Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C.- The UNCG softball season came to an end Friday morning with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 Furman in the Southern Conference Tournament. The Spartans finish the season 33-26 and 9-9 in the league while Furman will advance to play the winner of Friday's ETSU/Chattanooga game.
Two runs in the top of the first inning was all the Paladins would need to jump in front of UNCG in Friday's contest. En route to earning her 20th win of the season, Furman's Lindsey Bert allowed four hits while striking out one batter and walking one.
SoCon Freshman of the Year Stephanie Bryden (Orlando, Fla./East River) was handed the loss after allowing two runs on four hits in two and a third innings. Alicia Bazonksi (Sheffield, Mass./Mount Everett) struck out four batters in four and two third innings of relief allowing just one run on three hits.
Nicole Thomas (Irvine, Calif./Northwood) and Hagan Kiser (Asheboro, N.C./Southwestern) recorded the Spartans only two hits of the game until Bryden's two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh inning. She was followed by senior Lacey Leary (Norwood, N.C./Spartanburg Methodist) who hit a pinch-hit single to put two runners on base sparking a late rally by the Spartans. Unfortunately with the tying run at the plate the UNCG's season came to an end as Bert got Kiser on an infield pop up to end the game.
The Spartans four-year senior class of Lindsay Thomas (Irvine, Calif./Northwood), Nicole Thomas, Danielle Vega (Rialto, Calif./Aquinas) and Allison Geiner (Raleigh N.C./Middle Creek) graduate as head coach Janelle Breneman's first four-year group since becoming head coach in 2013. As a unit they helped the Spartans post a 127-93 record in four seasons and reach two SoCon Tournament Championship games in 2013 & 2014. Joined by transfers Danica Bishop (Irvine, Calif./Nebraska) and Leary, the senior class helped UNCG post three 30-win seasons in four years.
Leary recorded a hit in her final career at bat and finishes her three-year Spartan career as a .256 hitter. In 30 appearances in the circle for UNCG she posted a 8-4 record with a 5.42 earned run average and 42 strikeouts.
Bishop earned her first career save as a Spartan on senior day. She made 32 appearances in the circle for UNCG and posted a 2-1 record in her final season with three combined shutouts.
Geiner closes out her career with 159 hits in 500 at bats with a .318 batting average, ranking 11th on the career batting average list at UNCG. She fielded a perfect 1.000 % in her career as the anchor of the Spartans outfield.
Vega had a stellar senior season leading the team in RBI while batting .382. She finishes her career ranked 8th on the all time batting average list at UNCG (.342) and fourth in career hits (225). Her 43 career doubles rank third in the UNCG record books while she is fifth all-time in RBI (118), tied for eighth in home runs (20) and 11th in career walks (60).
Nicole Thomas ends her career with a .362 batting average and 31 home runs, ranking fourth and fifth in the UNCG record books respectively. Her 147-career RBI rank fourth all-time while she finishes with 88 career walks, also tied fourth. In the circle she posted a 22-17 record with three saves, ranking sixth on the all time saves list.
Lindsay Thomas helped rewrite the UNCG record books during her stellar career as a Spartan. She finishes as the all-time leader in batting average (.382), runs scored (189), hits (257), home runs (57) and slugging percentage (.728). Thomas also ranks second in career doubles (52), RBI (186) and walks (92). Her 673 career at bats rank 10th in program history while she holds the single-season home run record at UNCG (17) which she set as a freshman and came one long ball shy of tying in her final go around. Ending the season with 16 home runs, a SoCon best.
The Spartans graduate six seniors but return SoCon Freshman of the Year Stephanie Bryden and All-SoCon Second Team pitcher Bazonski who posted a 19-9 record in the circle for UNCG this season.
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