The Lee University softball team dropped both games of the double header to Lenoir Rhyne University on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Flames were shutout in game one and dropped the second game by one run.
In game one, Lauren Rakes for LR overpowered the Lady Flames, she had 14 strikeouts in six innings of work while not giving up a hit. The Bears got on the board with a solo home run in the top of the third. Then in the fourth, LR added six runs. Madison Barnett for Lee gave up a hit and two walks and loaded the bases.
That was followed up with a grand slam from Talon LaClair for LR to make it a 7-0 lead. Lenoir Rhyne added one more run in the sixth inning to win the game 8-0.
In game two, the lead changed four times. LR struck first with a two-run home run from LaClair. Lee answered in the bottom of the first. Sidney Lee drove in Javaria Smith and then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. The Bears retook the lead in the second when LaClair brought Abbey Nixon on a single.
Lee scored four runs in the bottom of the third. Alexa Scalzo reached on an error and that allowed Lee to score. Then Kylie Bohl drove a single up the middle scoring Laney Harris. Annalyn Ormsby then followed up by reaching on another error scoring Scalzo and Bohl.
Lenoir Rhyne answered in the top of the fourth with a couple of hits to score three more runs and tie the game up at 6-6. Lee retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Smith brought Shelby Cole home on a single.
LR tied the game again in the top of the fifth when Anna Blume reached on an error scoring Alycea Gilliam. Lee scored their final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth when Ormsby singled up the middle scoring Lee to make it 8-7. In the top of the ninth, LR got a single from Lauren Jackson scored two runs to give the Bears the lead. Rakes came into pitch and struck out the side to win the game.
In the second game, Lee was two-for-three with three runs scored. Harris and Bohl each contributed two hits as well.
In the circle for Lee in game one, Barnett went three and one-third innings and gave up seven runs on six hits and had five strikeouts. Alaina Watson came in the circle in relief and threw two and two-thirds innings and gave up one run on five hits and had three strikeouts.
In game two, Natalie Pruitt got the start for Lee. She went four innings and gave up six runs on nine hits. Freshman Katie Willoughby threw two and two-thirds innings in relief. Another freshman, Olivia Tyson threw one-third on an inning for Lee
The Lady Flames will continue the homestand with two games against Lincoln Memorial University on Wednesday, February 8 beginning at 2 PM.