CARROLLTON, Ga. – The West Georgia Wolves softball team split Saturday's doubleheader with West Alabama, winning the series with a win in the first game of the twin bill before falling in the finale.
 
Playing in front of the UWG faithful at University Field, the Wolves won game one on Saturday 9-3, and then had another pitcher's duel in game three, but fell, 2-1.
 
Game One
The Wolves (13-4, 9-3 GSC) sent Morgan Goree to the circle in game one, and gave her an early lead with a first inning run. But the defense made two errors behind the senior righty, allowing the Tigers to tie things up in the next half inning.
 
Sophomore Kristyn Nix, who went 4-for-4 in the game, drove in a second UWG run in the third, and then had a big two-out double in the fourth, pushing the UWG lead to 4-1.
 
West Alabama (11-10, 7-8 GSC) got two runs back in the fifth as the Tigers' leading hitter Peyton Coots slugged a two-run bomb to make it a 4-3, UWG lead.
 
Cassie Henderson then led off the bottom half of the fifth with a solo shot, stretching the lead to 5-3.
 
West Georgia struck for more insurance runs in the sixth, pushing across four runs on five hits. One of those hits was the seventh home run of the season for Lexi Close. Ashley Ellison and Madison Slappey also had RBI singles in the inning.
 
Close came on in relief of Goree, pitching 2.2 innings of no-hit softball to earn her third save of the year. Goree went 4.1 innings to earn the win, allowing two earned run and three total.
 
Offensively, Nix led with the four hits, but Chandler Mevis chipped in with a 3-for-4 game as Nix and Mevis combined for seven of UWG's 12 hits.
 
Game Two
West Georgia's win streak ended at seven as Kacy Noland got the best of the Wolves in her second start of the series. In a rematch of last night's starters, Noland held UWG to just one run on seven hits.
 
Draper wasn't bad herself for a second straight day, pitching five innings and giving up one run on five hits.
 
Madison Slappey drove in UWG's only run of the game in the second as her double to right center pushed across Allie Parkerson.
 
The Tigers struck for two in the sixth inning as a leadoff single, a walk, and a sacrifice bunt put two Tigers in scoring position with just one out. Close came on in relief again and gave up a single to Nicole Buccieri that scored two and proved to be enough behind Noland's pitching performance.
 
Close took the loss despite allowing just one hit in two innings of relief while striking out six.
 
Hannah Scarbrough had two hits at the top of the UWG lineup, while Nix, Mevis, Ellison, Parkerson and Slappey also registered hits.
 
Up Next
The Wolves travel to Columbus, Georgia on Wednesday for a non-conference midweek doubleheader against Columbus State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.