YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Host Young Harris scored at least one run in eight of its 11 at-bats and limited the UNC Pembroke softball team to a pair of solo home runs in a 7-1, 9-1 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) sweep of the Braves on Thursday afternoon at E.D. Rivers Field in Young Harris.

The Braves (22-16, 2-10 PBC) have now dropped four-straight league games and fall into 11th place in the conference standings, while Young Harris (28-13, 10-4 PBC) has now won five of its last six games overall and sits fourth in the league race. The Mountain Lions improve to 10-2 all-time against UNCP, including a 6-0 mark in Young Harris.

Senior Toni Nelson was the lone Brave to record multiple hits in the opener, as the backstop went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the top of the second inning. The long shot is Nelson's first of the season and seventh of her career.

Young Harris took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Nelson's home run knotted the game at 1-1 in the Braves' next at-bat. The hosts scored the final six runs, including a pair of solo home runs in the fifth inning to run away with the 7-1 victory.

UNCP's Breezy Yelton tossed a perfect 1.1 innings in relief of starter Malerie Leviner (8-7), who allowed seven runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings. Leviner struck out three batters, while Yelton set one Mountain Lion down on strikes.

Jamie Johnson continued her torrid senior season with a 2-for-2 performance in game two, including a double and a third-inning solo home run. She leads the Black & Gold with seven home runs this season and now has 19 long balls in her UNCP career.

The Mountain Lions scored five runs in the first two innings before UNCP got on the board with Johnson's shot in the top of the third. But the hosts tacked on two runs in the third and two more in the fifth to hand the Braves their fifth run-rule loss of the season. The top two hitters in the Young Harris order combined to go 6-for-7 with six RBIs, four runs scored, a double, a triple and a home run.

UNCP starter Raygan Larson (6-6) was saddled with the loss after surrendering five runs on eight hits in two innings of work. Yelton and freshman Tatum Brummitt pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed four combined runs on just two hits.

Thursday marked the first time this season that the Braves have been held to five hits or less in both games of a doubleheader and the sixth and seventh times they have scored one run or less in 2018.

The Braves return to action Saturday when Augusta makes the trip to Pembroke for a noon doubleheader at the UNCP Softball Field. The Jaguars (14-28, 5-9 PBC) were swept by West Georgia on Wednesday, but lead the all-time series over UNCP by a 41-18 margin, including a 13-11 edge in Pembroke.