Box Score Game 1    Box Score Game 2
JACKSON, Miss.-  The Belhaven women's softball team lost their first two Southern States Athletic Conference games of the 2012 season against Auburn University-Montgomery in a double header on Friday at Jim McLeod Field. The Blazers dropped game one 13-5 and game two 5-2 driving their overall record to 13-8 and 2-2 in SSAC play.

The Blazers faced an early deficit in game one when Laci Driggers stepped up to the plate placing a solo homerun over the left field fence giving the Warhawks an early 1-0 advantage. In the bottom of the fourth, Auburn-Montgomery (15-9, 2-2 SSAC) followed up with another homerun from Brandi Richards placing the Warhawks out in front 2-0.  The Warhawks drove their third homerun of the contest over the fence in the top of the 6th inning thanks to the bat of Staci Driggers. Carol Ann McIntyre then hit a triple to right center plating Katie Spain and Haley Johnson giving AUM a 5-0 lead.

Belhaven had their final opportunity at bat in the bottom of seventh and they took advantage of it, scoring five runs off five hits to even the game and send it into extra innings tied 5-5. Ashley Hitt scored from a throwing error from Warhawks pitcher Brandi Reynolds and then the Blazers hit three consecutive doubles, beginning with an Annalee Carr two bagger that chased home Shelby Watson. The next double came off the bat of CeCee Austin rounding in two runs from Kayla Maldonado and Lizzy Hess, cutting the deficit to only one at 5-4. Shortstop Courtney Fairley then placed her double to left center rounding in the tying run by Austin evening the game at 5-5.

Auburn-Montgomery rallied in the top of the ninth inning putting up eight runs on seven hits. The Warhawks managed to get five singles with a triple that accounted for five of the runs. The other three were sent home on bases loaded walks. The Blazers and they could not recover from the 13-5 deficit in the bottom of the ninth as the Warhawks went on to claim the victory. 

The Blazers put up 10 hits, with shortstop Courtney Fairley leading the way with three hits and one RBI. First baseman CeCee Austin had a team best 2 RBIs on one hit with a run scored. Jessica Paris started in the circle for the Blazers and suffered the loss, dropping her win-loss record to 4-2. She gave up three runs on six hits.
AUM had seven different players with two hits apiece Pepper, L. Driggers, Richards, S. Driggers, Johnson, Spain, and Kirkpatrick. Brandi Richards led the way with three runs batted in while three Warhawks players slammed homeruns L. Driggers, S.Driggers, and Richards. Halley Johnson received the win, pitching 6.2 innings allowing 10 hits and five runs.

The Warhawks remained hot in the beginning of the second game, leading 3-0 in the middle of the first inning. The designated player for AUM Shea Driggers doubled to left field allowing Sarah Suggs and Laci Driggers to run home. S. Driggers added a third run for the Warhawks when Haley Johnson doubled to right field.
In the top of the second, AUM kept their momentum scoring a fourth run that extended the lead to 4-0. Danielle Kirkpatrick doubled to left field, advanced to third on a SAC bunt, and ran home on a fly out to right field by Jyssica Pepper.

The Blazers answered in the bottom of the third inning when Emily Tucker scored the first run for Belhaven. Lizzy Hess grounded out to shortstop allowing Emily Tucker to run home on the throw, bringing the score to a 4-1 in favor of Auburn-Montgomery.

In the sixth inning, both teams making it a 5-2 game in favor of the Warhawks. In the top of the inning, Carol McIntyre pinch hit for AUM and singled to left field, allowing Haley Johnson to run home. In the bottom of the sixth, Ashlee Hitt singled down the right field line giving enough time for Jessica Paris at second to run home reducing the deficit to 5-2. Belhaven couldn't muster a second straight rally in the bottom of the seventh as the Warhawks took home the doubleheader sweep.

The Blazers (15-6, SSAC 2-2) were led by Lizzy Hess and Ashley Hitt who each had an RBI and a single. The Blazers had two runs from Jessica Paris and Emily Tucker. In the circle, Bayleigh Babin pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. She walked three and her record drops to 5-4 on the season with the loss.
Shea Driggers led AUM (15-9, SSAC 2-2) with a pair of RBI on two hits with a run scored. Following S. Driggers at the plate, Haley Johnson had two hits, one run scored, and one RBI. Cassie Daniels pitched the second game for the Warhawks pitching six innings allowing five hits and two runs. The victory for Daniels runs her record to 6-2 on the season.

The Blazers will be back in action on Saturday, playing Oklahoma Baptist and Union University in Hattiesburg, MS on
the campus of William Carey University. The first pitch against Oklahoma Baptist is slated for 12:00 PM followed by a 2:30 start time against Union.