FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The 11th-ranked Salisbury University softball team suffered a narrow 3-2 loss to third-ranked Louisiana College on Saturday afternoon in the second and final day of the Methodist Early Bird Invitational, but earned a resounding 9-2 victory against host Methodist University to go 3-1 for the weekend.

The Sea Gulls (3-1), who won their first two games of the invitational by a combined score of 18-1 on Friday, played an excellent game against Louisiana College; the 10-inning contest was decided by international tiebreaker rules, with the runner from the last at-bat being placed at second base.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the ninth inning, when sophomore outfielder Hannah Mills bunted freshman Harley Hill to third base, putting runners on the corners for the maroon and gold. Sophomore Lindsay Brown stepped up to the plate and ripped a double to bring pinch runner Taylor Webb in to give the Sea Gulls a 1-0 advantage.

Louisiana College (4-0) came back in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, 1-1. But a single by sophomore Carly Read served as the go-ahead for sophomore Sarah Alpaugh to score in the top of the 10th inning. A single to left field by Louisiana College in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the Wildcats the winning run. Though the Sea Gulls did not come out on top in the contest, Head Coach Margie Knight was very happy with her team's performance. "What was a young team is now a seasoned team," said Knight of the squad's effort.

Senior pitcher Kelly Leary took the loss for Salisbury, striking out seven batters and giving up five hits. Sophomore Lindsay McCabe had the hot bat for the Gulls, going 3-for-4 in the effort.

Salisbury's second game of the day, against Methodist (4-3), resulted in a seven-run margin of victory for the maroon and gold. Junior pitcher Erika Brittingham had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning, but gave up three-straight hits. They would be the only three hits she gave up all day; Brittingham struck out 15 batters and went 3-for-3 behind the plate. Junior Casey Zaino went 2-for-3 and had two RBI and McCabe continued her hot streak, going 2-for-3 and scoring two runs.

The maroon and gold remain on the road for their next contest, a doubleheader against Christopher Newport University on March 1. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.