GAINESVILLE, Ga. - CIU softball looked to get back on track in a road weekend series against Brenau University (Ga.) on Saturday. The Rams (15-23-1, 6-11 AAC) hoped for a late-season push to help secure a spot in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament. Meanwhile, Brenau (20-8, 10-3 AAC) continued to fight for one of the top spots in the conference. CIU was unable to take a game on the road and fell to the Golden Tigers in both outings.  
HOW IT HAPPENED: 
GAME ONE: CIU 2 BU 5: The Rams found themselves down early, as Brenau got off to a hot start with four runs in the first inning. CIU would answer with a run in the second and then a run in the fourth inning to cut the Golden Tiger's lead to two (4-2). However, after Brenau added another run in the fifth, CIU could not manufacture any scores of their own to close the gap.
BOX SCORE NOTES:
	- With her two hits, Kaitlynn Creel brought in both of the Rams' runs in game one. Creel now leads the team in hits with 35 on the season. 
- Mary Esterak pitched for five innings, allowing six hits and five earned runs. 
- Brenau outhit CIU 7-6. 
GAME TWO: CIU 5 BU 6: CIU got off to the early advantage in game two, scoring three runs in the first inning on a two-run homer from Haylee Wilkerson and an error by Brenau. The Golden Tigers answered with a two-run inning in the bottom of the third to cut their deficit to one run (3-2). The Rams added two more in their following at-bat on a two-RBI single by Macey Drye; however, Brenau added a run in the bottom of the fourth and three runs in the fifth to take a 6-5 lead. The Rams could not get anyone else across the plate in their last three at-bats and fell 6-5 in game two. 
BOX SCORE NOTES:
	- Macey Drye and Lauren Baker were 2-of-3 in game two with two singles. 
- CIU recorded five hits while Brenau totaled 11. 
What Coach Sara Allen is saying:
"We're fighting really hard and playing really good softball, we just keep coming out on the wrong end of 1-run games. We just need to keep working to tighten up the little details and playing good team ball, and things will start falling our way."
Up Next: 
CIU will regroup before hitting the road again for a series on Friday, April 8, against Milligan University (Tenn.), starting at 4 p.m.