The Limestone College softball team successfully defended its Conference Carolinas regular season title from last year after sweeping host St. Andrews Presbyterian College, 3-1 & 9-3, Sunday afternoon to claim back-to-back titles.

The Saints (34-19 Overall, 15-3 Conf.) secured the No. 1 seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament that will start next week while the Lady Knights (7-38, 3-17) end their season a couple games out of the eighth and final spot.

Playing in their final collegiate games, the St. Andrews senior class was very productive in their last doubleheader as quintet accounted for six of the Knights nine hits on the day. Danyell Marquez hit her 20th career home run in the finale while Nicole Bailey and Morgan Farroll each had one single in both games.

Limestone ripped 21 hits on the day with nine different Saints hitting safely. Sophomore Kelsey Kuykendall had a team-high four hits while senior Kayla Hamalainen provided a trio of RBI on three hits.

GAME ONE: Limestone 3, St. Andrews 1

Limestone scored three runs in the fifth inning to rally from a 1-0 deficit and rode the arm of junior Emily Wallace to a 3-1 victory in the opener. Wallace (9-4) tossed a four-hit complete game in which she did not allow an earned run while striking out three.

Knights’ senior starter Daisy Mendez kept the visitors off the scoreboard for the first four innings before the Saints surged into the lead with four singles in the fifth. Sophomore Jenna Guse and freshman Lauren Myers started the rally with infield singles before a Kelsey Kuykendall single through the left side of the infield plated the first two Limestone runs. Hamalainen followed with an almost identical seeing-eyed single past the diving shortstop that drove in Kuykendall for the final run.

Farroll, who had one of the Knights four hits, scored the only SAPC run in the third. After she reached on a dropped pop-up, Farroll later scored on the Saints second error of the inning.

Limestone had 10 hits but left 11 runners on base as the Saints stranded at least one base runner in each of the last six innings.

Mendez (1-11), who gave up three runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings of work, took the loss. Sophomore Kaitlin Harris ripped the Knights only extra-base hit with a double down the left field line to lead off the sixth.

GAME TWO: Limestone 9, St. Andrews 3

Limestone once again rallied from a one-run deficit against St. Andrews as the Saints scored eight runs in the final four innings to celebrate the sweep with a 9-3 win in the nightcap, also knowing they won the regular season title with the victory.

Hamalainen’s two-run double that hit off the base of the left field fence in the top of the seventh was the Saints only extra-base hit of the finale as Limestone did most of its damage on 10 singles (five of which were infield base hits), five walks, and four hit batsmen.

The visitors took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first without recording a hit (two walks and two batters hit by pitches) but Marquez catapulted the Knights into the lead with a two-run homer to straightaway center in the home half of the first. Marquez’ fifth round-tripper of the season was her second long ball in as many days.

However, SAPC would not score again as Saints’ freshman ace Leah Quant settled down for the complete-game victory. Quant (16-7) scattered five hits and did not allow a walk while striking out 10 Knights batters.

Limestone regained the lead with three runs in the fourth before tacking on two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth, and two more in the seventh to pull away. Seven Saints hit safely as Limestone totaled 11 hits in the second game.

Sophomore Ashley Disque, who won each of her last three starts heading into the game, took the loss in a complete-game effort. Disque (6-20) gave up nine runs (seven earned) while posting one strikeout.