Softball

Braves Oust Lenoir-Rhyne From Postseason

Jelena Shaw doubled to drive in Brittany Berrier for UNCP's go ahead run on Thursday.

PEMBROKE - Second-seeded UNCP rallied for a pair of runs in each of the first and sixth innings behind five innings of scoreless pitching from Whitney Landwermeyer to oust third-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne from the NCAA South Atlantic Regional with a 4-0 victory over the Bears on Thursday afternoon at LRA Field.

The win kept the 13th-ranked Braves (45-13) alive in the hunt for their first NCAA Regional Championship, while also avenging a pair of 8-0 losses to the 20th ranked Bears (42-14) earlier this season in Hickory. The Black & Gold will advance through to Friday's 11:30 a.m. elimination contest against the loser of Thursday afternoon's tilt between top-seeded Carson Newman (47-6) and fifth-seeded Francis Marion (34-13). First pitch of that contest has been set for 11 a.m.

Candace Evans singled twice and drove in three runs on three trips to the plate to pace the offense for UNCP, with Jelena Shaw doubling in a run and crossing the plate twice on an equally impressive 2-for-3 hitting line. Brittany Berrier also tallied a pair of runs scored on a 1-for-4 hitting line. Leah Krohn doubled and singled in three plate appearances for Lenoir-Rhyne, who also got a 2-for-3 day from Michelle Smith.

Landwermeyer (9-5) struck out four and scattered as many hits over five innings of work to pick up the victory for the Braves, with Martika Elmore finishing out the contest with four strikeouts in two scoreless innings of relief. Lenoir-Rhyne starter Meredith O'Connor (30-11), who notched both victories against the Braves in March, struck out seven over a complete game on Thursday but saddled the loss after yielding four runs on seven hits.

“We’ve had great depth at the pitcher position all year long,” said UNCP head coach Steve Johnson. “Martika (Elmore) got a lot of awards but Whitney (Landwermeyer) and Candace (Evans) accounted for a lot of wins for us. It’s nice when your No. 2 pitcher can give you five strong innings and then bring in your No. 1 to close it out.”

UNCP got on the board quickly, using a leadoff bunt single by Berrier, a RBI double by Shaw and an ensuing run-scoring single by Evans to take a 2-0 lead into the second. The score would hold up until the sixth when Evans would drive in two more runs on a seeing-eye single through the right side.