HobbsDailyReport.com
GREENVILLE, Tenn. – The Lenoir-Rhyne University softball team moved into conference play on Sunday and continued winning at a red-hot pace.
The Bears swept a doubleheader 5-0 and 3-1 over Tusculum on the road, extending their win streak to 15 games, and they are 25-4 overall with wins in 22 of their last 23 games.
Tusculum dropped to 15-12 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
The Bears have thrown seven shutouts this season and held 17 opponents to a run or less.
LRU, ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II, plays its next games on Wednesday in Salisbury, a South Atlantic Conference (SAC) doubleheader against Catawba that begins at 2 p.m.
LRU 5, Tusculum 0
The Bears took control with a four-run second inning highlighted by a solo home run from senior second baseman Madison Poe.
Freshman third baseman Talon LaClair and freshman first baseman Kylee Leonhardt led LRU with two hits and two RBIs each, and six Bears had at least one hit each.
Junior Brandi Parks improved to 11-3 overall with her third shutout of the year. She scattered four hits in addition to seven strikeouts while Tusculum’s Taylor Plemons fell to 5-5 after taking a loss.
LRU 3, Tusculum 1
Junior outfielder Erin Boone opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning before senior catcher Mackenzie Cates later hit her team-leading fifth home run.
Junior Emily Kenley (13-1) earned her 13th straight win. She allowed two hits and one unearned run while notching seven strikeouts in a complete game victory.
The Bears had nine hits, including two hits and an RBI from freshman outfielder Savannah Moorefield.
Tusculum’s Morgan Mahaffey had her team’s RBI while Allison Pate fell to 7-6 after taking the loss.
— Reported by LRU Sports Information