PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke softball team rallied back from a fourth-inning deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to help the Braves storm past Mars Hill, 4-2, in the front half of a Friday afternoon doubleheader at LRA Field.

The Braves (6-2) got base hits from six different players in the triumph, while one other player reached base via a walk. Jamie Booze doubled and scored on a 2-for-3 outing for the Lions (0-3).

UNCP right-hander Selena Ashley (4-1) struck out six batters and allowed just two runs (one earned) over her fifth complete game of the season to pick up the win for the Braves. Shelby Culler (0-2) allowed four earned runs on six hits and a trio of walks for Mars Hill. She also struck out four.

Erin Vickery's sac fly with one out in the first gave the visitors a quick 1-0 lead, but the Braves used a leadoff single by Coxe in the second, as well as a two-out wild pitch, to knot things back up. An errant throw in the top of the fourth allowed the Lions to retake a one-run lead. However, the Braves erupted for three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good.

Jamie Johnson's two-run double inflicted most of the damage in the fifth, but a RBI single by Brea Hartley with the next at-bat finished off the rally.