MANSFIELD – Mansfield came back to beat Lincoln at an impressive 27-0 after falling to Queens-Charlotte and West Virginia State on opening day Friday in Cary, N.C.
 
Four different Mountaineers crossed the plate, but the Royals' 11 hits put Queens (8-2-0) ahead of Mansfield 8-4 in the opening game. Taylor Chidester singled to left field to drive in Casey Pearce, putting Mansfield (1-2-0, 0-0 PSAC) on the board in the third inning. Queens upped their lead by six runs before the Mountaineers started chipping away in the sixth.
 
Senior Koryn Wickwire got on base before classmate Rachael Sterner earned herself a round trip with a long ball past center field. The senior brought in MaKayla Butz to cut the Royals' lead to 6-3. Sophomore Anastasia Hester followed suit to score the second and final homer of the day in the final inning.
 
Sterner led the team with 8 putouts before Queens' Courtney Pearson walked away with her eighth win on the mound. Starting pitcher Arianna Young finished with two strikeouts but took the loss.
 
The second game saw low scoring as West Virginia State (9-5-0) earned just two runs over Mansfield.
 
Brittany Allison singled to send Kaleigh Thompson home to score for the Hornets at the bottom of the second. West Virginia would not see home plate again until Allison's home run in the sixth frame.
 
Freshman Joelle Snyder led off in the second game and got as close as third with her first career triple in the fifth. The rookie outfielder dropped a beauty in right center field falling just short of the fence.
 
Emily Thompson held the advantage with seven strike outs and three walks while Senior Sierra Storm took the loss with two strikeouts and a walk.
 
The Mountaineers completed day one after leaping over Lincoln (0-2-0) scoring an incredible 27 runs on 21 hits. Every batter saw home plate at least once with seniors Chidester and Melanie Taylor each recording four runs.
 
Mansfield scored nine times of six hits in the first inning alone. Wickwire tabbed her first triple of the season on her second at bat of the frame. The catcher lined it to right center, driving in Alli McGovern and Casey Pearce for her two RBIs of the game.
 
Chidester, Leah McGovern, and Taylor each added one to the board in the second inning for the Mounties. The game drew to a close as the Mountaineers dropping a whopping 15 runs in the third and final frame. Taylor, Hester, and Erin Davidson each doubled with Hester bringing in three of her four total RBIs.
 
Chidester led the offense going 4-for-4 with four hits and three RBIs in the final game of the day. In a combined effort, Young and Brooke Roys totaled seven strikeouts with no walks as Young took home her 15^th career win and third shutout. Jemiah Groce took the loss.
 
The game concluded on Lincoln's forfeit in the third inning.
 
The Mountaineers finish their stint in Cary, NC tomorrow with games against Shaw at 2 p.m. and Virginia State at 4:30 p.m.