ROME, Ga. | Young Harris College and Shorter University split a non-conference softball doubleheader Wednesday (March 16) afternoon at Alto Park.

The Mountain Lions won the opener 2-1 while the Hawks won the nightcap 4-3 in 10 innings.

Young Harris improved to 18-8 while the Hawks fell to 15-10. Young Harris steps back into Peach Belt Conference competition Saturday (March 19) at E.D. Rivers Field with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Francis Marion University.

In the opener, Shorter took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI-single by Kameron Carter, but Young Harris starter Darby Stanford (14-1) shut down the Hawks from that point forward. Stanford scattered seven hits in the complete-game victory.

Young Harris responded with two runs in the top of the second off Payton Lippert (7-6). Chandler Stooksbury, who led the Mountain Lions with two hits, tied the game at 1 on a single to center field that scored Grace Botti, who had reached after being hit by a pitch. Rachel Benson then scored Stooksbury with the go-ahead run on her double to right-center field.

In the nightcap, Young Harris jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on Murphy Davis' single to center. It would stay that way until the Hawks scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, including a two-run single by Tiffany Holland.

Young Harris sent the game into extra innings when Botti's walk with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh tied the game at 3.

The Mountain Lions, which outhit Shorter 11-4 in game two, had runners in scoring position in the ninth and 10th innings, but couldn't push across a run. The Hawks won the game in the bottom of the 10th on pinch hitter Taylor Ann Oda's single to left-center field.

Davis, Botti and Stooksbury led the Mountain Lions with two hits apiece.

Kalei Kimbrell (3-0) earned the win in relief for Shorter, while Mary Catherine Smith (2-2) absorbed the loss for the Mountain Lions.