JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The Davis & Elkins College softball team dropped a pair of games Sunday at the Big Region Preseason Invitational, falling to Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill at the James K. Ellis Softball Complex.

Game One: Lincoln Memorial 15, Davis & Elkins 7

Davis & Elkins opened the day with a strong offensive start but fell 15-7 to Lincoln Memorial in five innings.

The Senators scored twice in the first inning on RBI hits from Ashlyn Zapach and Audrey Higgins to take an early 2-0 lead. Zapach added a two-run home run in the second inning, and Cortney Dobbs later connected on a three-run homer in the fifth.

Lincoln Memorial responded with eight runs in the opening frame and added seven more over the next two innings to take control of the contest.

Zapach finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run, while Dobbs went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Higgins recorded two hits and drove in a run, and Alyssa Haynes scored twice for the Senators.

Saylor Kneeland and Alyssia Munoz saw time in the circle for Davis & Elkins.

Game Two: Mars Hill 13, Davis & Elkins 4 (8 innings)

The Senators held the lead early and remained competitive through seven innings before falling 13-4 in eight innings to Mars Hill in the nightcap.

Davis & Elkins jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the first inning, with Dobbs driving in a run and Trinity Fleming reaching on an error that allowed another score. Fleming added RBI singles in the third and seventh innings to keep the game close.

After Mars Hill took a 4-2 lead in the third, the Senators answered with a run in the same inning and tied the game in the seventh on Fleming's second RBI hit.

Mars Hill broke the tie with a nine-run eighth inning to secure the victory.

Dobbs led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance, while Fleming went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Gweny Wessling and April Belcher each added a hit, and Haynes recorded a double.

Sammie Jarvis started in the circle for Davis & Elkins, with Kendal Tellings, Alyssia Munoz, and Saylor Kneeland providing relief.

Up Next

Davis & Elkins continues play at the Big Region Preseason Invitational on Monday with two games in Johnson City, Tenn. The Senators will face Carson-Newman at 10 a.m. before taking on Tusculum at 2 p.m. at the James K. Ellis Softball Complex.