CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Behind a second consecutive doubleheader sweep, the Queens University of Charlotte softball team notched its third and fourth consecutive wins on Thursday, edging UNC Pembroke in nine innings in game one, 2-1, before toppling the Braves in game two, 8-0. Led by veteran presence in the circle, and a standout freshman at the plate, the Royals improve to 5-1 through their first six games of the 2019 campaign, while pushing the Braves to a 6-6 overall record. 
 
Game One: Queens 2, UNC Pembroke 1 (9 inn.)
 
Locked in a pitchers' duel well into extra innings, Queens pitcher Shannon McGuire (2-0) was able to outlast UNCP twirler Malerie Leviner (3-3) and anchor the Royals to a dramatic win over the Braves in game one of Thursday's doubleheader. 
 
Both McGuire and Leviner pitched complete-game, nine-inning performances, shutting down the respective opposing offense for much of the day. Both pitchers struck out 10 batters, while allowing one earned run apiece, as the two combined to give up only seven hits out of a total of 54 at-bats. 
 
But in the end, it was the Queens' bats that came through in crunch time, as freshman McKenzie McCullen singled to the right side to score teammate Kelly Winter from third base as the game's winning run. 
 
Queens and UNC Pembroke went scoreless for four innings before both getting on the scoreboard for the first time in the fifth. UNCP's Alyssa Price smacked McGuire's only mistake of the day over the wall in left field, but Gerlea Patton immediately answered for the Royals in the bottom half of the inning, as the leadoff hitter tripled to right center to score Chloe Linton. The score then remained knotted at one-all until the ninth inning. 
 
The 10 strikeouts recorded by McGuire is the second-most in her career at Queens. The sophomore struck out a career-high 12 batters in seven innings on Feb. 27, 2018 in a win at North Greenville. 
 
Game Two: Queens 8, UNC Pembroke 0 (6 inn.)
 
Taking a scoreless draw into the fourth inning, Queens combined for eight runs over the final three frames en route to its second shutout of the season behind the arm of team captain, Courtney Pearson (3-1).  
 
While Pearson took care of business in the circle, striking out a season-high 12 batters, her third-highest tally in her collegiate career, McCullen led the charge at the plate with two long home runs, her third and fourth of the season in only six games. 
 
After opening the scoring with a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the fourth, McCullen followed it up by icing the game in the sixth, cranking a towering three-run shot over the center-field fence to increase the lead to eight and put the mercy rule into effect. 
 
For McCullen, it was her fourth hit in as many at-bats in game two. For the season, she has recorded a total of 10 hits in 17 at-bats, homering four times, doubling twice and batting in a team-high 12 runs. Slugging a staggering 1.412-percent, she currently sits atop the South Atlantic Conference in batting average (.588), while ranking second in home runs and fourth in RBIs. 
 
The long ball was a theme for the Royals in game two, as seven of the eight runs scored game via home runs. Gerlea Patton hit a solo shot that bounced off the top of and over the center-field fence, while Jordan Hunt blasted her second of the season with a two-run shot of her own down the right-field line. 
 
Led by McCullen's four and Patton's three, the Royals mustered 12 total hits in the six innings of game two, as the top four hitters in the lineup – Patton, Winter, Hunt and McCullen – combined for nine. Sara Ingoldsby, Alyssa Strickler and Grace Wesoly each also notched base hits.