Box Score

SALISBURY, Maryland – The Lynchburg College softball team proved to be a tough task for Rutgers University-Camden  the last two days at the Salisbury University Tournament.
 
The Hornets scored six runs over the final two innings here Saturday morning to break open a tight game and went on to defeat the Scarlet Raptors, 9-1, in a game stopped in the bottom of the sixth inning by the eight-run rule. Lynchburg (10-3) had also posted a 7-0 victory over Rutgers-Camden Friday morning in the Scarlet Raptors' season opener.
 
Both teams scored a run in the first inning, with the Scarlet Raptors (1-2) taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the frame following a leadoff walk to freshman second baseman Taylor Nichols (Barrington, NJ/Haddon Heights), a two-out walk to junior center fielder Lindsay Day (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) and a pair of wild pitches.
 
Lynchburg tied the game in the bottom of the frame after senior center fielder Jessi Hall (Floyd, VA/Floyd County) walked, was sacrificed to second and balked to third. She scored on a two-out single by senior right fielder Amber Ingram (Floyd, VA/Floyd County).
 

The Hornets tacked on a run in the second inning following a leadoff single by senior third baseman Amber Sulter (Danville, VA/Westover Christopher Academy). She was replaced by pinch-runner Jessica Murphy (Nokesville, VA/Brentsville), a sophomore who was forced at second on a fielder's choice. After another fielder's choice, an infield error plated Hall.
 
The Hornets made it a 3-1 game in the fourth, sandwiching a walk between a pair of singles, including a RBI hit by junior left fielder Danielle Powell (Vinton, VA/William Byrd).
 
The Hornets broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning, which was capped by a two-run sacrifice fly by sophomore pinch-hitter Lauren Smith (Snoqualmie, WA/Mount Si). Hall also had a RBI on a bases-loaded HBP, while sophomore third baseman Kayla St. John (Suffolk, VA/Tabb) had an infield single to knock home the other run. They added their final two runs, and ended the game, in the sixth on a two-run pinch-hit home run by freshman Kirsten Copley (Chester, VA/Cosby).
 
Sulter had three hits for Lynchburg, while Hall added two. Smith and Copley had two RBIs apiece.
 
Rutgers-Camden received one hit apiece from freshman pitcher Samantha Sandridge (Friendswood, TX/Friendswood), freshman catcher Mackenzie Mason (Carneys Point, NJ/Penns Grove) and sophomore right fielder Jalene Garcia (Vineland, NJ/Vineland). The hits by Mason and Sandridge, singles in the second and fourth innings, respectively, were their first collegiate hits.
 
Sandridge (0-1) took the loss, working 2-1/3 innings on the mound overall and allowing four hits, six earned runs and five walks. Junior Brittany Scott (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional) worked the middle 3-1/3 innings, allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) while walking three and striking out one.
 
Freshman Conner English (Altavista, VA/Altavista) earned the win, working 4-1/3 innings of two-hit shutout ball. She struck out four and didn't walk a batter.
 
The Scarlet Raptors' scheduled second game of the day, against Salisbury University, the second-ranked team in the country, was rained out when the skies opened up following Salisbury's win over Capital University. Rutgers-Camden will continue its spring break trip Monday in Myrtle  Beach, South Carolina, when the Raptors play both Eureka College and Guilford College at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic.