BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb softball team (25-18, 5-7 Big South) dropped both ends of its Big South doubleheader on Saturday, losing 12-2 and 11-10 to visiting Presbyterian (17-26, 5-7 Big South)

Game One - Presbyterian 12, Gardner-Webb 2
In the early game, a pair of big early innings made the difference, as Presbyterian pulled away to defeat the Runnin' Bulldogs 12-2

Down 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning, sophomore second baseman Reese Collier got GWU on the board with an RBI single back through the box. Senior center fielder Annicka McLaughlin scored from second after benefiting from an error to take an extra base on an earlier single

Down 12-1 thanks in large part to a six-run third inning from the Blue Hose, GWU got on the board again in the bottom of the fifth. Senior shortstop Taylor Dreher drove in senior designated player Alli Stidham with an RBI single through the left side

Gardner-Webb finished with two runs on seven hits in the early game. Stidham led the way with a 2-for-3 game, scoring one run. Six different Gardner-Webb players posted at least one hit

Game Two- Presbyterian 11, Gardner-Webb 10
If game one was normal, game two was anything but as Gardner-Webb dropped a wild, 11-10, nine inning contest to finish the weekend

GWU was cruising early, taking a 5-0 lead behind a four-run fourth inning. Senior catcher Caroline Johnson posted an RBI single, followed by an RBI double from freshman right fielder LY Forte, then an RBI triple from Collier. All three hits came consecutively in the inning for the Dawgs

PC got two runs back in the top of the fifth, but it was quickly answered by Johnson, who lined an RBI double to left center in the bottom of the fifth to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a 7-2 lead

Presbyterian closed the gap in the top of the sixth, using a solo home run and an RBI double to trim the GWU to just 7-6

Dreher came back to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, answering with a sac fly to center that allowed junior pinch runner Lilly Deaton to score. GWU had its lead restored through six innings at 8-6

Down to its final strike in the top of the seventh, the visiting Blue Hose picked up a two-out, two-RBI single to no man's land in right field, stunning the Runnin' Bulldogs and tying the game at 8-8. The contest was off to extras after GWU stranded a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh.

In the eighth, the two sides traded two-run innings. Presbyterian took its first lead at 10-8, before Gardner-Webb tied the game in a dramatic bottom of the frame. With Stidham on after a leadoff single, sophomore first baseman Madden McMahan-Waters crushed a home run to left center, bringing the contest back to a 10-10 tie. It was the first home run for McMahan-Waters in her 52nd game for Gardner-Webb

Presbyterian took the lead back on a fielder's choice in the top of the ninth, 11-10. The contest finished a few minutes later after Gardner-Webb answered by going three up, three down in the bottom of the ninth

Several notable performances stand out for the Runnin' Bulldogs, including that of Stidham who pitched 8.0 innings and struck out 11, all while going 3-for-3 at the plate. Collier and Johnson also each finished 3-for-5 for the game, as GWU finished with 10 runs and 15 hits

UP NEXT
The Runnin' Bulldogs are back in action on Tuesday, April 14th for a two-game set at Western Carolina