CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – At the site where the No. 1 University of North Georgia softball team hoisted the program's second National Championship trophy last spring, the Nighthawks took a trip down memory lane in a Wednesday doubleheader against Lee. At Jim Frost Stadium at Warner Park, UNG split the midweek, non-conference doubleheader with the Flames, losing the first game 9-3 and winning the second 11-2.
After the day, the Nighthawks's record moved to 33-5 overall with a 14-1 mark in conference play. Now the team will continue its stint away from home with a double header at Shorter next Tuesday. Game one from Rome, Ga. is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Game one: Flames def. Nighthawks, 9-3
Early run scoring from Lee was the kryptonite for the second start in a row for Nighthawk senior pitcher Kristen Davis.
Lee got on the board early with four runs in the opening frame, all of which came from the long ball.
Freshman catcher Hailey Simco got things started with a solo home run. After a single and a walk put two runners on with just one out, Flames senior infielder Laney Harris connected on a three-run blast that made it 4-0.
Simco double dipped the next inning with her second home run of the day, a two-run shot that made it 6-0 in favor of Lee.
UNG would get its first run of the game thanks to a Sophie Mooney single that brought home senior outfielder Mariah Wicker with two outs.
Mooney, a senior infielder from Lawrenceville, Ga. now has 28 RBIs on the year which ranks second on the team while she leads the team in batting average at .452.
However, with senior pitcher Delaney Heaberlin in the game, the Flames answered with a pair of runs again in the bottom of the third.
After getting a lone run in the fourth, sophomore infielder Katie Ward launched her sixth home run of the year, making it 9-3.
Despite missing some time early in the season and only playing 30 games thus far, Ward is now tied for the team lead in home runs this season. Even more impressive is the fact that Ward's first career home run came just twenty days ago. Since then she's had five home runs in 44 at bats, averaging a round trip roughly once every 9 at bats.
Despite Ward's efforts, Lee held on for the six run victory in the end.
Game two: Nighthawks def. Flames, 11-2 (6 Inn.)
With senior pitcher Tybee Denton on the mound, the powerful game one offense from the Flames came to a screeching halt.
After winning her third Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week award last week, Denton was proof positive of the accolade again on Wednesday.
She finished her sixth consecutive complete game and 12th of the year in six innings by allowing just two runs on four hits. She conceded two walks but struck out seven hitters for the 12th time this season.
On offense, by no surprise, Ward got the game started for UNG in the third inning with an RBI single.
The Nighthawks stacked two more runs on top of that in the frame with sacrifice fly outs from senior outfielder Mallory Parker and junior infielder Grayson Perry to make it 3-0 in the third.
The only two runs Denton allowed in the game came in the bottom of the inning with a two-run double by junior outfielder Kyra Vieux. It was Denton's only extra base hit allowed on the day.
UNG extended its lead by three runs the following inning, headlined by a two-run double from Perry, marking her second and third RBIs of the game to make it 6-2.
Perry's day got even better in the sixth when she launched her third home run of the season. The three-run deep shot to make it 9-2 was her second in the last three games and gave her a career-high six RBIs on the day.
With two more runs after Perry's bomb and three outs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to pair of strikeouts from Denton, the Nighthawks secured the 11-2 win.
