored on Cloninger's single to centerfield for the three-run victory.