Related: Softball Falls Twice To No. 11 North Georgia
PEMBROKE – Scoring all eight of their runs in just two innings, the Saints of Limestone were able to outlast the UNC Pembroke softball squad 3-1 and 5-2 Thursday night at LRA Field.
With the pair of defeats, the Braves (14-19-1) run their losing streak to nine, while Limestone (16-9) has now won six of its last seven and nine of the 10 all-time meetings with UNCP.
Black & Gold senior Katie Saunders did not allow a hit until the third inning of the opening contest and tossed four scoreless innings out of the gate. But the Saints exploded in the fifth for three runs on five hits to grab a 3-0 lead.
UNCP's lone run came in the sixth, a lead-off, solo home run off the bat of Jamie Johnson, her fourth long ball of the season.
Saunders (9-10) took the loss in her 13th complete game of the season. She struck out four Saints, while walking five and surrendering eight hits on a season-high 128 pitches. Saunders lowered her team-best ERA to 3.35.
Abbey Walters was 2-for-3 at the dish with a stolen base, while Johnson, Whitney Jackson, Taylor Gerhart and K.B. Smith all tallied one hit apiece. Johnson's 16th stolen base of the season puts her fifth in the Peach Belt Conference in swipes.
Another crooked inning cost the Braves in game two, this time a five-run third inning from Limestone. The Saints racked up three hits in the inning and were aided by a UNCP error.
UNCP jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first when Johnson drew a lead-off walk and came around to score on a Walters single. The Black & Gold inched a little closer in the fifth when Lexie Coxe took a 3-2 pitch over the left-field fence for her first home run of the season. UNCP could only produce one baserunner in the final two frames, a seventh-inning walk from Coxe.
Freshman Taylor Strickland (2-4) was awarded her 10th start of the season and turned it into her seventh complete game. She allowed three earned runs on five hits and walked four.
Coxe compiled her second multi-hit effort of the season, going 2-for-2 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk. Jackson and Walters each added one hit to the cause, while Walters stole two bases. Walters' season total of 17 stolen bags is good for fourth most in the PBC, while her .433 batting average is third in the league.
The Black & Gold will have no time to rest, as they hit the road for a 1 p.m. Friday doubleheader at Winston-Salem State. The Rams (16-13) have won six of their last seven, including five wins in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play. UNCP holds a 6-0-1 advantage in the all-time series and won all three meetings a year ago by a combined 27-6 score.
