BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The UWG Softball team won their third consecutive game to open the 2025 campaign, defeating the Howard Bison on Saturday morning by a 7-6 score in the Runnin' Bulldog Classic.
West Georgia (3-0) never trailed, and has yet to trail through three games in 2025, and held on with the bases loaded for Howard (1-1) in the top of the seventh.
The Wolves started the game just as they have all weekend, scoring early, pushing the game's opening run across in the first. The run came in on a leadoff double by Waites and an RBI single from Blaire Bizette.
In the second, UWG got two more runs on a Sky Ramos double that pushed across Addison Sturdivant who led off with a single and got to second on a wild pitch. After Ramos took third on a wild pitch herself, she came in to score on a productive out from Dixiana Sims.
Jenna Samuel got the start in the circle for the Wolves, and kept the Bison off of the board until the third when they took advantage of a pair of UWG errors to cut the Wolves' lead to 3-2.
It was UWG's turn to capitalize in the bottom of the fourth, using three hits and three errors to score three runs and take a 6-2 lead. Ramos picked up her second RBI of the game in the fourth while Rylee Green made her season debut off the bench, and delivered an RBI-pinch hit single up the middle.
Another UWG error coupled with three hits plated two Howard runs in the fifth, making it a two-run game at 6-4.
Dixiana Sims came on in relief in the sixth, and Howard got a run back off of her, cutting their deficit to juist one run. In the bottom half, UWG got a big insurance run after a leadoff double by Sturdivant, a single by Ramos, a walk, and a Howard error.
That run proved to be even bigger when Howard got a run back in the final inning, but Sims stranded the bases loaded and picked up a save. Samuel got the win in the circle in her pitching debut for the Wolves, pitching five complete giving up eight hits while striking out three.
Ramos led the UWG offense going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs while Sturdivant and Bizette each recorded two-hit games.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- It's West Georgia's first 3-0 start since the 2018 season. Those wins came against Eckerd, Miles, and Nova Southeastern.
- Bizette now has 22 career multi-hit games.
- The catcher position, occupied by Bizette and Ramos, in the last two games are a combined 7-for-7 with six RBIs.
UP NEXT
West Georgia takes on Gardner-Webb for second time this weekend at 3 p.m. and look to wrap up the Runnin' Bulldogs Classic with four consecutive victories to start the season.
