HICKORY, N.C. - The Newberry Wolves were unable to hold on to a lead in the opening game and suffered a sweep at the hands of the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Wednesday afternoon. Lenoir-Rhyne walked off with a 7-6 win in the opener before taking an 8-0 run-rule win in the nightcap.

Newberry falls to 22-12 overall and 3-5 in the South Atlantic Conference, while Lenoir-Rhyne is 29-7 overall and 8-0 in the conference. The Wolves return home Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Carson-Newman.

Game One: Lenoir-Rhyne 7, Newberry 6

• Christina Linton, Hailey Drawe, Mallory Gerndt and Morgan Sweeney each had two hits to help the Wolves build a lead, with Gerndt driving in two runs.
• Devon Morrison was tagged with a loss to fall to 7-5 after allowing three runs - all unearned - in a save situation. 

Lenoir-Rhyne earned the early lead with runs scored with two outs in the first and second innings. Jordin Phillips drove in a run with a double followed by a Mackenzie Cates RBI single in the first. Erin Boone drove in a run for the Bears with a single in the second to make it a 3-0 lead.

Newberry rebounded and took the lead in the third. Drawe hit a double followed by an RBI single by Jeri Loffler. After Allison Van Atta reached on an error to keep the inning alive and a two-run single by Gerndt tied the game. Sweeney's run-scoring double down the left field line gave Newberry a 4-3 lead.

Linton led off the fourth with an infield single and Natalie Willis plated her with a double. Drawe's RBI groundout pushed the lead to 6-3.

The Wolves held that lead until the Bears rallied late with an unearned run in the fifth. Two runs scored on an error with two outs in the sixth to tie the game.

Newberry went down in order in the top of the seventh. A walk put the winning run on base followed by a single. After two strikeouts, a ground ball was booted and an infield single pushed the Bears to the win.

Game Two: Lenoir-Rhyne 8, Newberry 0 (6 inn.)

• Newberry was limited to one base hit and five baserunners as the Wolves were beaten by run-rule for the first time this season.
• Nicolette Myers hit a single with one out in the fifth for Newberry's lone hit.
• Morrison was handed her second loss of the day to fall to 7-6 on the year after allowing four runs - two earned - in 1.2 innings.

The Bears scored two runs in each the first, second, fifth and sixth innings. Maryann Hoskins kept the Wolves off of the basepaths with five strikeouts and solid defense behind her.

Newberry had baserunners in the first (error) and third (hit batsman) before the Wolves' best chance in the fifth. After Gerndt was hit by a pitch and Myers singled, a hard-hit double play ended any threat. Linton walked to lead off the sixth but was stranded on second base.

Newberry committed four errors in the game (nine in the doubleheader), and three of the Bears' eight runs were unearned.