Box Score vs. Emmanuel    Box Score vs. Lee
COLUMBUS, Ga.-The Belhaven softball team took home two victories on day one of the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament Thursday afternoon at R.G. Jones Field in Columbus, GA. The Blazers rallied for a 5-2 win over Emmanuel College (GA) in game one and upset 11th ranked Lee University (TN) 7-1 in game two.

Game One
The Lions tested the Blazers early placing the first run on the board in the top of the first inning from a single to center off the bat of first baseman Holly Springer making it a 1-0 game. Emmanuel followed with another run in the top of the second from a Whitney Hillman homerun. The Blazers responded in the bottom of the second inning with two runs off four hits. Senior Kayla Maldonado blazed a single to left center for an RBI and Taylor Bryan quickly followed Maldonado's hit with one of her own, singling down the left field line knotting the game at 2-2.

The Blazers won the game in the fifth inning placing three timely runs on the scoreboard with the game locked in at 2-2 heading into the frame. CeCee Austin singled to right field to drive in two runs followed by a SAC fly from third baseman Annalee Carr positioning the score to 5-2. The Blazers kept the Lions at bay in the final two innings with stellar defense and pitching securing the win.

Designated player Taylor Bryan led the Blazers with two hits, one RBI and one run scored. Katie Sanders also had two hits while Austin led the team in RBIs with two on one hit with a scored run. Carr also managed one hit, one run and one RBI for the Blazers. Shelby Watson got the win improving her win-loss record to 7-4. Watson pitched five innings giving up five hits without allowing a run.

Brittney Smith guided the Lions in hits with two. Whitney Hillman produced one hit, one run and one RBI. Jordan Najafi got the start in the circle and pitched five innings allowing seven hits and five runs.

Game Two
In game two, Belhaven took advantage of two Lee errors in the top of the first inning to score five unearned runs. Austin tripled in two runs with a shot down the right field line followed by an RBI single from pitcher Jessica Paris. Catcher Chelsea Randle doubled in two more runs to cap the inning and give the Blazers a foothold in the game.

Belhaven expanded the lead to 7-0 in the top of the second with two more runs. Designated player Taylor Bryan and center fielder Lizzy Hess crossed the plate on a throwing error by third baseman Dezirae Parsons and that led to six of the seven runs being unearned. Lee's only run was produced on a solo homer by designated player Charlie Wooden to open the second. That proved to be the final score of the game for either side although there were some other opportunities to plate runs. The two clubs combined to strand 20 runners on base over the course of seven innings.

Belhaven was led by Randle who went 2 for 2 with a double and two runs batted in. Paris had two hits and an RBI while Austin came up with one hit and two runs batted in. Paris started the game in the circle and pitched the first four innings for the win. Paris gave up one run on three hits with five walks and five strikeouts. Shelby Watson picked up her second save of the year logging the last three innings. She limited the Flames to one hit without a runner crossing the plate.

Lee ended the game with only four hits and Wooden had the only RBI and run scored. Brittany Balough suffered the loss, working all seven innings allowing seven runs on 11 hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Only one of the runs charged to Balough was earned.

Belhaven will now battle Auburn University-Montgomery in round three of the tournament on Friday at 11:00 AM. The Blazers need two more wins without a loss to punch their ticket to the championship contest and earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. Fans can follow the action through live stats by clicking here.