BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb University softball team had its early season six-game winning streak snapped in the rain on Saturday night, falling 6-2 to Sacred Heart in a late start at the Red and Black Classic

With a pushed back start time due to weather, the Runnin' Bulldogs and Pioneers took the field under the lights at Brinkley Stadium. The two sides battled through the first two innings scoreless before Sacred Heart exploded for five runs in the third, completely turning the tide and the eventual final outcome of the game.

In the third inning, the Pioneers took a 5-0 lead, beginning with a two-run home run to left. Sacred Heart also took advantage of a miscue in center field by the 'Dawgs, with a booted transfer allowing a third run to eventually score. SHU continued to take advantage down the lineup, with a two-RBI single enough to give the visitors a 5-0 lead.

Gardner-Webb did battle back however, turning the game into a contest again with two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. In the third inning, junior Alyssa Bonilla stepped in as a pinch hitter and drove home two runs, giving the Runnin' Bulldogs life, down 5-2. Junior catcher Taylor Dreher, who scored on Bonilla's pinch hit single, tacked on an RBI single of her own in the fifth to make it a 5-3 game.

Sacred Heart added a run for insurance in the top of the seventh for a 6-3 lead that the Pioneers would hold on to, retiring the Runnin' Bulldogs in order in the bottom half of the inning.

Overall, the Runnin' Bulldogs finished the game with three runs on eight hits between seven different players. Freshman pitcher Hannah Frye handled most of the pitching in relief, tossing 3.1 innings, allowing four hits and a single run.

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The Red and Black Classic has been once again rescheduled, meaning the 'Dawgs will return to action on February 18th, hosting Western Carolina in a midweek doubleheader at Brinkley Stadium