GREENWOOD, S.C. – West Georgia softball erased two three-plus run deficits in the nightcap on Saturday, but in the end, the Wolves fell 9-8 to Lander in a walk off loss in game two of the Brianna Surrento Kickoff Classic.
 
West Georgia (2-3) outhit Lander 13-4 and stranded nine base runners in the game. The UWG pitching staff held Lander (7-1) to just four hits, but walked 10 batters which turned out to be the demise of the Wolves.
 
The homestanding Bearcats struck first in the game, pushing across two runs. The first came on a sacrifice fly and the second, an unearned run, later scored on a wild pitch.
 
But in the second, Alley Taylor would single and then come around to score on an RBI double from Rylee Green.
 
Taylor would get the start in the circle for the Wolves and after sitting down the Bearcats in order in the second, she surrendered a two-out hit in the third that drove in two runs. After a leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the fourth, Taylor made way for Kaley Dowdy.
 
West Georgia would tie things up in the fifth, getting it started with a Chandler Mevis single. Maddie Gorsuch ten hit a two-run homerun to centerfield, followed by a monstrous blast from Taylor to make it 4-4.
 
Lander would bounce right back in their half of the fifth, pushing across four runs without a hit. The Bearcats got the bases loaded on three straight walks, and then a hit by pitch pushed the first across. Al Thomas then brought in Macy Ann McKnight, who just missed the zone on back-to-back hitters to add two more. The fourth run of the fifth would come across on a groundout.
 
Singles by Hannah Scarbrough, Isabella Pinto, and Mevis would set the Wolves up with the bases loaded in the top half of the sixth. Alley Taylor would draw a two-out walk to score one, and then the freshman Ava Ramirez would deliver a bases-clearing double to tie the game at 8-8.
 
Lander would take advantage of a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth, walking it off for the win.
 
Mevis, Taylor, Ramirez, and Rylee Green all had multi-hit games for the Wolves. McKnight took the loss, pitching 2.0 innings and allowing one run on one hit and four walks.
 
The Wolves return tomorrow for the final day of the Brianna Surrento Kickoff Classic. UWG takes on Frostburg State at 9 a.m. and then wraps up the weekend with Lander again at 2 p.m.
 
Notable Numbers
- Freshman Ava Ramirez registered her first collegiate hit in the fourth inning.
- Chandler Mevis recorded her 13^th multi-hit game going 3-for-4 in the loss.
- The fifth-inning homer from Gorsuch was the second of her career.
- Alley Taylor's game-tying home run was the 18^th long ball of her career. Six of her 18 home runs have been either game-tying or go-ahead home runs.