YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | Morgan Curley and Michalyn Bingham each hit home runs as tthe op-ranked Young Harris College softbsll team essily defeated Catawba College 9-1 in six innings Sunday (Feb. 23) morning at  the YHC Softball FIeld.

The Mountain Lions improved to 12-0, while the Indians fell to 6-5. Young Harris returns to action Saturday (Feb. 29) when they travel to Hickory, North Carolina, for a 3 p.m. game against No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Young Harris jumped on Catawba for three first-inning runs. Emily Harris led off with a double to left center before Curley homered to center field to give YHC a 2-0 lead. Jill Torres added an RBI single back up the middle.

After Catawba got a run back in the third, the Mountain Lions scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Carly Risgbee had a two-run single up the middle in the fourth, while YHC took advance of an Indian error an inning later to score two unearned runs. Young Harris ended the game in the sixth as Bingham curled a two-run homer just inside the right field fair pole.

Harris, Curley, Bingham and Biz Walters each collected two hits apiece for the Mountain Lion.

Haylie Shope (3-0) earned the complete-game win in the circle.She scattered four hits and struck out seven.