PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- They say a win is a win, but a loss is definitely not a loss as the University of Pikeville softball team lost in dramatic fashion again with two more walk-off home runs hit by fourth-ranked Campbellsville on Friday. UPIKE lost 4-3 in the opener before watching another home run end it at 8-7 in the nightcap.

Added on to the two games ended with home runs on Thursday, Campbellsville officials say this is the first time in program history for four straight games to come to an end on round trippers.

While the late-game heroics will be the story, it was also a confidence boosting two days for the Bears (14-11, 0-4 MSC) even in defeat as they pushed the nation's fourth-ranked team to the brink over and over.

Trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh in game one, UPIKE knotted things up with Jordan Gentry's two-out single to right field, scoring Emme Barker from second. The comeback didn't even last past one batter in the bottom of the frame though as Ryleigh Oldham, CU's No. 9 hitter, took a pitch deep to center on a 1-0 count.

Game two had more scoring as the lead changed hands six times before Campbellsville's (22-3, 4-0 MSC) Alexis Smith took over hero duties for Oldham in the bottom of the seventh. The Bears had taken a 7-6 lead in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Chandler Kelly with two out and they kept that advantage for the next inning and again for two outs in the seventh.

But with two outs on the board after a sac bunt and fly out and a runner on second, Smith put the perfect swing on a good pitch to send the ball over the fence in right field, giving Campbellsville a 4-0 sweep in the series.

UPIKE outhit the Tigers 7-5 in game one, including two hits from Gentry and Haley Osborne. It also got a strong pitching performance from Hannah Skaggs who took the loss despite allowing just three earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts.

The Bears did even better at the plate in game two, posting a 14-5 lead in hits, including Gentry going 4-for-5 with an RBI and Lee Collier adding two hits with a double. Osborne, Megan Claypoole and Kelsey White tallied two hits each as well, but UPIKE ended up stranding 14 runners on base, which was the difference in the game.

Claypoole started game two in the circle and scattered four hits for six runs with a strikeout and five walks in six innings. Skaggs returned in the seventh to grab the save, but issued a leadoff walk before getting the sac out and fly out. Everyone knew Smith was a threat to end it though, as the first baseman now has five home runs on the season.

The Bears scored first in both games, leading 1-0 in the second inning of the opener and again 1-0 in the first inning of the nightcap. White's RBI single in the fourth of game two gave UPIKE its largest lead of the series at 6-3, but the Tigers scored three runs in the bottom to tie things back up.

UP NEXT

UPIKE heads to West Virginia Tech for a pair of non-conference games in Beckley, W. Va.,  on Tuesday.   

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