Box Scores (Game 1 | Game 2)

PEMBROKE – Senior Abbey Walters, along with juniors Jamie Johnson and Taylor Gerhart, combined to go 13-for-20 at the dish with nine RBIs, eight runs scored, six stolen bases and four walks, as the UNC Pembroke softball squad pulled out a game-two 9-2 victory to salvage a split with visiting Francis Marion Saturday afternoon at LRA Field. The Patriots won the opener 8-7 in extra innings.
 
The triumph is the first Peach Belt Conference (PBC) win since March 4 for the Braves (20-23, 3-15 PBC), who trailed 7-0 in game one before scoring seven unanswered to knot the game at seven apiece. An unearned run in the top half of the eighth was enough to push the Patriots (25-17, 7-11 PBC) to victory despite a season-high seven errors from the guests.
 
A single run in the first, four more in the second and a pair in the third fueled Francis Marion to a 7-0 lead before the Black & Gold had batted through the lineup once. But the UNCP bats were awoken in the third and the Braves would go on to score the next seven runs.
 
After an error put the first UNCP tally on the board in the third, Johnson and Gerhart each drove home a run in the fifth to cut the deficit to 7-3. The next time through the order in the seventh, Johnson and Gerhart each delivered again with singles that plated three runs to tie the game and force the fourth extra-inning affair for the Braves this season. However, two Black & Gold errors in the eighth allowed the winning run to cross to drop UNCP to 0-4 in extra-inning games.
 
Johnson drove in a team-best three runs in the defeat, while going 3-for-4 at the dish with a double and three runs scored. Walters went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and also scored a trio of runs while swiping two bags. Gerhart tacked on two hits, a walk and an RBI.
 
Walters made the start in the circle and tossed the first six innings. The senior allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits, while fanning three Patriots. Maddie Armfield (1-4) came on in relief in the seventh and took the tough-luck loss by allowing an unearned run in two innings of work. The freshman entered with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh and proceeded to strike out two batters and induce a groundout to escape the jam with no damage.
 
Saturday's nightcap appeared to be going down the same road as game one when Francis Marion jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a pair of hits. But Jessica Auld responded with her sixth home run of the season, a solo shot to deep center, in the second to draw the Braves back even. Johnson's RBI single in the third gave UNCP its first lead of the day at 2-1.
 
After a Patriot solo home run knotted the game at 2-2 in the fourth, the Black & Gold again scored seven-straight runs to roll to the 9-2 victory. A six-run fourth, all with two outs, was highlighted by a bases-clearing double off the bat of Rendi Wetherington. Walters, Johnson and Gerhart each drove in a run in the frame as well. Alex Watkins drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth for the ninth and final UNCP score.
 
Freshman Malerie Leviner (7-11) reeled off her second-straight win in complete-game fashion, while striking out four Patriots and surrendering six hits.
 
Johnson once again rattled off three hits, while Walters and Gerhart each dropped in one base knock. Auld went 2-for-3 and was joined by Toni Nelson in the two-hit club.
 
The Braves are back in action Sunday with a road twinbill against Winston-Salem State. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Twin City Field. The Rams (7-23) saw their losing streak run to seven with a Saturday sweep at the hands of Fayetteville State. UNCP is undefeated in nine all-time meetings with Winston-Salem State, but the teams played to a 6-6 draw in a 2002 meeting. Last season, the Black & Gold escaped Winston-Salem with 7-6 and 4-3 victories.