PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke softball team notched double-digit hits in both games of a doubleheader for the fifth time this season, but visiting Georgia Southwestern found the clutch hit in both games to sweep a pair of Peach Belt Conference (PBC) games by scores of 6-4 and 6-3 on Friday afternoon at the UNCP Softball Field.

The setbacks snapped a six-game winning streak for the Braves (22-14, 2-8 PBC), who outhit the guests 10-9 in the opener and 13-11 in game two. Georgia Southwestern (18-23, 7-5 PBC) matched its league win total from last year with win number seven in half the games and improve to 3-7 in Pembroke with Friday's victories.

Jamie Johnson and Rendi Wetherington each logged three hits and a double in game one, while a quartet of Braves had one hit each. Johnson drove in three runs and Tatum Brummitt picked up an RBI on a triple in the seventh.

Georgia Southwestern scored all six of its runs on four hits in the top of the second. A successful squeeze play opened the scoring before Haley Tierce hit her PBC-leading 14th home run of the season, a grand slam to left. A two-out RBI single capped the scoring at six.

Johnson's two-run single in the third cut the deficit to four and the senior ripped an RBI double in the seventh to pull the Braves within three. After Brummitt's run-scoring triple trimmed the GSW lead to 6-4, the tying run came to the plate but a strikeout ended the comeback attempt.

Sophomore Malerie Leviner (8-6) settled down after the second inning and tossed five-straight scoreless frames to end the game, but walked six batters in the loss. She set a season-high with 149 pitches, while striking out two Hurricanes.

Five Braves registered two hits in game two, including Johnson and Brummitt, who each drove in a run as well. Alyssa Price went 2-for-4 with a double, while Toni Nelson and Kaitlynn Norton each had a two-bagger.

UNCP struck first on Johnson's RBI single in the bottom of the first, but Georgia Southwestern used an RBI single of its own in the third to tie the game. In the latter half of the inning, two Braves came around to score on Brummitt's single to give the hosts a 3-1 lead after three.

The Hurricanes knotted the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs in the fifth and took the lead for good with three runs on four hits in the top of the seventh. In their final at-bat, the Braves once again brought the tying run to the dish, but a groundout ended the threat.

Sophomore Raygan Larson (6-5) allowed six runs (four earned) on 10 hits to get saddled with the loss. She walked five batters and struck out five as well.

Johnson now leads the PBC in batting average (.472), on-base percentage (.548) and hits (50) with 10 league games remaining.

The Braves are back in action Sunday at home against Columbus State on senior day. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the UNCP Softball Field. The Cougars (25-14, 9-3 PBC) have won 10-straight games dating back to March 24, but are just 7-7 away from home this season.