The Game Facts:
Scores: Roanoke 7, Pitt-Bradford 5; Roanoke 8, Pitt-Bradford 0 (5 inn.)
Location: Salem, Va.

The Short story: The Roanoke College softball team successfully opened the 2024 season Sunday, defeating visiting Pitt-Bradford in both ends of a doubleheader, 7-5 and 8-0 (5 innings).

How it happened (Game 1):
*Roanoke plated two runs in the first frame of the opener, one on a groundout and the second on a double from Lilly Burns.
*Burns doubled again in the third to score the Maroons' third run and Molly Epperson had a two-run single in the fourth to make it 5-0.
*After a Pitt-Bradford run in the fifth, Roanoke loaded the bases and scored twice to push the advantage to 7-1.
*The Panthers scored four in the seventh but Roanoke held on for the win

How it happened (Game 2):
*Adriana Rivera singled in the first inning of game two to bring home Heather McQueeney who had tripled earlier in the frame to give RC an early lead.
*The Maroons scored four in the second inning, with Madison Courts hitting a two-run double.
*McQueeney blasted a two-run homer to right center in the third to score two more and Sammie Murphy hit a walk-off single in the fifth with one out to end the game via the eight-run rule.
 
Inside the numbers:
*McQueeney, a freshman, fell just a double short of the cycle in game two, going 3-3 with three RBI in her first collegiate game.
*Courts was 3-5 on the day with a double and Epperson also had three hits.
*Baylee Compton tossed a shutout in the nightcap, allowing just one hit and two walks with three strikeouts.
*Lindsay Gedro earned the win in the opener while Maggie McCray notched the save.  

Up Next:
*The Maroons (2-0) travel to Columbus, Ga. March 1-3 for six games at the D3 NFCA Leadoff Classic.