CARROLLTON, Ga. - UWG softball split day two of the West Georgia Softball classic, defeating Bellarmine, 6-5 in the first game while the Wolves fell to Georgia State, 11-6 in game two.
GAME ONE
UWG made it two-for-two against Bellarmine on the weekend with a one-run victory in Saturday's opener.
An error and two hits provided a run for the Knights in the second, and the visitors would lead until the Wolves plated two runs in the third to claim a lead. A leadoff walk drawn by Delaney Hoyle and an error put two runners on, and both came around to score after a Kristen Fowler RBI groundout and a Jenna Samuel double.
Bellarmine got two more in the fourth to go back up 3-2, using a single, walk, and double to plate the pair.
West Georgia then got three in their half of the fourth. Bekah Johnson and Emma Nixon had singles to lead off the inning, and the first run scored on a fielder's choice RBI by Olivia Slocumb. An error plated the next run, and a sacrifice fly by Fowler made it 5-3.
A two-out walk, a wild pitch and some timely singles plated two runs for Bellarmine in the fifth, tying it up, 5-5.
Both teams couldn't push a run across in their next at-bats, but in the bottom of the sixth, a single by Cacie Cutright got the Wolves going, and then Kristen Fowler got the game-winning run into scoring position and freshmen Ella Oswalt drove in that run, to put the Wolves up by one.
Cutright, who was in the circle in relief for the Wolves, then got the Knights in order to earn the win. She pitched three innings of relief and allowed two earned runs. Jenna Samuel started in the circle and gave up three runs in four innings of work.
Nixon and Oswalt each had two hits in the win to lead the UWG offense, while Fowler had a pair of RBIs.
GAME TWO
It was a much closer game than the final score indicated, as the game was tied 6-6 heading into the seventh.
UWG jumped out to a 3-0 lead, scoring three in the second on three hits. Two of the runs scored on a Mickey Coslor single, and Zekylah Boyd later scored on a wild pitch.
Georgia State quickly struck for two runs on four hits in the top of the third, only for the Wolves to push across a fourth run, and extend the lead to two following a double by Coslor and a GSU error.
Things went south in the sixth as Georgia State used five hits to chase UWG starter Calli Hardison and take a 6-4 lead. Oswalt then continued her stellar start to her career, slugging a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth.
Unfortunately, the Wolves were tagged for five runs in the top of the seventh, and then went down in order in the bottom half.
Coslor had two of the Wolves six hits and drove in two runs while Oswalt drove in two as well.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Oswalt earned her first career start and recorded her first career hit in game one and recorded her first career home run in game two. Cutright's single was also the first of her career.
- In the circle, Cutright earned her first career victory in the Bellarmine win.
UP NEXT
West Georgia wraps up action from opening weekend tomorrow with two more games from University Softball Field. The Wolves take on Drexel at 10 a.m. and Austin Peay at 3 p.m.
