Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College softball team took on South Carolina State in its home opener on a cold, breezy afternoon Wednesday, and dropped both games of the doubleheader 4-1 and 10-2.

The Lady Tigers had trouble pushing across runners, leaving 10 runners on base in the first game. South Carolina State was leading 2-0 when the Lady Bulldogs pushed across two runs in the fifth inning, scoring one run on an infield fly rule followed by an RBI double by Ciana Burt. Benedict got on the board in the seventh inning when BerGearia Major led off with a bunt single, Deandra Trottie was hit by pitch and Cecelia Lykes laid down a bunt single. Major was out, but Trottie advanced to third on the play and then scored on a single by Victoria Bratton.

Benedict stayed with South Carolina State for the first five innings in the second game. The Lady Bulldogs scored a run in the second, but Benedict tied the game in the bottom of the second when Olivia Oxford homered to left-center field. South Carolina State pulled ahead 2-1 in the third inning on an RBI single by Burt, but the Lady Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the third. Major and Trottie reached on errors and Lykes singled to load the bases. Oxford drew a two-out walk to score Major and tie the score at 2-2.

The Lady Bulldogs added another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2.

But the cold weather finally got to the Lady Tigers, as South Carolina State sent 13 batters to the plate in the sixth inning and scored seven runs.

The Lady Tigers dropped to 2-9 on the season. Benedict is back in action on Friday to face Clark Atlanta in an SIAC doubleheader at 3 p.m. at King Park.