HISTORY MADE! LR Softball Becomes First SAC School to Advance to Softball Championships

DAHLONEGA, GA. -- Lenoir-Rhyne Softball entered today needing to beat top-seeded North Georgia twice on their turf to advance to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship. They would end the day with a pair of victories and become the first South Atlantic Conference team to ever advance to the Finals of the DII Tournament.

In game one, the Nighthawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead before the Bears plated one in the bottom of the first and two in the second. UNG evened the score in the third and it remained even until Lauren Rakes launched a home run to center field in the bottom of the sixth to put the Bears up 4-3. LR would score two more on errors to go up 6-3 before closing it out with a 6-4 win. Freshman Madison Wilson improved to 18-3 in the circle with a complete game. 

UNG once again took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but that was all they would score. The LR bats were held quiet until they erupted in the fourth inning. With the game tied at 1, Rakes once again hit the game-clinching HR, a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. She would be the first of seven batters to reach base safely as Katelyn Rackard, Julia Mardigian and Lani Warren each drove in a run and Cassidy Wall hit a sacrifice fly for the first out of the inning. With the Bears up 6-1, Rakes crushed her second HR of the inning -- a 3-run shot -- to make it 9-1. Rakes then retired the side in the fifth and LR won on the mercy rule. On top of her two HR, Rakes didn't allow an earned run in five innings in the circle to move to 19-9. She allowed just two hits. 

The NCAA Division II Softball Championships start May 19th. The eight-team tournament is double elimination and then a best-of-3 Championship series follows. Time, location and opponents will be announced in the coming days.