HICKORY, N.C.– For the second straight year the Emory & Henry University Softball Team saw their season come to an end against the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears. The Wasps more than proved their worth, pushing the top team in the South Atlantic Conference to the brink, but in the end fell by a 2-1 final score.
The Basics
RESULT – #1 Lenoir-Rhyne 2, #8 Emory & Henry 1
LOCATION – Hickory, North Carolina
VENUE – McCrorie Family Stadium
RECORDS – Emory & Henry 0-2; Lenoir-Rhyne 2-0
The Game – Lenoir-Rhyne 2, Emory & Henry 0
Much like the first game of the series, Game 2 was a defensive battle through and through. It was an evenly matched dual in the circle, Senior Kylie Cundiff (Roanoke, Va.) pitched the complete game going all 7 innings. Cundiff only surrendered 6 hits, 2 earned runs and struck out 3 Bear batters.
The Bears struck first in the opening salvo with a solo home run to center field that gave them a 1-0 lead. The Wasps' had chances with runners in scoring position early. Liberty Johnson (Arvonia, Va.) reached on a walk and then made it to third after a Cundiff single to right field, but the offense would stall. The score stood at 1-0 until the bottom of the 5th inning. Laila Rodriguez (Virginia Beach, Va.) led off with a single up the middle to the pitcher. Rachel Hill (Stanardsville, Va.) followed with a single of her own. Hannah Booth (Longwood, Fla.) squared on a pitch and sent it through the left side of the infield for an RBI single that brought in Rodriguez to tie the ball game at 1 run a piece.
The tie would be short lived, immediately in the top of the 6th LR's Faith Carrigan hit the Bear's second solo home run of the day to regain the lead 2-1. The Wasps could not break through the Lenoir-Rhyne defense and would fall 2-1 in their final game of the 2026 season.
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