New Castle, Del. - Georgian Court University, after having its four-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2, nine-inning Game One setback, rebounded with a vengeance in the nightcap with a 9-1, five-frame defeat of host-Wilmington University as the Lions salvaged a split in Tuesday's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) showdown.

GAME ONE

In a contest that commenced with four full innings of goose eggs, Wilmington worked across a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth to snap the scoreless stalemate. An RBI infield single from Lauren Lopez (So.-Burbank, Calif.) brought home the first tally. Lopez, after proceeding to swipe second, stayed in a rundown long enough to allow Kiana Broderson-Jones (R Jr.-Menifee, Calif.) to scurry home from third with the second run.

Down to their last out and on the verge of being blanked, GCU rallied for two runs on three hits, and a costly Wilmington miscue, to bring across a pair in the bottom of the seventh. Malaya Black started the rally by reaching on a fielder's choice. Pinch-hitter Elisa Lopez followed with an infield single to third. Black advanced on the play and came around to score on a subsequent throwing error by the Wilmington third baseman.

After pinch-runner, Malia Black, motored to second base with a steal, Kendalia Turner pushed a single through the middle to plate Black with the tying tally.

With the score now knotted 2-2 through a scoreless eighth inning, the international tie-breaker was activated in the ninth. The Lions went down 1-2-3 in the top half, providing the home team another opportunity for the walk-off. The Wildcats finally got the job done after an Annie Davila (Jr.-Yorba Linda, Calif.) sacrifice bunt moved runner Alyssa Velasquez (Jr.-Indio, Calif.) to third. A Kiersten Comer (Fr.-West Islip, N.Y.) sacrifice fly to left would bring  the opening-game thriller to an anticlimactic close.

Caitlyn Whiteside (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) went the distance in the circle to earn the win for Wilmington (9.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 6 K) as the senior moves to 7-3 on the year. GCU's Mikayla Gilgert (7-3) also registered a complete-game as the Lions' ace finished on the wrong end of the pitchers' duel (8.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K).

GAME TWO

Georgian Court established the tone immediately in the nightcap as Eryka Springer smacked her fourth long ball of the year, a two-run shot, to put the Lions up by a pair in the first inning. A bases-loaded two-bagger from Paige Eckert increased the road team's lead to 5-1 in the third before Samantha Salomon brought in two more in the fourth with a single.

The clinching blow came off the bat of Malaya Black in the top of the fifth when the sophomore slugger drove a two-run homer over the left-field wall. The victory marks the Lions' seventh mercy-rule win of the season.

Reigning CACC Pitcher of the Week, Jessica O'Neil, continues to roll as the senior secured her sixth win of the year (6-1) with the complete-game performance (5.0 IP, 6 H, R, ER, 3 BB). Whiteside, coming off nine frames pitched in the opener, had nothing but fumes in the finale as the senior falls to 7-4 with the setback (2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB).

The Lions (18-5, 3-1 CACC) returns home to host Concordia College-NY this Saturday in yet another CACC twin-bill. Start time is 12:00 p.m. on SEI Investments Field.