GREENSBORO -- Junior catcher
Samantha Lagrama singled with two outs and the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as UNCG defeated East Carolina 5-4 in a non-conference game Wednesday evening at UNCG Softball Stadium.
Lagrama chopped an 0-1 pitch from ECU reliever Logyn Estes (0-5) through the hole on the left side of the infield, just past diving shortstop Ashleigh Inae, and the Spartans'
Melanie Darges scored easily from third base to end the game.
Lagrama is no stranger to late-game heroics. She has two extra inning walkoff singles this season. She had the winning hit against ETSU in the ninth inning on March 26. Two days prior, Lagrama hit the decisive home run in a victory over Radford.
UNCG freshman right-hander
Alina Varga (8-0, 4.11 ERA), picked up the win with 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Varga allowed just three hits and struck out two.
Senior center fielder
Makenna Matthijs, the SoCon Player of the Week, went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs for the Spartans (22-14 overall, 6-3 SoCon), who have won four games in a row and five of their last six.
East Carolina (11-25 overall, 2-10 American Athletic Conference) has lost 10 of its last 11 games.
Jordan Gontram drew a lead-off walk to start the extra-inning rally. Darges singled, and
Brooklynn Maxwell grounded back to the pitcher, who forced the lead runner out at third. Matthijs walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases, setting the stage of Lagrama's two-out hit.
Trailing 4-2, UNCG tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when junior third baseman
Delaney Cumbie hit a two-out, two-run double on a full count. Cumbie also made a terrific play at third base to end a East Carolina rally in the fourth inning. She snatched a hard-hit ball out of the air and then hustled to step on third base to force an unassisted inning ending double play.
Matthijs hit a solo home run over the center field fence leading off the game for UNCG, and she drove in the Spartans' second run with an RBI double. Matthijs' homer was her ninth this year and UNCG's 61st of the season, tying the 2016 and 2017 squads for the single-season program record.
East Carolina's Rachel McCollum and Chandley Garner both finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs apiece to account for all the Pirates' runs.
UNCG returns to action Friday, April 23 when it hosts Samford in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. The teams will conclude the series with a single game on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Spartans have won four consecutive SoCon contests.
The series was shifted due to the threat of inclement weather this weekend. UNCG will celebrate Senior Day during its final home series against Western Carolina on May 8 and 9.
