April 18, 2008

Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Eliminated From The 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament

Bears fall to Wingate, 4-0, before losing to Mars Hill, 5-2

Newberry, S.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne College Softball Team (42-12) saw the end of its 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament run Friday as it fell to Wingate and Mars Hill. The Bulldogs defeated the Bears, 4-0, in the first game of the day while the Lions took the nightcap, 5-2.

Game 7 - Wingate 4, Lenoir-Rhyne 0
Wingate led off the game with one run in the first inning. Hallie Pettigrew (Uniontown, Ohio) scored on Courtney Wagner’s (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) double to left field to make the score 1-0.

The Bulldogs added single runs in the third and fourth frames highlited by a home run in the fourth by Leyila Myers (Marietta, Ga.) that increased the lead to 3-0.

Wingate tagged on a final run in the sixth when Pettigrew hit an RBI single scoring Gina Ager (Columbia, Md.).

Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) picked up the victory, scattering three hits over seven innings, while senior Meredith O’Connor (Charlotte, N.C./Appalachian State Univ.) suffered the loss despite striking out 10. With her first strike out of the game, O’Connor eclipsed the 300 strikeout mark for the second straight season.

Box Score

Game 10 – Mars Hill 5, Lenoir-Rhyne 2
Lenoir-Rhyne broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when senior centerfielder Taylor Queen (Conover, N.C./St. Stephens HS) doubled scoring freshman designated player Brandi Haithcock (Snow Camp, N.C./Southern Alamance HS). The Bears added another run to make the score 2-0 in the fourth frame with redshirt freshman shortstop Kat Rivers’ (Royston, Ga./Franklin County HS) solo home run to right field.

Mars Hill answered immediately as Natalie Haithcox (Asheboro, N.C.) and Amanda Seawell (Asheboro, N.C.) hit back-to-back solo shots in the fifth inning to tie the game at two.

The Lions added two more runs in the sixth to make the score 4-2 highlighted by a single by Kristina Osborn (Birmingham, Ala.) that scored Rebekah Huff (Mars Hill, N.C.). In the seventh, Huff doubled to left centerfield plating Jenny Hoyt (Rose Hill, Kan.) to cap the scoring for the game.

Tiffany Farthing (Kure Beach, N.C.) picked up the win on the mound for Mars Hill while O’Connor suffered her second loss of the day for L-R.

Box Score

Lenoir-Rhyne now awaits the announcement of the 2008 South Atlantic Region Tournament Bracket which will take place May 7-11 at a location yet to be determined.