ASHLAND, Va. -- The Methodist softball team closed out its 2017 season with a pair of losses at No. 16 Randolph-Macon on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Monarchs closed out the season with an 8-30 overall record, while the Yellow Jackets moved to 23-7 on the season. R-MC won game one, 9-0, and then took game two, 13-2. Both games ended after five innings.
 
In the opener, Candace Whittemore tossed a one-hit shutout. She faced the minimum number of batters as MU's lone base runner, Lindsey Champion, was doubled off on a line drive to third to end the inning. Whittemore struck out four and did not walk a batter.
 
Aly Thomas took the loss, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk in 1.1 innings.
 
In the nightcap, Randolph-Macon struck for 12 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 13-2 lead.
 
The Monarchs had taken a 2-1 lead on RBI base hits by Olivia Rust in the third, and an RBI single from Hannah Key in the fourth inning.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Yellow Jackets got nine hits and benefitted from a pair of MU errors and four passed balls. Of R-MC's 13 hits on the day, 12 of them were singles.
 
Allyson Aycock was 2 for 2 with a walk and Rust finished 2 for 3 with an RBI. Champion took the loss in the circle for MU. She surrendered six runs on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings.