DAHLONEGA – A battle-hardened University of North Georgia softball team fought through in the four-team double-elimination pod to earn its 50th win of the season and advance to the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
North Georgia 7, GCSU 1
After the Bobcats plated the first run of the game, North Georgia came alive scoring seven unanswered led by a career performance inside the circle by
Aniston Wright (W, 1-0) and five different Nighthawks earning RBIs in the game.
Wright threw all seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits to earn the win. The sophomore from Senoia, Ga., was assisted by the North Georgia lineup led by
Mariah Wicker, who added two hits in the game, scoring twice and driving in one run.
Sophie Mooney matched Wicker's hit total, driving in one run and scoring once.
Jolie Lester and
Madi Perry added to the run production, driving in one run each, while
Olivia Sinquefield finished with a team-high two RBIs in the game.
North Georgia 9, Georgia Southwestern 6
A 4-0 deficit after the top of the first put the Nighthawks at an early deficit, but once again, UNG battled back, scoring two in the bottom half of the first and another two in the second. The Hurricanes would add one in the second and third before North Georgia took the lead, scoring twice in the fourth and three times in the fifth.
Mooney earned the win in the second game after working out of a jam in the first inning and pitching three and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
Kristen Davis closed out the game in three innings of work, shutting down the Hurricane lineup by allowing no hits or runs while striking out three of the nine batters faced.
Madi Perry led a host of Nighthawks with multiple hits, finishing with three hits and two RBIs in four trips to the plate.
Hannah Forehand and
Gracie Mixson matched Perry's RBI total, earning two RBIs each. Forehand added a left-field blast in the fifth inning to take a 7-6 lead.
Sinquefield and Wicker joined the hit parade, tallying two as the Nighthawks finished with 13 hits in the game, allowing just four.
Next Up
The Nighthawks (50-6) will play in the PBC semifinals on Sunday (Apr. 30) at 12:00 p.m., looking to win two games against seventh-seeded USC Aiken to advance to the conference championship series.
