DURHAM, N.C. - The Lafayette Softball team squared off against a pair of quality opponents on the second day of action at the invitational tournament held at the Duke Softball Stadium and came within an out of knocking off one of them.

The host Blue Devils used a big seven-run second inning to pick up their 20th win of the season. Duke, who is receiving votes in the latest NCAA national rankings, collected nine hits and took advantage of three Leopards errors in a 10-0 victory late Saturday afternoon. A pair of freshman middle infielders, Julia Romano and Morgan Olynyk, had the lone hits for Lafayette.

Undeterred, the Leopards squared off against Gardner-Webb, winners of 16 straight contests, in the nightcap and were in control for the first six innings. Sophomore Natasha Miner kick-started the Lafayette offense with a double to lead off the game and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Olynyk. 

The big blow against the Running Bulldogs came in the third when sophomore Erin Scott connected on her first home run of the season - a three-run shot - to give the Leopards a 4-0 advantage and chase opposing pitcher Laken Myers. 

Lafayette starter Kinzi Van Wyk was cruising, allowing no runs or hits into the sixth inning. Gardner-Webb managed its first hit of the contest with one out in the sixth and  plated its first run to shave the deficit to three. Down to their last out of the game, Bulldogs' first baseman Brooke Perry answered Scott's blast with a three-run home run of her own to tie the score. Jenna Wacaster followed with a solo shot to give Gardner-Webb a 5-4 lead.

The Leopards fought back to force extra innings when they pushed across the game-tying run without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the seventh inning. Romano walked to lead off the frame, and Paige Grover laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Romano to second. The move paid off when shortstop Kayleigh Nicholson threw wild on Olynyk's ground ball allowing Romano to score and force extra innings.

Gardner-Webb used the long ball again in the top of the eighth inning when leadoff batter Weslyn Almond slugged a two-run shot for a 7-5 lead. This time the Leopards had no answer and went down in order in the bottom of the inning against winning pitcher Andrea Lyon.

Lafayette (1-9) will have a quick turnaround as the Leopards play Fordham in a Sunday morning doubleheader with game times scheduled for 9 and 11:30 a.m.