DECATUR
– A pair of shutout wins on the final day of
the Gulf South Conference Crossover put the
University of North Alabama softball team in
good position to make the upcoming GSC
Tournament. The Lions knocked off
Arkansas-Monticello and Arkansas Tech to
improve to 24-16 overall, including a 4-1
mark at the event.
With a 12-7
conference record, UNA sits at fourth place
in the East Division with a sizeable lead
over fifth-place West Georgia (5-12).
Third-place West Florida leads the Lions by
a half game with a 13-7 GSC record. The top
four teams in each division advance to the
conference tournament, held May 1-4 in
Southaven, Miss.
In the first
game, the Lions scored twice each in the top
of the fifth and seventh innings while Megan
Niesel recorded her second straight shutout
en route to a 4-0 win. Niesel pitched seven
innings for the Lions with six hits and
three strikeouts to improve to 13-6 on the
season. She also ran her streak of
consecutive scoreless innings pitched to 16.
Offensively,
Kim Lee was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate,
while Jennifer Sharp was 3-for-4 with a pair
of RBI. Sharp had a two-RBI single in the
fifth, then doubled and scored in the
seventh on a hit by Kendall Moore.
In the second
game, Sabrina Roberts also hurled her second
straight shutout to lead the lions to a 2-0
win. The senior struck out three batters and
scattered eight hits to improve to 9-4 on
the year.
Roberts and
Niesel have combined to throw four straight
shutouts for UNA, and yielded only a single
run at the crossover during a 1-0 loss to
Delta State on the opening day of the event.
Printable Game
Statistics - Arkansas Monticello - Game 39
Printable Game
Statistics - Arkansas Tech - Game 40
