CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (CentreColonels.com) - The Centre softball team opened the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Tournament on Friday at Frost Stadium, dropping a 3-2 decision to third-seeded Rhodes on a walk-off single this morning, before bouncing back with a 9-0 victory over Sewanee in an elimination game later this afternoon. 

The Colonels (23-18) return to action with another elimination game on Saturday morning, facing No. 4 Birmingham Southern at 10am ET. 

Game One: Rhodes 3, Centre 2

Centre jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when senior first baseman Jessika Young (Leitchfield, Ky.) plated junior designated player Lauren Richard (Danville, Ky.) with a double to left field before Young later scored on a Lynx fielding error. 

Rhodes cut the Colonels' lead in half at 2-1 in the home half of the third frame with an RBI groundout. 

Centre held that 2-1 advantage into the final inning, when the Lynx opened the seventh with back-to-back singles by Caroline Sutton and Jill Healy. A sacrifice bunt by Bri Maniscalco moved both runners into scoring position, before SAA Player of the Year Christine Hume connected on a two-run single to give the Lynx the 3-2 triumph. 

Young went 1-for-3 with the RBI double and a run scored, while sophomore catcher Cassidy Cook (Louisville, Ky.) was 2-for-3 for the Colonels. 

Senior right-hander Elysse Petrie (Danville, Ky.) suffered the loss (7-4) in the circle for Centre, tossing a complete game and allowing three runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts. 

Hume finished 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and a run for Rhodes. Maniscalco (12-10) picked up the win for the Lynx, hurling a complete game and allowing two runs on seven hits. 

Game Two (5 innings): Centre 9, Sewanee 0

A Sarah Aubuchon (Lebanon, Tenn.) two-run home run and a Young RBI double in the bottom of the first propeled the Colonels to a 9-0 five-inning win over host Sewanee in an elimination game. 

Centre added two runs in the second stanza when senior right fielder Brittany Sears (Lexington, Ky.) scored on a wild pitch and Cook crossed the plate on a Tigers error. 

The Colonels would tack on four runs in the third with a pair of two-run doubles, the first by freshman center fielder Abigail Harper (Louisville, Ky.) and the second by Richards. 

Aubuchon was 2-for-2 with the home run, two RBI, and two runs scored while Young went 2-for-2 with a double, RBI and two runs scored.

Junior pitcher Erika Brewer (Frenchburg, Ky.) earned the win for Centre, throwing three shutout innings without surrendering a base hit while fanning three batters.