SALISBURY, N.C. - The Blue Bears returned home for the first time in nearly a month as they welcomed Benedict College into Salisbury. After dropping a tough first game 6-2, Livingstone fought hard to come back in extra innings in game two to pick up a 6-5 victory. 

Game One
After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first, Natayah Abdul-Hakim used some sneaky baserunning to score on a wild pitch and cut the deficit to two in the bottom of the inning. Benedict tacked on three more runs and held the Blue Bears scoreless for the next four innings, before Sinai Cisneros knocked one up the middle to score Rylee Watson and give Livingstone its second run of the game. Both teams would stall out from there, with the Tigers holding on for the 6-2 victory. 

Game Two
Khala Porter got the scoring started early for Livingstone, finding space through the right side to bring home Cianna Bullock and put the team ahead, 1-0. After Benedict re-claimed a 3-1 lead in the second, Abdul-Hakim snuck a single through the middle to score Tykera Lundy and cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the inning. After falling behind, Raquel Talley came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh with the game on the line and came through in a big way, smashing a double that reached the right-center field wall that scored Bullock once again and eventually forced extra innings. 

Benedict scored a run in the top of the eighth and put Livingstone on the ropes once again, but the Blue Bears remained resilient and fought back. Abdul-Hakim grabbed her second hit and RBI of the game, courtesy of a nearly-missed home run to left field, turning into an RBI double that scored Cameron Jordan-Ruffin and knotted the game at five. One batter later, Rylee Watson called game as she found space up the middle to bring home Abdul-Hakim and give Livingstone the victory. 

Next Up
The Blue Bears return home this Friday, April 12 as they play host to Fayetteville State for a CIAA doubleheader at 2/4 P.M.