Cullowhee, N.C. – The UNCG softball team (23-14, 1-2 SoCon) defeated Western Carolina (25-12, 4-2 SoCon), 5-1, in Southern Conference action Sunday afternoon. The Spartans earned their first win of the conference season avoiding the series sweep.

The Spartans wasted no time getting on the board in the series finale scoring three runs in the top of the second inning. After being set down on a double play to end the first, Stephanie Bryden (Orlando, Fla./East River) started things off with a single through the left side. Two batters later Hagan Kiser (Asheboro, N.C./Southwestern) replicated Bryden's hit to put runners on first and second for the Spartans. Sidney Grkman (Salisbury, N.C./Jesse Carson) worked a full count and drew a walk to load the bases for UNCG.

Kendall McKinney (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett) drew an RBI walk for a 1-0 UNCG lead and keep the bases loaded with one out.

Lacey Leary (Norwood, N.C./Spartanburg Methodist) pinch-hit and drove in Bryden with a single to right field. Kiser scored on a fielding error by the Catamounts right fielder to make it a 3-0 Spartans lead.

Three-time SoCon Pitcher of the Week Alicia Bazonski (Sheffield, Mass./Mount Everett) was locked in from the start working three consecutive three up, three down innings.

McKinney hit her second home run of the series for a 4-0 UNCG lead in the top of the fourth and an RBI single by Tory Wright (Potomac Falls, Va./Dominion) made it a five-run lead for the Spartans in the top of the fifth.

Bazonski lost her no-hit bid in the bottom of the fifth inning with a lead off single by Crystal Cyr. The Catamounts would load the bases with one out but defensive substitution Emily Lopez (Charlotte, N.C./Olympic) turned UNCG's second double play of the game, 5-2-3, to end the Western Carolina threat.

 WCU loaded the bases for the second-consecutive inning in the bottom of the sixth after a Bazonski allowed back-to-back hits and a walk. She walked her second batter of the game allowing Western Carolina to score its first run of the game before a pop out would strand bases loaded and end the inning.

The Catamounts threated again in the in the bottom of the seventh inning but Bazonski struck out the side to end the game improving to 13-3 overall.

Bazonski tossed a complete game allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five.

Rachael McClaskey (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook) and Bryden were the only two Spartans to have multi-hit games. All but one of UNCG's starters reached base in the win while McKinney drove in a team-best two runs.

With McKinney's home run makes it eight-straight games that UNCG has hit at least one home run. The Spartans are now 14-5 in games they score first and are 14-2 in games in which they do not commit an error.

-UNCG-