LYNCHBURG, Va.  A pair of tight non-conference games did not go Methodist's way Sunday afternoon at the University of Lynchburg's Moon Field as the host and 12th-ranked Hornets swept a doubleheader, 4-0 and 3-2, against the Monarchs in non-conference softball action.

A narrow span of five batters did the damage in Game 1, followed by a come-from-behind walkoff win in the second game, one in which the Monarchs had led 2-0 after four innings.

JUST THE FACTS
Final scores: Lynchburg def. Methodist 4-0 and 3-2
Records: Methodist 5-3, Lynchburg 3-1
Location: Moon Field, Lynchburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Starting pitcher Brittany Jones was scattering a couple of Hornet hits and staying out of trouble until the deciding sixth inning in Game 1.
• Five batters. After a one-out single and wild pitch, Lynchburg added another single before a two-RBI double, followed by a sacrifice bunt and the knockout punch, a two-run home run down the left field line.
• Four of Lynchburg's 10 hits off Jones came in the fateful five-batter stretch, spoiling what was another good outing for the junior righty.
• The problem for Methodist was, despite Jones' six-inning, 10-hit, no walk and five strikeout effort, Lynchburg's Alex Cisar was just a bit better in the circle on this occasion.
• Cisar went the distance, surrendered seven hits without a walk, and fanned three for the shutout victory.
• Sarah Davis and Carleigh Haywood each collected two hits for Methodist, accounting for a little more than half of the Monarchs' output from the batter's box.
• Game 2 looked to be rolling in Methodist's favor with a run in the top of the first and then another in the fourth.
• Taylor Jones' RBI-single in the first plated Maria Kollar, who had doubled earlier in the frame. And a fourth-inning bases-loaded infield chopper from Liz Schmitz was an RBI fielder's choice as Kelsey Smith scored from third on the out at second base.
• Like in the opener, just a few at-bats ended up doing the damage for the Hornets.
• A one-out walk to Kortney Leazer in the bottom of the fifth turned into an infield ground-out RBI with Leazer crossing the plate to halve the Methodist advantage.
• After loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth, starter Taylor Jones gave way in the circle to Jordyn Propst, who extinguished the fire by getting the final two outs of the frame and not allowing the tying run to score.
• It took Lynchburg just four batters in the bottom of the seventh, though, to complete a rally as Cortney Rawes' single down the leftfield line brought home runners from second and third base for the walkoff victory.
• Taylor Jones' Game 2 performance was a solid outing as she went 5.1, was charged with just one run against six hits, walked just one and struck out six. Propst had a saving sixth inning for Methodist, but was charged the loss after Lynchburg's last-inning rally.
• Kelsey Smith collected two of the four Methodist hits in Game 2, as Hornet hurlers Michelle Lehan and Kayley Cox otherwise kept the Monarch bats quiet.

NEXT UP
Methodist hosts future (in 2022) USA South Athletic Conference foe Southern Virginia University for a doubleheader at Price Field on Friday, starting at 2 p.m.