RALEIGH, N.C. – The Lincoln University softball team, under the direction of first-year head coach Amber Sneed, opened the 2012 season over the weekend by dropping six games at the CIAA Round-up at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex.
 
The Lady Lions (0-6 overall, 0-6 CIAA) began play on Friday with a 14-3 loss to Johnson C. Smith and an 8-0 defeat against Fayetteville State. On Saturday, Livingstone edged Lincoln, 12-8 in eight innings, and Shaw held off the Lady Lions, 12-9. Lincoln concluded play with back-to-back losses to Winston-Salem State and Saint Augustine's.
 
Avree Morton (Uniondale, N.Y./Holy Trinity HS) paced the Lincoln offense in six games by batting .467 in 15 at-bats. She recorded seven hits, including on double and one home run. Morton also scored four times and drove in four. Erin Rucker (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights HS) batted .412 with seven hits, including four doubles. She had four RBIs and scored three times.
 
Rucker was the lone pitcher for the Lady Lions over the weekend, going 0-6 and pitching six complete games. She worked 32.1 innings and fanned 32 batters.
 
Lincoln returns to action with its home opener 2:30 p.m., on Wednesday, March 14 against Goldey-Beacom College in a non-conference doubleheader at Oxford Athletic Association Fields.