OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Lincoln softball team scored eight runs on eight hits to beat Jarvis Christian, 8-4, on Friday afternoon (March 1). The victory came in the second game of the day for LU as part of the National HBCU Softball Classic, as Grambling State squeaked by Lincoln, 7-5, earlier in the day.

Lincoln 8, Jarvis Christian 4
Seven different Blue Tigers had hits, with Gabi McGinty going 2-for-4 at the plate, as Lincoln picked up its first win of 2019. Hannah Hennessy, meanwhile, gave up just three earned runs and fanned four JCC players to pick up the victory inside the circle.

A pair of bases-loaded walks allowed McGinty, who reached on a double, and Casey Grover to score in the top of the second. Those plays led to a five-run inning by the Blue Tigers, with Mykenzie Livesay, Jordan Lawson and Camryn Pryor also scoring.

Livesay hit a double of her own in the third to bring in Tori Nienhueser, and Emily Williams later had a two-base hit in the fourth before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Nienhueser. A Nienhueser double drove in Pryor in the sixth to close the scoring.

Bekah Kirker, Rachael Balke and Lawson also had hits for LU, while Nienhueser had two RBI in the win. Defensively, Grover had eight putouts and Williams finished with five while Hennessy and Kirker both turned two assists.

Grambling State 7, Lincoln 5
In the first game of the day, NCAA Division I team Grambling State racked up 14 hits, but the Blue Tigers nearly completed a rally before falling, 7-5.

A two-RBI double in the first inning and a solo homerun in the third gave GSU an early 3-0 cushion, but Pryor hit a triple in the bottom half of the third to drive in Kirker for LU's first run of the day. Later in the frame, a ground out by Balke allowed Pryor to score, closing the gap to 3-2.

Grambling State added runs in the fourth and sixth frames before LU got back on the board when Balke scored on a ground out by McGinty. GSU would answer in the top of the seventh, driving in two more scores for a 7-3 lead, but Lincoln was not ready to call it a day.

Kirker hit a double into centerfield to get the offense going, and moved to third on a base hit from Lawson. Both players ended up coming home on a base hit by Pryor to make it a two-run contest. In the ensuing at-bat, Balke hit the ball deep enough into left centerfield to put the tying run on base. Pryor took second and rounded third, but ended up being caught at the plate for the final out of the ballgame.

Lawson, Pryor and Balke all had multiple hits for the Blue Tigers, and Shannon Greene struck out five GSU batters in a complete game performance. Grover had seven putouts to lead the defense while Kirker turned four assists.