WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW junior Emily Winstead struck out a season-high six Merrimack batters in 5.1 innings of work but the Warriors used two late runs to edge the Seahawks 4-2 in non-conference softball action late Saturday night at Boseman Field.

Merrimack (2-5) picked up the win over UNCW (6-5) behind a complete game effort by graduate pitcher Madie Fornwalt.

Fornwalt (2-2) limited the Seahawks to two hits while the Warriors' offense contributed 12 hits and four runs with two unearned.

Merrimack reclaimed the lead with a pair of seventh-inning runs on Seahawk reliever Carrigan Ewers (1-2) after UNCW's Mary Sobataka knotted the game 2-all on a two-run sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth.

The first run of the seventh came on a Seahawk miscue that was followed by an RBI single by Warriors first baseman Sydney Samuel to give the visitors a 4-2 lead.

Merrimack took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after a Courtney Landpher double was followed by a Seahawk throwing error. The Warriors added an insurance run in the sixth when Sofia Palyan singled home Gabby Kaduson through the left side.

UNCW senior Tayler Vitola climbed the Seahawks' all-time stolen base leaderboard in the bottom of the first with her 56th career swipe and the fourth of 2024 moved her into a tie for fourth in program history.

The Seahawks play two straight games on Sunday vs. Providence and UMBC beginning at 3 p.m.