DAHLONEGA – The No. 9 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team extended its winning streak to 16 straight games with a sweep of Georgia Southwestern (GSW) at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park on Friday. The win streak is now tied for the second-longest active streak in the nation.
UNG (23-4, 8-0 Peach Belt) out-scored the Hurricanes (13-12, 4-4 Peach Belt) 14-3 in total over the two games after a 9-0 (5 Inn.) win in game one and a 5-3 victory in game two.
Now the Nighthawks will end the series with GSW on Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m.
Game 1: Nighthawks def. Hurricanes, 9-0 (5 Inn.)
UNG utilized a four-run first inning on Friday to jump out in front of the Hurricanes and never look back in the opener.
Junior outfielder
Natalie Ray got the scoring started with a two-run blast over the right field wall for her third homer of the season.
Later in the inning, redshirt sophomore outfielder
Tagen Levao-Maisonet lined a single into center field to plate two more runs and make it 4-0.
The Nighthawks completed their run scoring in the fourth inning with a five-run outburst that brought the mercy rule into play the next inning.
Ray notched another RBI, her game-high third of the day, with a center field single to bring in freshman outfielder
Kayla Berry.
Then an error allowed junior center fielder
Sydnee Reaves to score to make it 6-0 UNG. An RBI groundout from junior outfielder
Kaitlyn Johnson brought in one more run. That was before a botched infield fly play allowed freshman catcher
Carleigh Knowles and Ray to score two unearned runs and help seal the win.
Senior two-way player
Angelina Badalament was phenomenal in the circle on Friday. She pitched a five-inning, complete-game shutout by only allowing two hits, zero walks and striking out three batters.
Game 2: Nighthawks def. Hurricanes, 5-3
In a rare occurrence, UNG did not score in the first inning on Friday's second game of the twin billing. Instead the Nighthawks waited until two singles in the second inning set up a run for Johnson who raced home after a wild pitch.
Trailing 1-0, the Hurricanes got their first run of the day in the top of the third inning with an RBI single to tie the game.
The Nighthawks responded with two runs in the fourth as junior first baseman
Marycille Brumby demolished a ball to center field for her third home run of the season and second in the last four games. Brumby's two-run shot put UNG back ahead 3-1.
The lead grew to 4-1 in the fifth as Johnson roped a triple to the gap in right center that plated Knowles.
Johnson then scored later in the inning on an RBI double from senior shortstop
Rylie Moody to make it 5-1.
The Hurricanes added a pair of runs in the sixth thanks to a homer from Kendall Huelsman, but that would be all the run scoring GSW would get on the day.
Junior
Chloe Poss pitched a second-consecutive complete game with only six hits given up as she retired six batters via a strikeout.
