WILSON – The UNC Pembroke softball team led 5-0 in the opener and 2-0 in game two, but host Barton scored the final six runs in the opener and 11 of the last 12 runs in the second tilt to upend the Braves by scores of 6-5 and 11-3 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Jeffries Field in Wilson.
The setbacks mark the first losses in non-conference play for the Braves (24-22) since a Feb. 18 loss to Newberry. UNCP falls to 22-8 outside of league play after 17-straight wins. Barton (21-27) had lost eight of nine overall before the victories on Saturday and snapped a six-game losing streak at the hands of the Black & Gold.
Senior
Lexie Coxe was the lone Brave to notch multiple hits in the opener with a 2-for-3 outing, including an RBI double in the fourth. Freshman
Mary Sells cleared the bases in the fourth with a three-run triple to give her 10 RBIs on the season.
Alyssa Price drove in the other UNCP run with a sacrifice fly.
Malerie Leviner (9-11) took the loss in the circle after allowing six runs on seven hits in four innings of work. The sophomore surrendered all six runs with two outs, while walking four and striking out two.
Raygan Larson pitched two scoreless innings in relief with one strikeout and a walk.
Price's sacrifice fly opened the scoring in the fourth before Coxe followed with the double that put the Black & Gold up 2-0. Sells tripled three batters later to give the guests a 5-0 advantage.
The Bulldogs rebounded with a three-run triple of their own in the bottom of the fourth and followed with an RBI single that cut the UNCP lead to 5-4. The two-out magic continued for the hosts in the fifth, as Barton used a two-run single to take the lead for good at 6-5. The Braves had just one base runner in their final two at-bats.
Senior
Jamie Johnson paced the Braves with two hits, including an RBI double, in game two, while
Toni Nelson and
Jordan Adcox each drove in a run as well.
A pair of Black & Gold errors in the first inning put four unearned runs on the line for starter
Breezy Yelton (9-5), who allowed six hits and eight runs.
Tatum Brummitt tossed four innings in relief and surrendered three runs on five hits.
Nelson put the guests on the board with an RBI triple, her first three bagger of the season, in the top of the first and scored on Johnson's double to double the lead to 2-0. The Bulldogs answered with eight runs on eight hits and two UNCP errors in the bottom half to lead 8-2 after one. The Braves got one back with an Adcox sacrifice fly in the third, but Barton scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to invoke the run rule at 11-3.
The Braves play their penultimate doubleheader of the season on Friday with a road Peach Belt Conference (PBC) trip to Lander. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Doug Spears Field in Greenwood, South Carolina. The Bearcats (29-17, 9-9 PBC) have won eight-straight games, including a pair of PBC sweeps of USC Aiken and Young Harris. Lander leads the all-time series 39-19 over UNCP, but the Black & Gold is 19-13 in the last 32 meetings dating back to 2004.
