Orangeburg, N.Y. - The Georgian Court University softball squad said "bye-bye" to its four-game slide as the Lions split a pair of key Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contests Wednesday afternoon at Dominican College.

GCU grabbed the opener by a 4-2 score before falling to the host-Chargers, 6-4, in the nightcap. The Lions now own a record of 21-18 (12-6 CACC) on the season while Dominican moves to 15-13 overall (12-6 CACC).

Dominican drew first blood in the opener when Taylor Gilligan (Jr.-Medford, N.J.) slammed a solo homer to center in the bottom of the second inning. Georgian Court countered in the next half-inning after Samantha Salomon scorched a two-run shot to center, providing the Lions a 2-1 advantage. An unearned run in both the fifth and sixth frames increased GCU's surplus to 4-1 after five-and-a-half as the road team held on for the victory.

Pitching ace, Jessica O'Neil (11-7), went the distance for the win, permitting two runs (2 ER) on eight hits and four walks (5 K) in seven full frames. Jennifer Paride (Jr.-Stonington, Conn.) took the tough-luck loss for the Chargers (7.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 10 K).

Malia Black went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for Georgian Court while CACC pitching continues to fear Samantha Reilly as the star slugger received four free passes in the contest.

The Chargers built an early 3-0 lead in the nightcap after a Samantha Fitzgerald (So.-Fishkill, N.Y.) first-inning double and a Emily Luzetsky (Jr.-Bel Air, Md.) two-run long ball in the second provided the trio of tallies for Dominican. 

A Malaya Black three-bagger (and Dominican throwing blunder) brought in a pair in the third inning, cutting GCU's deficit to 3-2. Black accounted for the Lions' tying run in the fifth, courtesy of a ribbie fielder's choice, before Mikaela Power brought around her teammate with an RBI single to left field.

The Lions' 4-2 surplus proved to be brief as the Chargers recaptured the advantage in the home half of the frame, highlighted by two-run, go-ahead dinger off the bat of Alyssa Siess (So.-Queens, N.Y.) and a run-inducing single from Rajene Bowe (Fr.-Ellendale, Del.).

Taylor Baloga (5-7) suffered the setback in the circle for GCU, yielding three runs (3 ER) on four hits and a walk (1 K) over 2.2 innings of relief. Paride (9-6), also coming out of the bullpen, took home the win with 2.1 frames of one-hit work (5 K).

With Thursday's twin-bill vs. Chestnut Hill College being rained out, the Lions will next take the diamond Saturday at Bloomfield College. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.