DAYTON, Tenn. - The Lady Lions Softball team split a home doubleheader with Johnson University on Monday afternoon in Dayton, Tennessee, dropping the opener 2-5 before rallying to win the nightcap 6-5, pushing their overall record to 23-21 on the season.

Game 1: Bryan 2, Johnson 5
In the first game, Bryan got off to a promising start when Ava Saul singled in two runs in the third inning to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. But Johnson answered in a big way in the fourth, putting together a three-run inning capped by a Megan Armstrong RBI single and a two-run groundout by Reese Burns to take a 3-2 lead. The Royals added two more in the fifth on another Armstrong RBI single and a Burns RBI hit, and that was enough. Johnson starter Madisun Pritchard worked three solid innings before handing it to Alyssa Nicely, who shut Bryan down over the final four frames, allowing just one hit.

Bryan's Maddie Lee took the loss, giving up five earned runs on nine hits while hitting three batters in five innings of work. Johnson won 5-2.

Game 2: Bryan 6, Johnson 5
The second game was a different animal entirely. Bryan fell behind early when Johnson erupted for three runs in the fourth inning, with Autumn Caywood delivering the big blow — a two-run triple that made it 3-1 Johnson. The Lions tacked on two more in the fifth to push their lead to 5-2, and it looked like Bryan might be headed for a sweep.

But the Lions refused to go quietly. Ava Saul led off the sixth inning with a solo home run to make it 5-3, and Bryan suddenly had life. Kaycee Baldwin followed with an RBI single to cut it to 5-4, and then Maddie Lee came through with a clutch two-run double that tied the game at five. With two outs and Lee standing on third, Savanna Schaffer grounded out to shortstop — but Lee scored on the play to give Bryan the lead for good at 6-5.

Bryan starter KP Smith had given way to Saul in the circle after allowing five earned runs across 4.2 innings, but Saul came in from third base and shut the door completely, retiring all nine batters she faced over the final 2.1 innings to preserve the victory. Saul was the story of the second game both ways — her home run started the comeback and her pitching finished it.

Across both games, Saul was exceptional at the plate, going a combined 6-for-7 with a homer and four RBI. Despite the split, Bryan sits at 23-21 overall and 13-9 in conference play heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

The Lady Lions will host the Bears of Truett McConnell on Friday in a doubleheader.