BUIES CREEK, N.C. – A punishing strength of schedule right out of the gates as the 2023 slate has turned to all-Big South meetings from this point, the Presbyterian College softball team has been unable to make a dent in either of their first two conference foes that tied for the regular season crown a year ago, falling to Campbell twice on Saturday afternoon by respective tallies of 8-0 and 5-3.

PC erased the memory of a run-rule outing to begin the doubleheader and fought tooth and nail with a Fighting Camel opponent that is currently firing on all cylinders, tying things up at two apiece early on but succumbing to a three-score 3^rd that proved to be the game-changer.

Still hoping to get the monkey off their back and grab that first league victory, having been through the wringer in the past four outings against elite-level programs, the Blue Hose will attempt to salvage the weekend series tomorrow for Game 3 at 1:00 p.m.
 
NOTABLES
- While there was nothing doing against Campbell starting pitcher Isabella Smith in the opening act of the DH, finishing the five-inning contest with a sole hit conceded, PC proved much more balanced in the rematch by reaching their highest hit count in nearly two weeks (eight). However, 10 stranded base runners cost the Blue Hose dearly by the time the final out was registered.

- Head coach David Williams' lineup was granted an offensive spark in the seven-hole of the second duel courtesy of rightfielder Mallory Fletcher on Saturday, launching her first collegiate home run that also wrangled in Jillian Hewes, the fifth extra-base hit of the year for the sophomore and 23^rd longball for the squad since February.

- Batting back-to-back in the number three and four spots, Lath Freeman and Kendall Owens awoke in the second go-around with a quartet of hits between them and an RBI-double from the former. By virtually mirroring each other's stat lines in Game 2, the catcher/DP tandem remain tied for the most multi-hit performance on the team, both with nine such efforts.
 
GAME 1 – Campbell (24-9, 6-1) def. Presbyterian (19-11, 0-3) – 8-0 (5 Innings)
- A Campbell lineup that had tasted the win in 10 of their previous 11 encounters lived up to that billing to open the two-parter, especially on the defensive end of the spectrum, amounting to a mostly one-sided affair on paper.

- Greene combated Smith's seven-K, no-walk outing with four frames of work on her own, relieved by freshman Peyton Duncan for what turned out to be the last four batters of the shortened contest. The home side dished out their highest efficiency rate in the bottom of the 5^th with a four-run burst that prematurely ended the matchup.  
 
GAME 2 – Campbell (25-9, 7-1) def. Presbyterian (19-12, 0-4) – 5-3
- A much more consistent attack in the box allowed the Blue Hose a greater sense of confidence, evidenced by Fletcher's aforementioned HR against Kayla Howald in the top of the 2^nd that knotted things up at a deuce. Six different players published a knock in the hits column across Game 2, even when Smith re-entered the outing to toss at the last 11 PC batters.

- The Fighting Camels – fresh off a three-game sweep over preseason Big South favorite USC Upstate a week ago – responded immediately from Presbyterian's early punch, scoring for the final time in the bottom of the 3^rd with a trio. Morgan Hess kept Campbell off the board over their last three frames on an 83-pitch day, allowing her backing offense a chance to cut into the hole.

- Freeman and second-baseman Kaitlyn Tucker anchored those comeback efforts with back-to-back doubles in the 5^th, although pitching consumed both sides' play the rest of the way, enough to keep Campbell ahead until the end.
 
UP NEXT
- While unable to take the series overall, the Blue Hose will look to close the weekend on a high note with tomorrow's closer in Buies Creek. Coach Williams' core achieved six Game 3 victories in the 2022 stretch, helping that club take a school-record 19 conference wins.