DAHLONEGA – The No. 10 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team remained undefeated in Peach Belt Conference play with a pair of wins to open its first home conference series of the season on Saturday against Lander at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
In game one UNG (18-4, 5-0 Peach Belt) rolled to a 10-2, mercy-rule victory after scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to close out the game.
In the second game, the Nighthawks outlasted the Bearcats (12-9, 3-2 Peach Belt) 10-5 to complete the doubleheader sweep.
UNG looks to keep its 11-game win streak intact as the series concludes Sunday, March 9 with a standalone game from The Hill at 12 p.m.
Game 1: Nighthawks def. Bearcats, 10-2 (6 Inn.)
UNG got out to an early lead Saturday against Lander after both teams failed to score in the first inning.
Redshirt sophomore right fielder
Tagen Levao-Maisonet started the offense with an RBI single in the second to put the Nighthawks on the board first.
In the third inning it was junior outfielder
Natalie Ray who added to the lead with a two-run single up the middle that brought in freshman second baseman
Jenna Miles and junior center fielder
Sydnee Reaves.
The Bearcats tallied their only two runs of the game in the fourth inning as UNG starting pitcher
Angelina Badalament was great in the circle once again. The senior pitcher threw a complete game over six innings, allowing just three hits and two runs while striking out five Lander hitters.
Badalament moved to 9-2 on the season as the two-way player also recorded a hit, a run and two walks offensively on the day. Her nine victories this season lead all PBC pitchers.
After Lander finally got on the board in the fourth inning, senior shortstop
Rylie Moody responded in the fifth with an RBI single to make it 4-2 Nighthawks as Ray came in to score.
The dam broke in the sixth inning for UNG as the team scored all six runs in the inning with two outs to close out the game.
A groundout from Reaves brought in the first run of the inning as the second out was recorded. From there the Nighthawks capitalized on a fielding error as Miles reached base and Levao-Maisonet scored to increase the lead to four runs.
Ray worked a walk to put two runners on base for freshman catcher
Carleigh Knowles who singled through the left side of the infield to plate one more runner. Knowles' 27 RBI this season lead the PBC thus far.
With Ray at third base, Knowles stole second before junior left fielder
Kaitlyn Johnson reached on yet another error and advanced to second base. Ray scored on the play to make it 8-2.
A wild pitch then brought Knowles in to make it 9-2 as Johnson moved one base closer to ending the game as she stood at third.
On another wild pitch in the same at bat, Johnson raced home to end the game with a 10-2 UNG victory.
Game 2: Nighthawks def. Bearcats, 10-5
The Nighthawks nearly had another mercy-rule victory in the second game of the double feature after taking a 9-2 lead through four innings.
It all started with a pair of runs in the first inning as Knowles did more damage at the plate. Her infield single allowed Reaves to score to catalyze the offense. Knowles then helped UNG execute a double steal perfectly as she took second base which allowed Miles to score from third to make it 2-0.
Lander answered with a lone run in the second inning but that was just before Reaves belted her sixth home run of the season over the right field wall. The second-inning blast brought in a pair of runs to increase the lead to 4-1.
Starting pitcher and two-way junior
Chloe Poss helped the scoring effort in the next inning as she reached base and advanced to second on an error. Poss was credited with two RBI on the play as both Moody and Johnson scored to make it a five-run ballgame.
Poss was stellar in the circle as well as she totaled 5.2 innings of work with five scattered hits and two earned runs. She struck out seven Bearcat batters to mark her sixth outing with five or more strikeouts this season. Four of those six performances have come in the last five appearances for Poss.
The offense continued to build on momentum in the third inning as Reaves' domination continued as well. She roped a double to center field that plated another two runs to make it 8-1.
Reaves' 2-for-3 performance was highlighted by her two extra base knocks in game two. The homer and double brought in a total of four RBI and set the table for Reaves to cross home plate three times herself.
UNG's lead-off hitter has been sensational this season as she ranks fifth in the conference with an .806 slugging percentage on the year. Reaves also ranks in the top 10 in on-base percentage (.488) and on-base plus slugging (OPS) at 1.294. She also leads the league in runs scored (31) and sits in the top 10 in RBI (23), triples (3), home runs (6) and stolen bases (15).
After Reaves made it a seven-run game in the third, Miles salted the wound with an RBI single to right center to make it 9-1.
A walk sandwiched by two doubles in the fourth allowed the Bearcats to stay within striking distance as they put up a pair of runs in the inning.
UNG's defense stumbled with a pair of two-out errors in the sixth that kept Lander in the game with two more runs.
Knowles put up one more insurance run in the bottom of the inning with an RBI groundout, tallying her third RBI of the doubleheader.
Freshman relief pitcher
Graci West held the Bearcats in check with a scoreless seventh inning to seal UNG's 11th consecutive win.
