AIKEN, S.C. – The No. 1 University of North Georgia softball team extended its winning streak to 10 games after a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader sweep over USC Aiken in the first true road games of the season for the Nighthawks Saturday afternoon.
Led by dominant pitching performances in both games, UNG won the opener 5-1 and followed with a 5-0 shutout from senior pitcher Tybee Denton in game two.
Game 1: Nighthawks def. Pacers, 5-1
Senior pitcher Kristen Davis threw a complete game gem in the opening contest against Aiken.
Scattering seven hits and allowing just one unearned run, Davis totaled seven innings pitched and a season-high nine strikeouts on the day. Between the fourth and fifth innings, Davis went on a stretch in which she struck out five of seven hitters.
Davis was supported by a strong offensive performance from her team at the plate in the win.
As the Nighthawks have done numerous times this year, they got the scoring started very early in the first inning.
Junior outfielder Jolie Lester did not wait long to continue her hitting streak, leading the game off with a single.
A wild pitch and throwing error put Lester on third base. Senior catcher Georgia Blair brought Lester home to score after a sacrifice fly to right field.
UNG extended the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third. Blair tallied her second RBI of the day with a single that scored Lester yet again. A few batters later, senior outfielder Mallory Parker notched a single to right, scoring senior outfielder Mariah Wicker to make it a 3-0 game.
The Pacers scored their only run of the day in the fourth inning off an infield single, keeping it interesting at 3-1.
The Nighthawks added a run in the fourth when redshirt freshman infielder Tagen Levao-Maisonet roped a double down the right field line. Yet again, Lester came around to score.
Blair got her third RBI of the day in the seventh inning after doubling out into center field to bring Wicker home and finalize the score at 5-1.
Lester scored three of the five runs for UNG in the first game, doing so after going 3-for-4 at the plate. The Fayetteville, Ga. native is now on a six-game hit streak. Not only is it a streak, but in those six games Lester is hitting a whopping .619 (13-for-21) with three doubles and eight runs scored.
Game 2: Nighthawks def. Pacers, 5-0
After Davis caged the Pacer offense in game one, Denton did more of the same in game two. The pair of pitchers were the only two to step in the circle all day for head coach Mike Davenport.
In game two, Denton held zeros on the scoreboard for all seven innings, allowing only six hits while striking out 10 hitters.
Denton's 10 strikeouts marks the fourth time this season and ninth time in her career in which she's recorded double digit Ks in a game. It's also the second time in her career that she's done so without surrendering a walk in the same game.
On offense, the Nighthawks again scored in the first inning to take an early lead.
Blair continued her big performance from game one with a two-run homer to left in game two. She brought home Lester who reached after being hit by a pitch.
In total Blair went 3-for-7 with a double, a home run and five RBIs in the pair of games against the Pacers.
UNG would not add to its lead again until the fifth inning.
In the fifth, Levao-Maisonet tallied her second extra base hit of the day; a triple to plate Lester and senior outfielder Madison Simmons. Levao-Maisonet scored moments later on a wild pitch for the fifth and final run of the game for the Nighthawks.
UNG will put a bow on its first road series of the season tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 3 in a final game against USC Aiken. First pitch from Aiken, S.C. is scheduled for 12 p.m.
