TIGERVILLE, S.C. - The Newberry College softball team returned to action on the road on Wednesday, splitting a pair of contests with North Greenville University. NGU won the first game by a 6-3 count, while Newberry picked up a 6-2 win in the second game.

With the split, Newberry is now 17-6 overall and the Crusaders are 8-12 on the year. Newberry begins South Atlantic Conference play in its next game, hosting Mars Hill College for a 1 p.m. twinbill on Saturday.

Game One: North Greenville 6, Newberry 3
Newberry started the game off with two runs in the top of the first, but a four-run first inning for NGU gave the hosts the victory in the opening contest of the doubleheader.

After Aissa Gatewood (North Charleston, S.C.) led off with a bunt single for Newberry, Whitney Wiles (Iva, S.C.) reached on an error. Kat Hammond (Irmo, S.C.) and Sara Powell (Ocean View, Del.) followed them up with a pair of RBI gorundouts to give the scarlet and gray the early 2-0 lead.

However, the first two Crusader batters reached on errors to start a four-run rally in the bottom of the inning for the hosts. Allison Bailey (Jefferson, S.C.) and Whitney Center (Landrum, S.C.) each recorded RBI doubles in the frame.

NGU starting pitcher Taylor Roof (Chester, S.C.) helped her own cause when she led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo homer down the left field line to give NGU a 5-2 lead.Newberry cut the lead to 5-3 in the top of the fifth when Hammond scored on an NGU error, but Bridget Watson (Wellford, S.C.) hit an RBI double to extend the lead back to four runs, where it would stay for the rest of the game.

Kristen Hicks (Bamberg, S.C; 8-4) was tagged with the loss for Newberry, allowing six runs - four earned - on 10 hits in six innings of work.

North Greenville 6, Newberry 3
(Mar 18, 2009 at Tigerville, S.C.) (Game 1)
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Newberry............ 200 010 0 - 3 4 4 (16-6)
North Greenville.... 400 110 X - 6 10 3 (8-11)
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Pitchers: Newberry - Kristen Hicks and Tiffany Pigage. North Greenville - Taylor Roof; Dana Garcia(6) and Whitney Center.
Win-Taylor Roof(3-6) Save-Dana Garcia(1) Loss-Kristen Hicks(8-4) T-1:53 A-0
HR NGU - Taylor Roof.
Weather: 65f and sunny
FULL BOX SCORE

Game Two: Newberry 6, North Greenville 2
Hammond smashed her ninth homerun of the season in the first inning and Amanda Huckestein (Port Charlotte, Fla.) hit a homer and struck out seven NGU batters on the way to a 6-2 win in the nightcap.

Newberry took a 2-0 lead in the first on a monster opposite field two-run homer from Hammond in the first and Huckestein retired the first nine NGU batters in order. She aided her own cause in the top of the fourth with a leadoff homer to center to make it a 3-0 game.

North Greenville narrowed the margin to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a run-scroing single from Turner, but Hammond and Huckestein responded in the top of the fifth with an RBI apiece. Turner recorded her second RBI of the game with a groundout in the sixth to make it a 5-2 contest, and Newberry's Richelle Mirabal (Tampa, Fla.) rounded out the scoring with an RBI single in the seventh.

Huckestein moved her season record to 9-2, striking out seven batters and scattering four hits in the game.

Newberry 6, North Greenville 2
(Mar 18, 2009 at Tigerville, S.C.) (Game 2)
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Newberry............ 200 120 1 - 6 10 3 (17-6)
North Greenville.... 000 101 0 - 2 4 1 (8-12)
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Pitchers: Newberry - Amanda Huckestein and Amanda Schumacher. North Greenville - Krysten Smith; Dana Garcia(5) and Lindsey Eargle.
Win-Amanda Huckestein(9-2) Loss-Krysten Smith(5-5) T-1:30 A-117
HR NEW - Kat Hammond (9); Amanda Huckestein (2).
Weather: 65f and sunny
FULL BOX SCORE