GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team, who earned the top seed in the 2022 Southern Conference (SoCon) Softball Tournament blanked the Samford Bulldogs 3-0 Friday afternoon at UNCG Softball Stadium in an elimination game.
Samford was the second seed in the tournament. This was the sixth shutout for the Spartans and second in the tournament.
Junior pitcher
Morgan Scott earned her 25
th win of the season. This tournament, she has thrown 14-consecutive scoreless innings: five against Furman, two versus Chattanooga, and seven against the Bulldogs.
She has now tossed 16-consecutive postseason scoreless innings, adding two more innings from a scoreless fifth and sixth innings against Western Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament on May 22, 2021.
Matthijs on the resiliency of the team
"The first game wasn't our best and we knew that and knew that we had to turn things around for game two. I'm proud of how we kept our heads in it and didn't let the setback keep us down. We knew it was going to be a fight in game two and we got the job done by playing together and passing the bat."
Graduate student
Makenna Matthijs went 3-for-3, all of which were doubles. She recorded half of the Spartans' six hits in the game. This is a SoCon Tournament individual game batting record.
This is the second time this season that a UNCG player had three doubles in a game. Freshman
Grace Loftin was the first to break the record on March 20, 2022 against Elon at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
With the doubles, Matthijs is now the UNCG career doubles record holder with 56, breaking Lara Long's record of 55 from 1995-98.
Matthijs on breaking the UNCG doubles career record
"That was a big surprise to me. My dad mentioned to me that I was getting within 10 of it a couple of weeks ago, but I had no idea. Going into the second game, my plan was just barreling up the ball and driving it in the gaps and my plan worked pretty well. It's awesome to hold a record for something like that because I know how much talent has come through our program."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Matthijs' hit her first double in the bottom of the first.
- She doubled in the bottom of the fifth to lead off.
- Jordan Gontram hit her own double to center field, driving in Matthijs for a 1-0 advantage.
- In the bottom of the sixth with two runners in scoring position, Delaney Cumbie hit the ball to right field for a 2-0 lead.
- Matthijs then doubled once more bringing home Tori Dalehite from third for the third run.
NOTES
- UNCG drew five walks in the game.
- Scott struck out five in the game.
- Cumbie went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
- Gontram also went 1-for-3.
- Blayke Batten singled in the bottom of the sixth, swinging 1-for-1 with two walks.
PITCHING RECORDS
Morgan Scott: W, 25-11
Jordyn Partain: L, 11-9
Matthijs on seeing Partain for the third time this season
"Partain gave us some trouble in the regular season but I'm proud of the adjustments we made as a team and how we were able to learn from our teammates and our previous at-bats. We know she likes to keep the ball low and mix in her changeup to keep us on our toes, but we stayed in our zone better than the previous two games and made her pitch to us. This resulted in a lot of gap shots and walks which is huge in a big game like today."
HISTORY VS. SAMFORD
UNCG leads the series 25-21.
ON DECK
The defending champion Spartans will face No. 3 seed Chattanooga on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the tournament title on the line. UNCG must defeat the Mocs, who beat the Spartans 10-2 earlier Friday afternoon, twice Saturday to claim its third SoCon crown.
