CARROLLTON, Ga. – It was a great day all around for West Georgia softball as the Wolves swept Georgia Southwestern in a Wednesday doubleheader, then followed that up with a bit of positive news regarding the initial NCAA South Region Rankings.
 
West Georgia, now 22-11 overall after the sweep, found themselves as one of eight teams considered in the initial NCAA South Region Rankings that determine who will make the NCAA Tournament at season's end. The teams were not ranked due to limited data, but were listed alphabetically.
 
As for the action on the diamond, West Georgia got spectacular performances in the circle from Kya Draper and Morgan Goree and the offense put up 13 runs combined as the Wolves won 6-1 in game one and 7-0 in game two.
 
Kristyn Nix had a big day at the plate, racking up six hits combined, including a pair of doubles, which gives her 15 on the season and leads the Gulf South Conference.
 
Game One
It looked like it might be a pitcher's duel early as it was still scoreless with just five hits between the two teams at the midway point of the contest.
 
But the West Georgia offense came to life in the fourth, with Nix leading off with a double and later scoring on a Hannah Scarbrough single. Chandler Mevis then doubled home Scarbrough to make it 2-0, and the lead went to 3-0 on an RBI single by Cassie Henderson.
 
The Hurricanes answered with an unearned run on two hits and an error in the fifth, but UWG quickly added on the next half inning.
 
Alley Taylor led off the inning with a solo shot to straight away center, her seventh of the season. The Wolves then added on two more with a walk, two hits, and an error to make it 6-1.
 
Draper then pitched a pair of perfect frames to close out the complete game victory. The sophomore allowed zero walks and struck out nine Hurricanes in the win.
 
Taylor and Mevis each had three hits in the win while Nix chipped in with two.
 
Game Two
Morgan Goree got the start in game two and tossed her seventh complete game of the season while striking out five and giving up six hits.
 
After two scoreless frames, West Georgia got the lead in the third, pushing across a pair of runs. Taylor reached on an error and then stole second, later scoring on an RBI double by Nix. Nix then scored from second on a Jacie Arrington single.
 
West Georgia broke it open by sending nine players to the plate in the fourth, pushing across five runs on six hits and an error. Mevis led it off with a single, and then back-to-back one-out singles from Leslie Brogden and Madison Slappey coupled with a Hurricane throwing error pushed across Mevis.
 
Ellison then ripped a two-RBI single, followed by another single from Nix. Those two then scored on a deep triple by Arrington, pushing the lead to 7-0.
 
Goree cruised through the fifth and sixth, but did run into trouble in the seventh, eventually loading the bases, but pitched out of the jam to preserve the shutout.
 
Nix finished 4-for-4 giving her three such performances this season. The Zebulon native raised her average to .433 which is up to fifth in the GSC.
 
Arrington had three hits in the game two win while Ellison and Brogden each had two hits. Arrington did the most damage with three RBIs on the night while Ellison had two herself.
 
More on the Rankings
UWG was one of six GSC teams to debut in the initial rankings, joining Alabama-Huntsville, Auburn-Montgomery, Valdosta State, and the Wolves' next two opponents, West Florida and Mississippi College. A pair of Sunshine State Conference teams, Rollins and Saint Leo, were also included in the rankings. The complete rankings can be found here.
 
The top six teams in the region will be selected to the NCAA South Regional which is set for May 19-22 at Steel's Diamond in Valdosta, Georgia.
 
Up Next
West Georgia welcomes West Florida to Carrollton this weekend for a pivotal GSC series. The action begins on Friday at 1 p.m. in a doubleheader. The series finale is currently slated for Saturday at 1 p.m.