DUE WEST, S.C. | The Young Harris College softball team closed out the regular season in dominant fashion on Saturday, sweeping a doubleheader from Erskine to secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Conference Carolinas Tournament.
The Mountain Lions improve to 31-15 (23-5) overall heading into postseason play.
Game One: Young Harris 6, Erskine 4
Young Harris broke through with a five-run third inning and held off a late push to take the opener 6-4.
Gracie Hughes started the scoring with a two-RBI double, followed by an RBI double from Anna Kate Hill to extend the lead to 3-0. Addie Heal capped the inning with a two-run single to give the Mountain Lions a 5-0 advantage.
Erskine answered in the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back home runs, including a three-run shot from Gabby Burroughs and a solo homer from Kennedy Crouch, cutting the deficit to 5-4.
The Mountain Lions added insurance in the seventh when Heal delivered another RBI single to score Riley Ratzlaff.
Lakely Parrish earned the win in relief, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out three.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
Game Two: Young Harris 6, Erskine 3 (8 innings)
Young Harris completed the sweep with a 6-3 extra-inning victory behind a strong performance from Julia Moore.
The Mountain Lions struck first in the opening inning on an RBI double from Haley Cummings, then added another run in the third on a Cummings RBI groundout to take a 2-0 lead.
Erskine responded with single runs in the third and fifth innings to tie the game at 2-2.
The game remained tied until the eighth, when Young Harris broke through with a four-run frame. Cummings delivered a two-RBI double, and Anna Kate Hill followed with a two-run single to push the lead to 6-2.
Erskine added a run in the bottom of the eighth, but Moore closed the door to secure the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
UP NEXT:
Young Harris will enter the Conference Carolinas Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
