Savannah Becker and Kelsey Akers drove in two runs apiece in an eight-run first inning and University of Mount Olive went on to defeat Queens University of Charlotte 12-4 in five innings on day two of the Armstrong State University Softball Pirate Classic Sunday at Savannah, Ga. Trojan pitcher Lauren Smith escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth to preserve the run-rule victory.
The Trojans fell to tournament host and nationally eighth-ranked Armstrong State 8-1 in the finale. Mount Olive posted a 2-2 record in the tournament with both wins coming against Queens and both losses coming at the hands of Armstrong State.
Mount Olive (5-3) spotted Queens a 2-0 lead in the top of the first before erupting in the bottom half of the inning. Jazzmin Montgomery singled in the first run and Savannah Becker followed with a two-run double to put the Trojans ahead to stay 3-2. Kristin Power and Erin Brogan added rbi-singles and after a run-scoring groundout, Akers completed the scoring with a two-run single.
Tiffany Hawley's two-run single highlighted a three-run third inning as Mount Olive extended its lead to 11-2. Queens (1-7) got a two-run homer in the top of the fourth, but Power scored in the bottom of the fourth to put the Trojans within three outs of its third run-rule win of the season.
Queens loaded the bases in the top of the fifth on a one-out error and back-to-back two-out singles. Smith sealed her first complete-game win of the season with a groundout to third.
In the second game, Armstrong State took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the first. Becker singled home the Trojans' run in the bottom of the second.
Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans travel to Wingate, N.C., to take on Wingate in a non-conference doubleheader. Game time is 1 p.m.