CARROLLTON, Ga. – Celebrating four seniors on day one of Senior Weekend, the UWG softball team and its fans had plenty to cheer about on Saturday at University Field.
A 3-2 win in game one snapped a 14-game losing streak for West Georgia (13-29, 6-19 GSC) and then the Wolves came back for another one-run win in game two, to sweep the DH over Mississippi College (22-19, 12-14 GSC) who entered the weekend ranked eighth in the NCAA South Region Rankings.
GAME ONE
Macy Ann McKnight pitched one of her best games of the season and
Alley Taylor provided all the offense UWG would need in the series opener.
After MC scored a run on one hit in the opening inning, McKnight settled in and pitched a complete game allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out five.
McKnight was masterful pitching out of a second inning jam after MC loaded the bases with one out and did it again in the third after two Choctaws got on to begin the frame. After pitching out of the jam in the third, the Wolves went to work at the plate.
Kristyn Nix got on with a one-out double in the third, and then
Hannah Scarbrough drew a walk, and
Alley Taylor did the rest. The Coral Springs, Florida native slammed a mammoth home run up on the concrete porch in left field, putting the Wolves up, 3-1.
The Choctaws got one back in the fourth inning to cut the UWG lead to one, but McKnight would not budge and the Wolves' defense played solid behind her to give the Wolves their first win since March 22.
UWG had just four hits in the contest, with Taylor's blast doing all the damage they would need. Nix, Scarbrough, and
Maddie Gorsuch also had hits in the contest.
GAME TWO
Mississippi College began game two the exact same way they did game one, scoring in the opening inning to take a 1-0 lead.
But the Wolves bounced right back in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs to take a lead they would never relinquish. After back-to-back walks and a wild pitch, Taylor picked up another RBI on the day to score Nix and make it a tie ballgame. The Wolves then got runs on a sacrifice fly by Gorsuch and an RBI double from
Chandler Mevis.
Scarbrough singled home a fourth UWG run in the second, scoring
Emily Bodenheimer who reached on a leadoff walk.
The only offense Mississippi College would get over the final six innings would come off the bat of Jenna Ergle who hit a two-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the fifth.
West Georgia got an important insurance run in their half of the fourth as
Jacie Arrington earned a bases loaded walk.
Kaley Dowdy started in the circle for the Wolves in game two, tossing a complete game while allowing the four runs on seven hits and striking out seven.
Sophomore catcher
Lauren McElhaney had the only multi-hit game for the Wolves on the day as she went 2-for-2 from the nine spot in the lineup. The top six in the order combined for four hits and all five RBIs in game two.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Taylor's home run was the 21st of her career. She ended the day with four RBIs, increasing her career total to 97, and moving her into eighth all-time.
- Macy Ann McKnight earned her seventh win of the season, and her eighth career complete game. It was the second complete game of Dowdy's career.
- It was the second time this season Lauren McElhaney has registered two hits in a single game. The sophomore has now started 12 games behind the plate this season.
UP NEXT
The Wolves and Choctaws return to University Field for the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. UWG will honor its three "Super Seniors" prior to the game at approximately 12:45 a.m.
