BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Erskine College softball team (7-21, 5-9 CC) defeated Lees-McRae College (8-17, 2-9 CC) in both games of a doubleheader at the LMC Softball Field on Saturday after being swept at Belmont Abbey College (14-16, 8-6 CC) on Friday.

THE ESSENTIALS 
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Belmont Abbey 2-1 Erskine
Starting a road trip this weekend in Belmont, Emily Johnson's RBI double in the second inning canceled out an Abbey run in the first to tie the game at 1. Mallory Ruzicka, the Erskine starter, got a lot of soft contact throughout her afternoon in the circle and kept the Crusaders to just the one run, posting zeroes in five consecutive frames at one point. However, the Fleet offense managed just one hit after the second inning, and the hosts eventually broke through with a game-ending RBI double in the seventh.

Game 2: Belmont Abbey 6-2 Erskine
Hoping to bounce back in game two, the Fleet saw Belmont Abbey put up a pair of runs in the second and third innings to take an early 4-0 lead. Gabby Burroughs' two-run home run in the top of the fifth cut the deficit in half, but the Crusaders answered with a couple of runs themselves in the bottom half to regain their four-run lead throughout the remainder of the contest.

Game 3: Erskine 6-5 Lees-McRae
The Fleet traveled from Belmont up to Banner Elk and Gabby Burroughs picked up right where she left off, opening the scoring with a first-inning two-run home run. However, LMC scored the next three runs of the game, tying the game in the fourth and then taking its first lead in the fifth. Now trailing 3-2, Gracie Merrell and Burroughs each drew walks, setting the stage for Summer Nelsen, who crushed what would be the game-winning home run, a three-run blast putting the Fleet on top, 5-3. The Bobcats got within a run in the bottom half, but Emily Johnson provided some huge insurance with an RBI single in the top of the seventh. Lees-McRae made it interesting in its final at-bat, getting the tying run in scoring position with no outs, but Mallory Ruzicka came on and retired both batters she faced to seal a one-run victory for the Fleet.

Game 4: Erskine 8-5 Lees-McRae
Erskine used its game one momentum to fuel a huge six-run first inning in game two, thanks to an RBI double from Gabby Burroughs, another three-run homer off the bat of Summer Nelsen, and a perfectly executed double steal that scored Emily Brown. Emily Johnson capped the big inning with an RBI single, and then delivered again in the third to make it 7-1. LMC fought back into the game with runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but yet another Johnson run-scoring single and more good work in the circle from Mallory Ruzicka put the finishing touches on a doubleheader sweep for the Fleet.

THE PLAYER
Gabby Burroughs recorded a hit in all four games on the weekend, going 5-for-9 at the plate with a pair of home runs and five RBIs as she helped lead the Fleet offensively to a 2-2 record on the road over the weekend.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Erskine returns home and takes on Shorter University (11-28, 5-13 CC) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The Fleet and Hawks split their doubleheader in Rome in the Fleet's conference opener earlier this month.

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