ASHLAND, Va. – Freshman right-hander Kelsey McLaughlin (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman) pitched a two-hit shutout in her collegiate debut as the Randolph-Macon softball team split a doubleheader with No. 17 Christopher Newport at the R-MC Softball Field.

The Yellow Jackets (1-1) won the nightcap 8-0 in six innings after dropping the opener 9-1 in five frames.

McLaughlin (1-0) faced one batter over the minimum. She allowed two singles in the second, did not walk a batter and struck out four. She retired the final 14 batters she faced.

Sophomore Sam Moore (Ashland, Va./Patrick Henry) had a two-run homer in the third following a two-out single by sophomore Christa Simon (Richmond, Va./James River) to snap the scoreless tie and give R-MC a 2-0 advantage.

The Yellow Jackets blew the game open with five in the fifth. Freshman Taylor Balmaz (King George, Va./King George) reached on an error with one away. Junior Jessica Matthews (Onancock, Va./Nandua) pinch-ran, stole second and scored on a base hit by Simon to make it 3-0. Moore was hit by a pitch before a single by junior Sharese Jarvis (Cobbs Creek, Va./Mathews) plated Simon to make it 4-0. Sophomore Madison Gilman (Glen Allen, Va./Patrick Henry) blasted a three-run homer to give R-MC a 7-0 advantage.

Jarvis added an RBI double in the sixth as R-MC run-ruled CNU.

In the opener, Moore singled in the second and came home on a double by sophomore Jenna Best (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) to give the Yellow Jackets their only run in a 9-1 defeat to the Captains (1-3).

Randolph-Macon heads to Virginia Beach this weekend for a tournament, facing Frostburg State and ECSU on Friday as well as Kean and Stevenson on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets return home for a doubleheader on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Franklin & Marshall.