Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Alex Cooper, sports information student assistant
SAVANNAH, Ga. – The No. 8 Georgia College softball team (42-8, 19-5 PBC) came from behind in the second game of the doubleheader to split the twinbill with the Armstrong State University Pirates (29-13, 18-6 PBC) and clinch the No. 2-seed in the upcoming Peach Belt Conference (PBC) tournament.
Game one was a heartbreaking loss for the Bobcats, as Armstrong came from behind in the seventh inning for a walk-off victory.
Georgia College got the scoring started in the second inning when freshman Baylee Hall (Hephzibah) hit the first home run of her young career, a solo shot to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
After the Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the second, the 'Cats answered right back in the third. With two runners on, junior Lacey Najafi (Suwanee) ripped a one-out single to left, plating Abi LeRoy (Dublin) for a 2-1 advantage.
It was deja vu in the fifth inning when Najafi singled home LeRoy once again to put Georgia College out front 3-1.
Unfortunately, the Bobcats could not hold on to the lead, as Armstrong tacked on one run in the sixth to pull within one. After Georgia College went scoreless in the seventh, the Pirates strung together four singles in the bottom half, scoring two runs for the walk-off win.
Sophomore Danielle Bernstein (Cumming) added two hits in the contest, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
Marisa Boyette (Marietta) took the loss in game one, allowing four runs on 10 hits in 6 and 1/3 innings. She struck out six Pirates and did not issue a walk. The junior is now 21-4 on the season with a 1.56 ERA.
The second game of the day was as dramatic as they come, taking 10 innings to decide a winner.
Armstrong took the early lead, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the first.
The Bobcats regained the lead in the third, scoring three runs on three hits with the help of a Pirate error. After Faith Flanders (Dublin) led off with a single, she scored when Bernstein reached on an error. LeRoy then reached on a fielder's choice followed by a Taylor Campbell (Warner Robins) single, scoring Bernstein. The final run of the inning crossed on a Hall bases loaded walk.
The Pirates would scratch one across in the bottom of the third to pull within one, but Georgia College extended its lead in the sixth on a Bernstein two-RBI single.
Just five outs from a Bobcat victory, Armstrong rallied and scored three runs in the sixth to tie the game at five. Both teams went scoreless in the seventh, sending the game to extras.
The eighth and ninth innings went just like the seventh, leaving the game tied 5-5 heading into the 10th. Bernstein led off with a single, followed by a LeRoy walk, putting runners on first and second. Campbell stepped to the plate looking for her third hit of the game and she delivered. The junior sent the ball over the center field wall for a three-run home run, her sixth of the season.
Georgia College would tack on two more in the 10th on a Flanders long ball, her third of the year.
Armstrong would attempt a rally in the bottom half of the inning, scoring one run but coming up short as the Bobcats took the game 10-6 and secured the No. 2-seed in the PBC Tournament.
Bernstein, Campbell, Flanders and Kristen Brooks (Brunswick) all notched three-hit efforts in the second contest.
Carly Lewis (Seymour, Tennessee) went all 10 innings in the circle, surrendering five earned runs on 13 hits. The sophomore struck out three and walked seven. She is now 19-4 on the season.
The Bobcats will next take the field at the PBC Tournament April 24-25. Georgia College is hosting the tournament for the first time in school history. The opponent will be determined tomorrow after all conference games are played.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.
