Box Scores (Game 1 | Game 2)

PEMBROKE – Head coach Brittany Bennett became just the fourth skipper in UNC Pembroke softball history to reach the 100-win plateau and the Braves' lone senior Abbey Walters tossed a one-hit shutout to key a much-needed Peach Belt Conference (PBC) sweep of visiting Columbus State Saturday afternoon at LRA Field.

The Braves (24-23, 5-15 PBC) move above .500 for the first time since March 17 and improve to 7-1 in their last eight contests with their first league sweep since the PBC opener on March 4. UNCP has now won four straight over the Cougars (25-19-1, 11-7 PBC) in Pembroke and five of the last six overall in the series after the 4-0, 6-4 sweep Saturday.

In the Senior Day opener, the hosts put two on the board in the first and turned over the reins to the senior Walters in the circle. The Bladenboro native proceeded to hurl six hitless innings (the only Cougar hit came in the seventh) in her fifth shutout of the season. Walters (12-8) fanned seven batters and issued just one walk on 98 pitches while racking up her 15th complete game in 22 starts.

The Black & Gold offense added single runs in the fifth and sixth to cap off the four-run, eight-hit outing. Walters, Jessica Auld and Alex Watkins each banged out two hits, none more important than Auld's two-RBI double in the opening frame. Walters also scored a pair of runs and raised her league-leading batting average to .455.

After rattling off a plethora of walk-off victories last season, the Braves used their first of the 2017 campaign to cap off the sweep of the Cougars. Down 4-2 coming to bat in the seventh, the hosts scored four times in the seventh to pull off the 6-4 come-from-behind win.

Three consecutive hits from Watkins, Toni Nelson and pinch-hitter Eden Brown plated the first UNCP tally before freshman Rendi Wetherington deposited her first-career home run over the left-field wall to send LRA Field into a frenzy. The Braves remain in the hunt for a spot in the upcoming league tournament with the sweep.

Wetherington and Watkins each produced multi-hit efforts at the plate in UNCP's 22nd game with at least 10 hits. Wetherington's three-hit game is the third such outing her in young career.

Freshman Maddie Armfield (3-4) hurled her third complete game of the season to pick up the win and allowed just three earned runs on eight hits. In the final five innings, Armfield surrendered just four hits and no earned runs.

Bennett's 101 wins at the helm of the Braves are just six behind third-place on the UNCP all-time wins list with six games remaining in the 2017 regular season. Among coaches with at least 70 wins at UNCP, Bennett's .523 winning percentage ranks second all-time.

The Black & Gold is back in action Monday in a road PBC twinbill at Georgia Southwestern. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Lady 'Canes Softball Field in Americus, Georgia. UNCP leads the all-time series 11-10 over the Hurricanes (20-28, 5-13 PBC), but are just 4-8 in the 12 road meetings.