Box Score by Alex Cooper, sports information student assistant
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The No. 2-seed Georgia College softball team (43-8), powered by the bat of sophomore Faith Flanders (Dublin), advanced to the Peach Belt Conference Semifinals with a win over Francis Marion University (25-22), 9-5.
Flanders stole the show, going 2-for-4 with five RBIs, including a two-run home run in the second inning, her fourth of the season. She followed that up in the third with a bases-clearing double, giving the Bobcats a lead they would never relinquish.
Sophomore Danielle Bernstein (Cumming) notched three hits in the winning effort, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Junior Taylor Campbell (Warner Robins) was the only other Bobcat to record a multi-hit effort as she went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The other two Bobcat RBIs went to junior Lacey Najafi (Suwanee) and freshman Shawnda Martin (Calhoun). Najafi's RBI came on a bases loaded fielder's choice in the fourth inning while Martin brought home a run on a bases-loaded walk in the sixth.
The Bobcats split the game in the circle, with starter Marisa Boyette (Marietta) going 3 and 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits. The junior struck out four Patriots and walked three.
Carly Lewis (Seymour, Tennessee) finished off the victory, pitching the final 3 and 2/3 innings and picking up the victory, her 20th of the season. The sophomore surrendered two runs on four hits. She sat down two batters via strikeout and walked three.
Georgia College advances to the PBC Semifinals and will take on the winner of the Armstrong State University and University of Montevallo game later tonight. Barring inclement weather, the Bobcats will play at 1:30 Saturday, April 25.
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.
