CULLOWHEE, N.C. – In their first day of competition this year outside the friendly confines of Clinton, the Presbyterian College softball team was bitten hard by bad luck in two straight dramatic defeats at the hands of North Carolina A&T (12-11) and Rhode Island (7-6) on Friday afternoon.

On a day where the Blue Hose assembled 26 total hits and five home runs, they were unfortunately unable to pull away the W in either scenario against the Bulldogs or Rams. PC harbored a combined four base-runners with the games hanging in the balance, but were unsuccessful in their bid to extend both outings.

A handful of Presby batters crammed the stat sheet in Friday's two-parter at Western Carolina, duking out two games that featured six total lead changes.

Now at 7-7 on the season, head coach David Williams' crew will await two more bouts at the Catamount Classic on Saturday. They'll engage in a rematch with A&T at 10:00 AM once more, returning to the field at approximately 3:00 to take on the hosts of WCU.


 
NOTABLES
 
- Entering the day with three victories by a single run in 2025, the Blue Hose were dealt a cruel twist of fate by seeing back-to-back one-run decisions tilt to the other side.

- PC had gathered four homers in the 12 games prior to Friday, eclipsing that number in Cullowhee by leaving the yard five times. Sophomore Blair Darby cranked two of those longballs against A&T, joined by Mallory Fletcher, Kasey Wolfe, and Molly Mattas.

- Wolfe and Fletcher – Presby's best two hitters thus far at a combined .440 – synced up for seven hits and eight RBI during the first day of the Catamount Classic, with Fletcher batting in four runs alone versus A&T.

- Darby and centerfielder Gracie DeCuir hit a combined .571 in 14 at-bats throughout the doubleheader, with the former notching her second game of the year already with two homers in a single contest.

- Leadoff shortstop Baxleigh Arnette scattered three hits and scored two runs in the DH, while Emma Yanes and Olivia Goforth logged a multi-hit outing against either opponent.


 
GAME ONE – NORTH CAROLINA A&T def. PC, 12-11
 
- Despite the Blue Hose collecting a ludicrous nine two-out runs en route to a season-high 15 hits and three dingers, the Scotsmen were doomed after giving up 10 runs to the Bulldogs in the 5^th and 6^th innings.

- Fletcher and Darby banged a home run in two straight at-bats to get the morning off to a raucous start. Fast forward to the top of the 5^th, and a Mattas RBI-single pushed Presbyterian's lead to 6-2.

- However, N.C. A&T came back from that late deficit and suddenly entered the final stanza with a 12-6 cushion.

- Darby kickstarted an outrageous Blue Hose rally in the top of the 7^th with her second homer, the first of five PC scores in that inning where they needed six to continue the contest.

- Arnette, Wolfe, and Fletcher put Presby in a position to make the comeback possible, bringing the deficit to one with a sole out in the tank.

- Although a wild pitch placed runners on second and third, PC would go down swinging in the final at-bat. Altogether, nine of the 12 runs that the Blue Hose conceded were unearned.


 
GAME TWO – RHODE ISLAND def. PC, 7-6
 
- Once again, a first-frame blast (this one by Wolfe) gave the blue and garnet an early advantage, although the two clubs would play a game of one upmanship over the bulk of the game, with PC regaining the lead in the 3^rd, losing it in the 4^th, taking it back once again in the 6^th, but allowing a crucial three scores in URI's last turn at the plate.

- With the scoreboard displaying a four-all tie, Mattas crunched a lead-off home run in the 6^th to put the Blue Hose back ahead for the third time. Wolfe later drew a bases-loaded walk in that same inning to bring her squad a two-run edge.

- Ultimately, the Rams would grab the win thanks to a couple of RBI base hits that scored three total. PC held runners on first and second as they were down to their last chance, lining out to end the day.