Box Scores (Game 1 | Game 2)

LAURINBURG – Freshman Kaitlynn Norton produced her first-collegiate three-hit game in the opener and classmate Rendi Wetherington did the same in the back of the doubleheader, as the UNC Pembroke softball team took two from rival St. Andrews Wednesday afternoon in Laurinburg by 8-7 and 13-1 scores.

The victories extend the current winning streak to eight for the Braves (15-4), who racked up at least 12 hits in each game to give them double-digit base knocks in 12 of their first 19 contests. The Knights (8-12) scored five runs in the last two innings of the opener to put the pressure on the Black & Gold, but were hindered by seven errors in the nightcap.

Norton reeled off a 3-for-4 performance at the dish in game one, while driving home a pair of runs and scoring two more. Her double in the top of the sixth that scored classmate Alex Watkins proved to be the game-winning run after St. Andrews plated four in the sixth and another in the seventh after trailing 8-2.

Watkins, Abbey Walters and Eden Brown each tallied a pair of hits and Watkins and Brown each added an RBI. Watkins scored three runs in the victory, while Ashleigh Mason went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks. Six Braves stolen one base to match a season-high.

Walters (8-1) took the ball to start the game and hurled the first four innings to get the win. The senior allowed two runs on four hits and fanned a trio of Knights. Freshman Maddie Armfield took over in the fifth and tossed the final three innings to record her first save. She struck out three and saw just one earned run cross on her watch.

Wetherington's 3-for-4 outing with three runs batted in highlighted an offensive explosion for UNCP in game two. The Black & Gold ripped 14 hits and put three crooked numbers on the scoreboard (two in the second, six in the third and five in the fifth) en route to its eighth mercy-rule triumph of the season.

Watkins joined her classmate in the three-hit club by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Walters and Taylor Gerhart both tacked on a pair of hits, while Walters drove home three runs, including a solo home run in the fifth, her sixth long ball of the season.

Freshman Malerie Leviner (4-3) went the distance for the fourth time in the circle and allowed just one run to lower her season ERA to 2.74. She set down five Knights via strikeout and did not issue a walk.

Entering Peach Belt Conference (PBC) play Saturday, Walters (.548) and Watkins (.491) sit one-two in the league batting average race, while Gerhart leads all players with 27 RBI and Walters is second with 26 driven in. Walters's six home runs is among a tie for third in the PBC and her 14 stolen bases are also third, while Jamie Johnson's 16 swipes are second-best in the conference.

League play kicks off Saturday when USC Aiken makes the trip to Pembroke for a 1 p.m. first pitch at LRA Field. The Pacers (9-3-1) are winners of four straight but are just 14-40 in 54 all-time meetings with UNCP. Last season, the squads split a doubleheader in Aiken.