Freshman Irlynn Richardson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) established a new single-season hits records as the Lincoln University softball team had a plethora of missed opportunities in dropping a pair of Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games to Elizabeth City State University.

GAME ONE: ELIZABETH CITY STATE 5, LINCOLN 1
Lincoln finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left five runners in scoring position as the Lions fell to ECSU, 5-1.

The Vikings took the early lead with a pair of runs in the second inning, and it stayed 2-0 until the fifth inning.

Freshman Jaelynn Barrios (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) got it going with a one-out single and moved to third on a two-out single by Richardson. A double steal produced Lincoln's only run, and it was a defensive play that prevented the Lions from the tying run crossing the plate. A diving catch on a line drive to right was a pivotal moment that ended the fifth inning.

Elizabeth City added a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to secure the victory.

Freshman Cailyn Dove (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck Senior) recorded her fourth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3, while Barrios was 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Freshman Tia Brown (Newark, N.Y./Newark) allowed five runs, four earned, on nine hits over seven innings with five strikeouts.

GAME TWO: ELIZABETH CITY STATE 7, LINCOLN 4
Lincoln stranded 11 runners on base, and couldn't record the big hit, in dropping the nightcap of its CIAA doubleheader.

The biggest moment in the contest came in the bottom of the fourth of a tie game when Lincoln loaded the bases with one out. However, a strikeout and fly out ended the threat. ECSU immediately seized the lead with an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning. The Vikings added three insurance runs in the sixth inning.

The Lions took the lead in the first inning as Barrios connected on a two-out double, scoring freshman MacKienzee Rasheed (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) – who registered a one-out double.

ECSU grabbed the lead with a pair of runs in the second inning, but LU reclaimed the advantage in the third inning.

Richardson opened the inning with a double, which set Lincoln's single-season hit mark, and scored on a freshman Jarae Turner single. Turner moved to second on a Brown single, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a throwing error by the catcher.

The Vikings scored the tying run in the fourth inning.

Richardson finished with her eighth multi-hit game of the season, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Brown tied a career-high with three hits, her seventh multi-hit game of the season. Rasheed and freshman Cate Liskey (Richland, Pa./Eastern Lebanon ) each had a pair of hits for the Lions.

Brown allowed four runs – three earned – in 3 2/3 innings of relief on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Lincoln returns to the diamond noon Sunday in the CIAA regular-season finale with Shaw University.