March 5 & 6 Louisburg College softball took the field in Columbus, GA for the Leadoff Classic against College of Central Florida, Gulf Coast State College, Georgia Military College, Florida Southwestern State College, and Wabash Valley College.

"To have a second opportunity in the same season to go toe to toe with the nation's elite NJCAA programs is humbling," said Louisburg Coach Eric Lee. "We learned a lot about ourselves and our character on the trip and found out how good we can be."

The first matchup was against College of Central Florida. The Hurricanes lost 8-3. Louisburg scored 3 runs on 5-26 from the plate. Lark Collins had the lone RBI. Four pitchers went into the circle for Louisburg. Ellen Palya (2-1) recorded the loss. She faced 13 batters and gave up 3 runs. College of Central Florida scored 8 runs on 9 hits, including 5 walks and a 3rd-inning home run.

In the second game Louisburg took on Gulf Coast State College. The Hurricanes scored first, but finished the game with a 5-4 loss. Caroline White had 3 hits; Brianna Tucker and Amber McLaren had 2 hits a piece; while Abbie Yarboro and Foster Sharpe each recorded 1 hit. Tucker, Yarboro, White, Sharpe all had RBIs. Ina Womack (4-3) was the losing pitcher. She gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 4 innings pitched. The Hurricanes were down 4-3 going into the 7th inning when Gulf Coast RBI-single stretched the lead to 5-4. Abbie Yarboro homered in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn't enough to overcome the two run deficit. 

The third game of the classic the Hurricanes faced off against Georgia Military College to get their first win of the weekend 7-5. The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead in the 1st after a Yarboro 2-run homer, and then busted it open with a 4-run 3rd. Tucker and Joyer also homered in the contest with 2 of Louisburg's 7 hits. Carrigan Ewers (4-2) was the winning pitcher, giving up 4 runs on 3 hits in 6 innings. Haley Tomlinson recorded her first save of the season.

On Saturday the Hurricanes faced Florida Southwestern State College and lost 3-2. Florida Southwestern struck first, scoring 2 runs in the first, but by the bottom of the 6th the Hurricanes had tied it up at 2. Then in the 7th inning Florida Southwestern singled on a bunt to pitcher Ina Womack for the winning run. Womack went down as the losing pitcher giving up 1 run on 2 hits in 2.1 innings. Haley Tomlinson had previously pitched 4 innings of 1 hit softball with 5 strikeouts.

In the final game of the classic Louisburg defeated Wabash Valley College. The Hurricanes were 10 for 31 from the plate on their way to an 8-7 victory. Joyner and Yarboro each had doubles and Brianna Tucker hit her second home run of the weekend. Caroline White and Lark Collins also had RBIs. Carrigan Ewers (4-2) was the winning pitcher. She allowed 2 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings pitched. Caroline White recorded the save.

"After 18 games against Division I opponents to start the season, I feel very good about being 12-6," commented Coach Lee. "I'm really looking forward to preparing for Region X play and trying to set ourselves apart once more as the league's best."

Softball travels to Myrtle Beach, SC for the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic on Tuesday to compete against Alpena Community College and Hagerstown Community College. The games are at 1:00 and 3:00 respectively.