GREENWOOD, S.C. | The fifth-ranked Young Harris College softball team opened up play at the Bearcat/Fleet Invitational with two wins Friday (Feb. 14) afternoon ar Doug Spears Field on the Lander University campus.

Haylie Shope hit a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the seventh as the Mountain Lions downed Carson-Newman University 13-9 in the opener. Sara King threw a complete-game shutout as Young Harris College blanked Belmont Abbey College 5-0 in the second game.

The Mountain Lions improved to 7-0 and will now play two games Saturday (Feb. 15) in Due West, South Carolina. YHC will face Tusculum University in a 10 a.m. game before facing Erskine College at noon.

Carson-Newman jumped out to a 5-0 lead  in the first three innings before Young Harris stormed back to score nine unanswered runs to open up a 9-5 lead.

Shope got the Mountain Lions going with a third inning single before adding five runs in the fifth. Carly Rigsbee had an RBI double and Shope added a sacrifice fly  before Michalyn Bingham added a three-run homer to left field. Rigsbee added a bases-loaded walk an inning later before Bingham drillied a two-run single.

Carson-Newman tied the game at 9 in the top of the seventh as the Eagles hit two home runs. Harris started the winning YHC rally in the bottom half of the inning with a two-out infield single before Morgan Curley was hit by a pitch and Rigsbee walked to load the bases. Shope ended the game as she crushed a grand slam to left field off Makayla McCarthy (0-1).

Maddie Green (2-0) earned the win in relief.

Shope led the Mountain Lions six RBI, while Hodges drove in five. Harris collected three hits, while Curley, Rigsbee, Shope and Bingham had two apiece.

Young Harris jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Belmont Abbey in the first inning on Shope's single to left. The Mountain Lions added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 5-0 lead.

Pinch hitter Alanna Dunson had a RBI single in the fourth, Maddie Urquiola had a run-scoring single in the fifth and Jill Torres drove in a run in the sixth with a single.

King (2-0) earned the complete-game shutout as she scattered three hits and struck out seven.

Harris, Curley and Torres had two hits each, while Curley tallied a double.