RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Meredith College softball Angels allowed the visiting LaGrange Panthers to steal game one of Sunday's USA South doubleheader and now share the East Division lead with Ferrum College. LaGrange won the first 7-4, and the Avenging Angels capped off the day with a 3-1 victory in game two.

Game 1
Taylor Jackson started the day in the circle for Meredith and remained in the game until early in the sixth. With a 2-1 Angels lead, LaGrange tied the game on a RBI-double and put runners at the corners before Head Coach Kim Scavone released Jackson from the mound.

Rookie Myah Morse subbed in for Jackson and loaded the bases with a walk. The Panthers took the lead on a RBI-walk and scored their fourth run on a single through the left side. The visitors would advance one more runner home before Kelsey Mabe finished off the inning with a play to first.

Meredith responded in the bottom of the inning as Sarah Watson and Katie Kepley led off with a pair of singles. Eran Artigues loaded the bases with help from an infield overthrow, and Julia Allsbrook scored Watson with a sacrifice fly to right center. Rachel Peel followed suit scoring Kepley with a similar at-bat to pull the Angels to within one.

In the top of the seventh, the Panthers scored again on a RBI-walk and drove in their seventh run with a sacrifice fly.

Mabe outran a grounder to short to lead off in the bottom of the stanza, but a trio of pop-ups left her stranded with a loss credited to Meredith.

Game 2
Freshman Julia Cerasi handled the Panthers through the first two frames of game two striking out three-of-six batters. A double from Brittany Bucklin and a Peel single showed life from the Angel bats, but the game remained scoreless through two.

In the third Peel caught LaGrange's runner stealing second for the third out, and Erica Occena led off with a walk for the Angels. Mabe outran another infield single and moved to second with Bucklin at the plate. Bucklin scored both with a hard hit single up the middle to give the Avenging Angels a 2-0 advantage.

Allsbrook doubled in the fourth inning but was left stranded at the bag. Cerasi retired the Panthers once more after just three batters and led off with another walk in the bottom of the inning. Mabe singled again to the shortstop, and Maria Annunziata drove in Occena on a sacrifice.

The Panthers scored an unearned run in the seventh, but Cerasi closed out the game striking out two of the final three batters for her fifth career win.

Cerasi struck out eight Panthers with one walk, four hits, and no earned runs. Chelsea Twardowski earned both the win and the loss for the Panthers.

Bucklin led the Angels with three runs batted in, and Watson, Bucklin, and Mabe finish with three hits on the day.

Meredith is slated to host St. Andrews Tuesday afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.