GREENSBORO, N.C. – Maycin Brown singled to the left-centerfield gap with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Chattanooga in a Southern Conference masterpiece at the UNCG Softball Stadium Sunday afternoon.
It was Brown's second hit of the contest. In addition to scoring
Hannah Kincer with the winning run, Brown's hit extended a few of UNCG's streaks.
- UNCG has won nine straight SoCon games to start the 2022 campaign after registering its third consecutive sweep.
- UNCG has won 14 straight regular-season games against Southern Conference opponents.
- UNCG has won 17 consecutive contests against SoCon opponents, including the postseason.
Records
Chattanooga 21-18 overall, 5-4 SoCon
UNCG 28-11, 9-0
Quotable
Brown on her game-winning at-bat.
"Coach Wells and I were talking about my approach at the plate, and they were throwing a lot of pitches that I knew I could I drive, but I wasn't trusting myself. I took her advice. I did, and I nailed it. It's one of my favorite pitches ever. I trusted the process of listening to coach Wells. I also trusted my teammates that they would pick me up if I didn't get the job done. I hit a low and outside pitch. It was pretty good, and I got my hands out there and took it the other way."
Brown on earning the sweep this weekend and what they learned about themselves as a team.
"Chattanooga is a really tough team. They are hard to play against. Being able to keep our composure this weekend through a lot of different things was nice and awesome to see. Playing against Chattanooga allowed us to be more mentally tough in different situations. Chattanooga is one of the better teams in our conference, and being able to take three from them while playing really good games against them is awesome because it wasn't easy to get these three wins."
How It Happened
- After Kincer led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk; she advanced to second on a passed ball.
- Anna White laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt that advanced Kincer to third base with one out.
- Delaney Cumbie rallied from a 0-2 count, laying off a handful of challenging pitches to draw a two-out walk, setting the stage for Brown.
- Brown, who homered leading off the fourth inning, smacked the second pitch she saw from Chattanooga hurler Brooke Parrott for the decisive blow.
- Once Kincer crossed home plate, and Brown made it around first base, the Spartans celebrated between third and second base.
- Morgan Scott struck out 12 batters.
- Scott recorded her 500th career strikeout in the sixth inning at 2:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
- Makenna Matthijs had two hits for the Spartans.
- Brooklynn Maxwell's sacrifice fly RBI in the bottom of the fourth inning gave UNCG a 2-0 lead.
- Chattanooga's Reagan Armour hit a two-out, two-run home run in the fifth inning to tie the game, 2-2.
Inside the Numbers
- Brown hit her eighth home run of the season.
- Brown has 13 multi-hit games this season.
- The Spartans have recorded at least one home run in 32 games this season.
- UNCG has hit 78 home runs this season, which is second in the country.
- This was the sixth time this season and the third time in four games that Scott finished with double-digit strikeouts.
- She has 16 career double-digit strikeout games.
- The Spartans are 20-4 at home.
- UNCG improved to 4-4 in one-run games this season.
- UNCG is 2-1 in extra innings.
- This was UNCG's first SoCon extra inning game since it beat Chattanooga, 8-6, in nine innings on April 17, 2021.
Final Word
UNCG head coach Janelle Breneman on the weekend victories.
"A walk-off win at home is exciting. I thought we really showed a lot of toughness and grit. Our pitch selection in the ninth was perfect. I was proud of our fine focus and plate discipline in the ninth inning. Hannah laid off some tough pitches and drew a walk. Delaney laid off a drop ball that hit the ground. I also thought Scotty did an awesome job in the circle. She made a lot of key pitches and got jam shots in key situations."
Breneman on White's key sacrifice bunt.
"Anna was stellar and made it look easy. We aren't that team that sacrifice bunts a lot, but we needed it. Anna did a great job of coming off the bench and being ready when her number was called. Her bunt put us in a great position."
Up Next
- UNCG returns to action when it visits ETSU on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16.
