CARROLLTON, Ga.,
– After coming up short during an 18-inning
road loss to West Georgia, the University of
North Alabama softball team rebounded to
post a 1-0 win in game two and earn a split
on the final day of the regular season
Sunday.
The first game
lasted nearly four hours and set UNA and GSC
records for most innings played in a single
contest. The game settled into a pitching
duel between the Lions’ Megan Niesel and the
Wolves’ Kacie Crider, with neither team
scoring in the first 10 innings of play. UNA
was able to take the lead four times in the
top of the 11th, 13th, 15th and 17th
innings, but could never hold the advantage
in the bottom of the inning.
After UNA would
take the lead, the Wolves rallied each time
to tie the game at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3. In the
top of the 17th, the Lions pushed two runs
across the plate by scoring on an error and
getting an RBI-double by Lindsey Greene.
West Georgia, however, responded again with
a pair of RBI-singles to tie the game at
5-5.
When the Lions
failed to score in the top of the 18th, the
home team took advantage, getting a
game-winning RBI-double by Adrian Clay.
Niesel, who set
a school record for most innings pitched in
a game, took the loss. She allowed only one
earned run in 17 innings of work, getting
nine strikeouts to fall to 13-8 on the year.
Crider (10-15) pitched 18 innings for UWG,
striking out 12 along the way.
At the plate,
UNA managed 10 hits, but could not string
together many at one time. Sarah Whitlow and
Jennifer had eight at-bats each, but
combined to produce just three hits. Whitlow
was 2-for-8, while Maggie Eades was 2-for-6.
Lindsey Bates also went 3-for-7 for the
game.
In the second
game, a lone run in the top of the first
inning would be all the offense the Lions
would need as UNA’s Sabrina Roberts pitched
a four-hit shutout. Lindsey Greene drew a
lead-off walk and later scored on a throwing
error by the catcher, representing the
game’s only run.
Roberts
scattered four hits and struck out six in
seven innings to improve to 10-5 on the
season. Bates and Krystal Elliott were the
only UNA players to record a hit in the
second game with Bates going 2-for-3 at the
plate.
The Lions
conclude the regular season with a 26-19
overall record and a 14-10 league mark. UNA
will open play Friday at the Gulf South
Conference tournament against the West
Division’s top-seeded Arkansas Tech in
Southaven, Miss. First pitched is slated for
9:30 a.m. at the Greenbrook Softball
Complex.
Printable Game
Statistics - West Georgia - Game 44
Printable Game
Statistics - West Georgia - Game 45
