NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Newberry College softball team split its doubleheader with No. 13 USC Aiken to get its season started. The scarlet and gray eked out a 2-1 victory in game one but couldn't silence the Pacers' bats in an 8-1 loss in the second.

Amanda Huckestein (Port Charlotte, N.C.) earned the win for Newberry (1-1) in the opening game with a complete-game outing. Huckestein only allowed the Pacers four hits and struck out seven in the game.

Felicia Taylor's (Venice, Fla.) hot bat led Newberry in the opener as she went 2-for-3 with two doubles and scored Newberry's first run.

Game One: Newberry 2, No. 13 USC Aiken 1 - Box Score
Newberry fell behind in the opener after it surrendered a run in the second inning but rallied with runs in the fourth and fifth to take the lead. Newberry allowed just one base runner between the sixth and seventh innings in order to hold on for the victory.

After the Pacers were retired in order in the first, Toni Flessate (Goose Creek, S.C.) led off the top of the second with a home run that bounced off of the top of the fence and out of play. Huckestein then retired the next 14 Pacers without allowing a base runner.

Taylor woke up Newberry's bats in the bottom of the fourth with a double down the right field line. Taylor then advanced to third on a wild pitch before she scored on a bunt single from Angela Cataldo (Sumter, S.C.).

In the bottom half of the fifth, Aissa Gatewood (North Charleston, S.C.) led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Courtney Flach (Tampa, Fla.) then moved Gatewood up with a sacrifice bunt and Sara Powell (Ocean View, Del.) delivered an RBI single down the right field line to score the go-ahead run.

USC Aiken managed just one base runner for the remainder of the game as Newberry held on for the 2-1 victory.

Huckestein earned the win and Flessate was tagged with her first loss of the season.

Game Two: No. 13 USC Aiken 8, Newberry 1 -
Box ScoreNewberry struck first in the second half of the doubleheader after Gatewood led the scarlet and gray off with a walk in the first inning. Whitney Whiles (Iva, S.C.) moved Gatewood to second with a sacrifice bunt and Gatewood later tagged up and moved to third on Powell's fly out to right field. Huckestein then delivered the run with a two-out single up the middle.

The Pacers got the bats going in the top of the second when Blair Warren (Darlington, S.C.) reached on a two-out single. Kaylah Hall (Jacksonville, Fla.) then doubled to left center, scoring Warren.

Newberry dug themselves into a hole in the third inning after a leadoff walk and a throwing error put runners on first and third with no outs. Whitney Clary (Newberry, S.C.) then crushed a two-run triple into left center and Lauren Locklear (Charelston, S.C.) singled through the third-base side, scoring Clary. Another single and fielding error later, Newberry recorded the first out of the inning. With a runner on second, Hall earned another RBI with a single to left field. The scarlet and gray eventually worked their way out of the inning but not before surrendering five runs.

USC Aiken picked up again in the fourth with a one-out double followed by Flessate's second homerun of the game, a two-run shot that put USC Aiken up 8-1.

With darkness falling over the Newberry College Softball Field, Newberry managed just five runners in the last three innings and put only two runners in scoring position.

Lauren Rickabaugh (North Augusta, S.C.) improved her record to 3-0 as she held Newberry to four hits in a complete-game effort.

Kristen Hicks (Bamberg, S.C.) registered the loss when she surrendered three earned runs in two innings. Shelley Jeffcoat (Lexington, S.C.) and Taylor made appearances in the circle for the scarlet and gray as well. Taylor pitched two full innings and allowed no hits or walks.

Newberry stays at home to host Lander in another doubleheader on Saturday, February 20. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.