MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. | The University of South-Beaufort used a seventh-inning rally to narrowly push past Georgia College & State University 2-1 in a Peach Belt Conference softball contest to open a three-game set Friday (Mar. 20) evening at the Bobcat Softball Field.
The Bobcats fell to 8-13 and 2-5 in PBC play, and the Sand Sharks improved to 18-11 and 2-5. GCSU looks to level or even take the series with a doubleheader to conclude the three-game set against USCB Saturday (Mar 21) with the opener at 1 p.m. and the finale at 3 p.m.
The Sand Sharks opened the contest, while Emma Brinkman struck out Sydney Garrett in the top of the second. Katelyn Boyette raced home on the wild pitch to open the scoring for USCB.
It would not be until the bottom of the sixth that the next run game around, stemming from an inning-opening single from Kimber Kent, a sacrifice bunt from Emily Hobbs to more Kent to second and an RBI single from Sydney Lancaster to knot things at one.
Garrett collected the first pair of outs to begin the seventh, but a pair of singles from Saria Simmons and Taelor Chang put runners on the corners. Boyette reached on a hit by pitch, and a walk to four-pitch walk to Chloe Turner forced home the go-ahead run, which was all USCB needed.
Garrett (5-7) pitched seven innings, striking out six Sand Sharks, but allowing 14 base runners in the effort. Madison Murphy (9-4) forced the Bobcats to only one run, striking out two in the win.
Kent, Lancaster, Karlie Gutierrez, and Kacie Wiggins were the only GCSU players with a hit. Gutierrez had the only extra-base hit.
About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for four consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won five consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.
