RALEIGH, N.C. –The Randolph softball team concluded its four-game weekend at the Grand Slam Classic hosted by William Peace on Sunday. The WildCats faced Piedmont in the morning and wrapped up with North Carolina Wesleyan in the afternoon. Randolph dropped a 7-0 decision to the Lions and fell to the Battling Bishops 6-5.

Against North Carolina Wesleyan, the WildCats jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Delaney Nuckols (Rockville, Va./Patrick Henry) was hit by a pitch to lead off and then scored on Elyssa Francis' (Newport News, Va./Woodside) double. Taylor Friess (Goode, Va./Liberty) reached on an error to score Francis and advanced to second base. Friess moved up to third on a passed ball. Alyssa Swords (Prince George, Va./Prince George) walked to put runners on the corners. After Briana Harbison (Dumfries, Va./Potomac) fouled out, Jhenai Sewer (Newport News, Va./Woodside) smacked a double to left field to plate two runs.

The lead was short-lived as NCWC tied the game up with a four-run bottom of the first. A run in the second gave them the lead and another run in the third put the Battling Bishops up 6-4. Randolph got a run back in its fourth on a Swords RBI groundout.

The WildCats went three up and three down in the next two innings. They would leave a runner stranded in the top of the seventh as NCWC held on for the win.

Francis was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and one run batted in. Nuckols finished 1-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.

Braelyn Cooper (Amherst, Va./Amherst County) took the loss for the 'Cats in the circle. She tossed five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. She walked two and struck out five. Lindsey Kirkland (Lynchburg, Va./Jefferson Forest) pitched an inning and surrendered two runs on two hits. She walked three.

Randolph travels to Mary Baldwin for a doubleheader with the Fighting Squirrels on Thursday. Game time for the first game is 2:00 p.m.