Game 1 Box       Game 2 Box
CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Belhaven softball team passed the first test of their long six-game road trip, earning a split with the fourth-ranked Lee Flames. The Blazers used a late rally in game one to earn a 5-4 victory before falling 7-3 in game two of the doubleheader.
 
The story of the early part of the season for the Blazers (24-6) was scoring early and often to put opponents out of their misery. More recently Belhaven has looked to be on a quest of earning some more entertaining victories.
 
Jessica Paris took the mound in search for her 10^th victory of the season, but things did not look good early for the Belhaven ace.
 
After the two offenses were held in check for the first two and a half innings, Lee's high-powered offense awoke from their slumber.  Laurel Allen and Lexie Dean both singled to put runners in scoring position, but Paris was able to get two fly-outs without either runner advancing home.
 
With two outs in the inning, Lee (33-6) put together a four-run rally thanks in part to a double by Jennifer Ringle and a two-run bomb by Ana Coscorrosa.
 
Belhaven's offense continued to look stagnant in the top of the fourth with Lee' starter Angie Hughes keeping them off balance at the plate. However, the fifth inning brought a different tune for the Blazers' bats.
 
Haley Yasses started off the fifth inning with a walk and was pinch run for by Emily Tucker. Lizzy Hess advanced Tucker to second with a drag bunt single away from the reach of Hughes.
 
After a Shelby Watson fly-out to deep centerfield, second baseman Jordan Cole lined a double down the left-field line to easily score Tucker from second. Hess was held up at third with only one out in the inning.
 
Reigning SSAC and NAIA player of the week, Denee' Crawford, added two more RBI to her season total with a double to right field, scoring Hess and Cole.
 
Katie Deems, a relief pitcher for the Flames, came into the game for Hughes and was able to get the final two outs of the inning. However, the lead for Lee was now down to one run at 4-3.
 
After a scoreless bottom of the fifth for Lee, Belhaven was threatening to score again in the top of the sixth. Katie Adair led off the inning with a single and she was soon driven home on a double by Yasses to tie the game at four apiece.
 
Paris continued to hold strong in the waning innings of the game to set up the potential for the Blazers to win late or force extra innings.
 
Two outs were filled on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh when Courtney Fairley stepped to the plate. Fairley battled off a few pitches until she found one that suited her just fine, sending a ball over the centerfield wall for a solo home run.
 
Belhaven's starter worked through a jam in the bottom of the seventh to seal another victory for the Blazers, 5-4.
 
Game two's box score looked identical to game one through three innings, as the Flames tacked on four runs in the bottom of the third against Adair. The difference between the two games is that the Flames stayed hot in game two.
 
Down 5-0 in the top of the sixth, Belhaven's offense came alive with three runs on a couple of hits by Crawford, Fairley and Dominique Corona.
 
However the Flames added two more runs off of Watson in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 7-3 before the game was called due to weather.
 
With the split, Belhaven improves to 7-4 against teams ranked in the NAIA top 25, including their second win against a top-5 team. They also remain steady behind William Carey in the SSAC West after the Crusaders surprisingly split with Truett-McConnell.
 
The Blazers continue their six games in three days stretch against the Lady Bears of Truett-McConnell tomorrow afternoon beginning at 3 p.m.