MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The UWG softball team split a road doubleheader on Tuesday, winning the opener before falling in game two to the Georgia College Bobcats.
West Georgia (4-5) won game one 8-5 before Georgia College (3-5) run-ruled the Wolves by a 13-5 count in five innings in game two.
Game One
The Wolves opened the doubleheader with an 8-5 win behind a four-RBI performance from
Alley Taylor and a combined effort from
Macy Ann McKnight and
Kaley Dowdy in the circle.
McKnight pitched 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits. Dowdy came in during the fifth inning, closing the game with 2.2 innings of no-hit relief and allowing one unearned run.
Back-to-back singles from
Hannah Scarbrough and
Chandler Mevis set up
Alley Taylor to deliver a two-RBI single in the first inning to put UWG up 2-0. An error, a stolen base, and a double in the bottom half would get the Bobcats on the board and cut the UWG lead in half.
Taylor would score a run in the third for the Wolves as she reached on an error, stole second, and scored on an RBI single from
Ava Ramirez.
It was Taylor again doing damage in the fifth, doubling home another UWG run as
Kristyn Nix scored from first on a one-hopper to the wall. Freshman catcher
Rylee Green also picked up a fifth-inning RBI on a sacrifice fly, scoring Taylor for a 5-1 lead. The Bobcats would put three on the board in the bottom of the fifth, but the lead would never fall, as the Wolves added three more runs in the top of the sixth to put the game out of reach.
The top third of the order finished a combined 6-for-12 with five RBIs, including four from Taylor in the third spot in the order. In total, the Wolves rattled off 10 hits in the game one win.
Game Two
The Wolves started game two the same way as game one, with Scarbrough and Mevis getting on base and later scoring. Scarbrough scored on an RBI groundout by Taylor and Mevis made it 2-0 on an RBI single from freshman
Emma Bailey.
Georgia College took little time responding, as the Bobcats knocked around UWG starter
Emma Worley in the first, scoring four runs on five hits and adding a fifth run in the second, prompting head coach
Al Thomas to bring in McKnight in relief.
A leadoff walk led to a Georgia College run in the second to stretch the lead, but the Wolves got it right back as UWG cashed in on a leadoff triple from Scarbrough with a sac fly from Taylor.
West Georgia would walk four Bobcats in the bottom of the third, sparking a run for GC to push their lead out to 7-3.
In the top of the fourth, the Wolves made it a game again, with Green leading off the inning with a home run to cut the Georgia College advantage to 7-4. An RBl double from Scarbrough continued the parade, scoring
Madison Vandergriff to make it 7-5.
But the Bobcats would respond once again, plating three runs on three hits and two walks to stretch the lead to 10-5 at the end of the fourth. Georgia College pushed three across in the fifth to end the game with a run-rule victory.
Scarbrough was 3-for-3 in game two with a double and a triple, just needing the home run to complete the cycle. No other UWG player had more than one hit as UWG finished with five.
Worley was tagged with the loss, giving up five earned runs in 1.1 innings of work.
Notable Numbers
- Alley Taylor had four RBIs in game one, marking her ninth career game with at least three RBIs and the first since March 27, 2021.
- Taylor also stole three bases in the DH, giving her eight on the year, which is tops in the Gulf South Conference.
- Emma Bailey's single in the top of the seventh of game one was the first hit of her collegiate career. The Acworth native registered her first career RBI in game two.
- McKnight struck out a career-high five batters and earned her fourth career win in game one.
- Scarbrough's 3-for-3 performance in game two was her 12th career game with at least three hits.
- Rylee Green became the first in the freshman class to record her first career home run, slugging a solo shot in game two.
