DAHLONEGA – On a rainy afternoon, the No. 1 University of North Georgia softball team defeated Lee 10-2 at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park, breaking a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning and pulling away with eight runs in the inning to force the run-rule victory and capture their 30th consecutive win.
The Nighthawk bats sparked in the late innings for the second time in three games to earn a run-rule victory.
Tybee Denton (9-0) earned the win in relief, shutting down the Flames in her two and two-thirds innings of work, striking out three batters and allowing just two hits.
After Lee scored the game's opening run,
Georgia Blair launched a two-run shot in the second to take the Nighthawks' first. Lee would answer in the fourth inning to tie it 2-2 before Denton entered the game, holding the Flames scoreless for the rest of the afternoon.
In the bottom of the sixth,
Madi Perry reached base on a bunt single before
Sophie Mooney singled to left to move her to second. A hit by pitch for
Olivia Sinquefield loaded the bases before
Sydney Blair continued the small ball approach for UNG by bunting in a single and beating the throw at first for a hit.
A two-run single up the middle for
Madison Simmons would push the lead to 5-2.
Georgia Blair would walk in the next at-bat as
Gracie Mixson brought another two runs in with a double to left center. Needing three runs to deliver the final blow, the Nighthawks strung together three straight singles to cap off the game.
The 7-8-9 spots in the lineup combined for six RBIs in the game, with Simmons,
Georgia Blair and
Gracie Mixson earning two RBIs each. Those three took advantage of the other Nighthawks' ability to reach base, with Perry and
Sydney Blair earning two hits while Mooney managed three hits in four at-bats.
The Nighthawks were a well-oiled machine with runners on base, finishing with just two runners left on base in the game.
Next Up
North Georgia will head on the road for the third time this season, heading to the Sunshine State to face Flagler (12-17, 7-5 PBC) for a three-game Peach Belt Conference series.
