GREENSBORO, NC Adriane Audley's game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave UNC Greensboro  a 3-2 victory over Furman in game one of a Southern Conference softball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at UNCG Softball Stadium. The Lady Paladins gained the split with a 6-2 win in the nightcap.

With the game tied 2-2 heading to the last half of the seventh, Stephanie Talarek and Kara Clouser had back-to-back singles and Heather Branche reached safely on a fielder's choice to load the bases after Furman's first baseman attempted to force out Talarek at third, but the throw was late. Audley then went after the first pitch she saw and laced a base hit through the right side of the infield to give UNCG (14-19, 1-4 SoCon) its first conference win of the season.

Furman (20-22, 3-5 SoCon) took a brief 1-0 lead on a Megan Jaudon RBI single in the top half of the first inning, before the Spartans answered right back with two runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 2-1 lead. Audley scored the first run on an RBI single by junior Jennifer Bonilla. Two batters later, senior Kelly Allen brought home freshman Lyndsay Mouse with a single up the middle to give the Spartans the lead.

Furman evened the score at 2-2 when Stephanie Cushing doubled to centerfield to plate Joni Lockridge in the third.

Junior Vanessa Oakes (7-6) won her second game this week by allowing only two runs on six hits and tied her season high with nine strikeouts. Audley and Bonilla each had two hits, including a double, to lead a nine-hit attack for UNCG.

Vanessa Williams (10-9) received the loss after allowing three runs on nine hits. Jessica Mathis went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

In the nightcap, Furman pushed across a run in the first and two more in the fourth inning to lead 3-0.

With one swing of the bat, Talarek got the Spartans back into the game with a two-run home run to left field to make it a 3-2 affair.

But just as quickly as UNCG edged back into the game, Furman scored three times on four hits in the sixth to take a 6-2 lead. Blake Murray had an RBI single and Jodi Lockridge added a two-run double that hit off the wall in centerfield to account for the Lady Paladins scoring.

Mathis (4-4) made the lead standup by allowing only a walk to Bonilla in the final two innings as she allowed two runs on five hits over the distance to garner the game two victory. Mathis helped her cause with a double and triple at the plate, while Lockridge drove in three runs. Abby Robertson went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.

Hannah Angel (5-9) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits over 7.0 innings for the Spartans. Talarek's homer was the first of her collegiate career.

The Spartans and Paladins finish their weekend series on Sunday with a single game on Sunday at 1pm.

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