JACKSON, Tenn. – The UWG softball team clinched their first Gulf South Conference series win of the season thanks to a doubleheader sweep of Union on Friday afternoon in Jackson, Tennessee.
 
West Georgia (8-11, 2-6 GSC) handled the Bulldogs 8-1 in the series opener, and nearly shut Union (5-13, 2-6 GSC) out in game two, but the Bulldogs pushed across three runs in the final inning of the nightcap.
 
The Wolves putt all three aspects of the game: hitting, pitching, and fielding together on Friday, and played maybe their best softball of the season.
 
Offensively, the Wolves hit .310 as a team, and got a big lift from sophomore R.J. Janke. The Dalton native stayed hot after a solid performance in midweek action, going 4-for-8 with five RBIs and two home runs on the day against the Bulldogs.
 
As for the defense, UWG made zero errors in the Friday doubleheader. This from a team that averaged over 1.5 errors per game and had the third most errors in the Gulf South Conference.
 
The pitching was also stellar for the Wolves as Macy Ann McKnight and Emma Worley combined to allow just four runs over 14 innings on Friday.
 
Game One
Both starting pitchers, UWG's McKnight and Union's Kira Finkley, had solid starts and breezed through the first three innings.
 
The Wolves gave Finkley some trouble in the fourth, loading the bases with no outs after three consecutive singles from Chandler Mevis, Alley Taylor, and R.J. Janke. Junior Kristyn Nix had the big hit that chased Finkley as Nix slapped it down the left field line for a two-RBI double.
 
Two batters later, Emma Bailey greeted the Union reliever with another double, scoring another pair and adding to the UWG lead.
 
After a perfect bottom half from McKnight, the Wolves tacked on more in the top of the fifth. Hannah Scarbrough walked to lead off the inning and then Janke provided the power, as she slugged a two-run home run to straight away center to make it a 6-0, UWG lead.
 
A Union single and a two-out RBI triple from Macey Neal put Union on the board in the sixth, but McKnight induced a ground out on the very next batter to get out of the inning.
 
West Georgia got two more in the seventh as Nix notched her third RBI on a sac fly, and pinch runner Addison Sturdivant sped home on a wild pitch.
 
McKnight would go the distance as she allowed a single in the seventh, but nothing more. Her final line was seven innings of one-run softball, allowing six hits and a walk with six strikeouts.
 
Offensively, Janke led the way with a 3-for-4 game scoring two runs and driving in two as well. Nix and Bailey also had multiple hit game as each went 2-for-3.
 
Game Two
In the second game of the doubleheader, West Georgia and Union each stayed scoreless through two innings before UWG put up a three spot in the third.
 
Mevis reached via a walk and Alley Taylor reached on an error, setting the stage for another big fly from Janke. Her second of the day went to right center and gave the Wolves a 3-0 lead.
 
Emma Worley got the start for the Wolves and no-hit the Bulldogs through four. In the fifth, the Bulldogs got two on with no one out and Worley pitched out of the jam with a groundout, a strikeout, and a flyout.
 
Scarbrough connected on her fourth home run of the season in the top of the sixth, knocking in two, and extending the lead to 5-0.
 
Worley pitched out of the same jam in the seventh, but got a groundout, a foul out, and a fly out to keep the score the same headed to the final frame.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Worley gave up three runs after loading the bases and giving up a bases clearing double by Morgan Jennings. She would still earn her first career win as McKnight came on to slam the door and earn a save herself.
 
Worley ended up pitching 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks.
 
West Georgia had eight hits, with Jacie Arrington turning in the only multi-hit game of the night, finishing 2-for-3
 
Notable Numbers
- Emma Bailey's fourth-inning double in game one was the first extra-base hit of her career.
- Six strikeouts by McKnight in the series opener set a new career-high for the sophomore from Ringgold.
- It was Kristyn Nix's 13^th career multi-RBI game and the fifth three-RBI game of her career.
- Janke has homered in three straight games as she hit a home run in the second game of Wednesday's non-conference doubleheader in Albany. She also has a seven-game hitting streak.
- Scarbrough's home run was the ninth of her career. All nine of her home runs have come on the road.
- Emma Worley earned her first win of the season and her career, moving to 1-4 this season. 

Up Next
The Wolves and Bulldogs conclude the series tomorrow with a single game set for a 1 p.m. EST first pitch from Fesmire Softball Field.