GREENWOOD – The Lander softball team earned a pair of wins on day one of the Bearcat/Fleet Invitational at Doug Spears Field on Friday night. 

In game one against King, Lander (5-0) broke a scoreless tie with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Morgan Watson singled, stole second, and came around to score when Delaney Guerrero slashed a single back up the middle. That would be all the cushion Lander needed as Ashley Vinson (2-0) limited the Tornado (2-2) to just two hits in a complete-game effort. Vinson struck out nine while issuing just two walks. 

The victory over King gave head coach Glen Crawford his 400th career win as a collegiate head coach. 

Against Tusculum, the Bearcats grabbed the early lead in the second inning as Guerrero singled and Alana Frye walked to put two aboard. After a sacrifice bunt from Haven Pesce moved both runners into scoring position, Madison Ackerman came off the bench and punched a ground ball to shortstop. Guerrero slid home before the throw to the plate to put Lander up 1-0. The Bearcats doubled the lead on an RBI groundout from Frye in the bottom of the fourth. 

Watson delivered the biggest hit of the night in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and runners on second and third, the Bearcat shortstop blasted a three-run shot off the scoreboard to extend the lead to 5-0. Shannon Antonini followed suit in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer to left field to give the Bearcats a 7-0 advantage. Tusculum (5-1) managed just one run in the top of the seventh as Liz Gollin (2-0) notched a complete-game victory. 

Lander will host Carson-Newman and Belmont Abbey on Saturday. 

#cLawsUp | @LanderSoftball