LYNCHBURG, Va. - Trailing 4-0 after four innings, the La Salle softball team rallied for six runs in its final two at-bats to record a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Rhode Island on Saturday at the Liberty Invitational. Despite being against another A-10 opponent, the game will not count as a conference game.

Three Explorers had multi-hit games, including junior Michelle Hagarty, who had two hits and two RBI. Her two-run triple in the sixth gave the Blue and Gold the lead for good.

Senior Kendra Heyer was 3-for-3, continuing her torrid start to the season. She is batting .438 through nine games.

Freshman Emma Schweigert had two hits while junior Suzanne Swanicke had a three-run double for the Explorers (4-8).

Senior Mary Cate Scott (3-1) picked up the win, allowing four earned runs in 6.1 innings. She scattered six hits and struck out two.

"It was a gut check win," head coach Ron Shoemaker said. "Mary Cate went back in and just willed us to a win."

Rhode Island (7-9) scored four runs in the first inning but did not cross the plate the rest of the way.

La Salle began its comeback with three runs in the fifth. Hagarty reached base on an error with one out and after a fly-out, junior Christina Bascara reached on another error. Sophomore Valerie Pineiro singled to shortstop to load the bases for Swanicke's two-out, bases-clearing double to cut the deficit to 4-3.

In the sixth, singles from Schweigart and Heyer opened the frame. After a groundout and sacrifice bunt, Hagarty tripled to right field to give La Salle a 5-4 advantage. Hagarty later scored on an illegal pitch to make it 6-4.

Liberty 9, La Salle 0

The host Flames scored nine runs (eight unearned) in the first two innings to defeat La Salle, 9-0, in the second game of the day. Heyer and Pineiro had La Salle's only two hits.

Sophomore McKenzie Peace suffered the loss. She allowed only one earned run in her 1.2 innings. Val Buehler pitched 2.1 innings of shutout relief.