RALEIGH, N.C. -- The William Peace University softball team (1-1) split their double header against the Quakers of Guilford College (1-1) in their home opener Sunday afternoon.

In their first game, the Quakers jumped on the scoreboard first after a single up the middle with the bases loaded would score two. With two on, Guilford's Katy Holt would hit in Sabrina Moreno for the RBI, bringing the Quakers lead to 3-0. The Pacers would answer in the bottom of the sixth inning, beginning with a double hit by Alexa Nemeth. A single up the middle by Kristina Mojica would advance Nemeth to third.Olivia Oates followed with a sac fly to center field to score Nemeth. The Pacers would end the inning in the next two at bats, finishing the inning trailing 3-1.

Both teams rallied in the seventh inning beginning with the two Quakers scoring off a stand up double by Courtney Lackey with the bases loaded. The Pacers would head into the bottom of the third trailing 5-1. With two outs against them and Hayley Waddell on first base, WPU's Heather McLean would hit a single up the middle advancing Waddell to second. With two on, Alexa Nemeth hit a double to center field to score Mangum. Kristina Mojica would single up the middle to score McLean and Nemeth bringing the Pacers within one run of the Quakers. The Pacers would fall just short leaving two on as they ended the inning with a fly ball to center field.

The Pacers came out blazing in game two bringing in three runs in the first inning alone. The Quakers would answer back in the following inning with two runs of their own. The Pacers get the bats going in the bottom of the fourth as Olivia Oates singled through the left side to lead off the inning. With Oates on first, Caylen Harrison would reach on a hit to the short stop, advancing Oates to second. Both Pacers on base would advance on a wild pitch by the Quakers. With runners in scoring position, a bunt by Lauren Conway would score Olivia Oates to bring the Pacer lead to 4-2. Conway would steal second and advance to third on a passed ball, while Harrison was thrown out stealing home. A rope hit by Nadia Blevins would score Conway, and would be the final run scored before the inning ended with the Pacers leading 5-2.

The Quakers would come close to the Pacers lead as they had bases loaded in the top of the fifth with two outs, however, Makenzie Ward got the job done on the mound striking out Guilford's Blakenship at the plate to end the inning with three Quakers left on base.The Quakers made a pitching change in the bottom of the fifth inning, to which Heather McLean capitalized on. McLean sent a towering shot over the left field fence for a two RBI Home Run, bringing in Jordan Mangum to put the Pacers up 7-2. The Pacers would bring in their eighth run in the bottom of the sixth as a single by Lauren Conway and a sac bunt by Nadia Blevins would advance Conway to second. Another big RBI by McLean would score Conway bringing the Pacers score to 8-2. The Quakers answered back in the top of the seventh scoring two more runs before the Pacers were able to shut down the offense and secure the win with a final score of 8-4.

The Recap:

• Heather McLean led the Pacers going 4-7 at the plate with 7 RBI and 1 HR in two games.
• Olivia Oates had a productive day going 4-5 with 2 RBI.
• Danielle Hunt picked up the first win on the season for the Pacers in 4 innings of work. Hunt allowed 5 hits, while striking out 5 and allowing two earned runs.

For The Foes:

• Sarah Adams had two RBIs with 1HR in game two.
• Makayla Crawford went 3-3 while drawing 1 walk.

Whats Next:
The Pacers (1-1) now look ahead to this weekend as they host the Triangle Softball Classic. William Peace opens up play on Friday, February 23 at 1pm against Mississippi University for Women and North Carolina Wesleyan at 5pm. 

For the latest news and updates from William Peace University Athletics, please visit: gopeacepacers.com , Facebook , or follow the Pacers on Instagram and Twitter at @gopeacepacers.