BUENA VISTA, Va. - The Brevard College softball team (7-12, 3-5 USA South) finished off a USA South Conference weekend road trip to Virginia with a doubleheader split against Southern Virginia University (10-18, 3-7 USAS) on Saturday afternoon at Harvey-Dryden Field.
Southern Virginia rallied late for an 8-3 win in game one, but the Tornados used a pivotal three-run third to split the twin bill in game two, 4-1.
GAME ONE: SVU 8, BREVARD 3
Neither side put up a run through the game's first three frames, with BC's best scoring chance coming in the top of the second. The Tornados put two runners into scoring position with one out, but were unable to capitalize.
SVU broke through with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. The Knights loaded the bases with one out, but the Tornados escaped the jam.
With two outs in the top of the fifth and Anna Graves at third base, Analee Morris came through with an RBI single up the middle that tied the game up, 1-1. SVU responded in the bottom of the frame, however, with its second homer of the game - this one a two-run blast that put the hosts back on top, 3-1.
Elizabeth Auciello, who got the start in the circle for the Tornados as well, came through with her bat in the top of the sixth, singling home Michaela Jones to cut the deficit back down to a run. Andrea Furr followed suit with a single, and Ive Leighton drew a two-out walk that loaded the bases up. However, a strikeout ended the frame.
The top of the sixth would prove pivotal, as the Knights rallied with two outs in the bottom of the frame, scoring five runs in the inning. BC added a run on Alyssa Boris' RBI single, but the Knights were able to shut the door on their five-run win.
Furr and Morris tallied two hits apiece in game one, with Furr accounting for BC's lone extra-base knock. All told, Brevard stranded nine runners in the losing effort.
GAME TWO: BREVARD 4, SVU 1
Brevard wasted no time in game two, as a leadoff Morris single resulted in the game's first run via a wild pitch in the top of the first.
BC kicked off its pivotal fourth inning as Regan Winkler drove a double through the left side of the infield. The Valdese, North Carolina junior 1B collected her 100th overall collegiate hit, and surpassed 50 hits at BC over the weekend.
Brevard loaded the bases with nobody out thanks to a single and a walk, and Furr came through with an RBI single that brought Winkler in to score. Jadyn Harlow followed suit, drilling a two-RBI double to center field that extended the margin out, 4-0.
SVU broke through with a run in the bottom of the inning, but Logan Masinsky (3-2) blanked the Knights from there, holding SVU off the scoreboard to preserve the three-run win.
Brevard next competes on Saturday, April 12 at 1 and 3 p.m. in Rocky Mount, North Carolina against NC Wesleyan.
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