BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team captured its fifth-straight Southern Conference (SoCon) regular-season championship with a 4-2 eight-inning victory over Samford Sunday afternoon.
In a game where there was a lot on the line: a regular season title, a first-round tournament bye, and a few streaks, the Spartans prevailed and wore their rally caps until the end.
UNCG had a 2-0 lead through three innings, before Samford scored a run in the fourth and fifth to tie the game.
The Bulldogs' Jordyn Partain kept the Spartans hitless through seven innings.
Jessie Shipley broke the no-hitter with a double to right field to kick off the eighth and
Makenna Matthijs moved her to third on a sacrifice bunt.
Shipley easily scored on a single to left field from
Delaney Cumbie for a 3-2 advantage. With two outs,
Samantha Lagrama singled up the middle to bring home
Tori Dalehite from second for the insurance run and a 4-2 lead.
In the circle,
Morgan Scott retired three-straight in the bottom of the eighth for her 23
rd win of the season and 26
th complete game.
With the win, UNCG has now won 10-straight SoCon series dating back to the 2021 schedule.
Scott on what it felt like to win and celebrate
"The feeling was awesome. It was really great to come out with two wins this weekend. I told Delaney before we started the game that the moment this is over I am running up to you and hugging you.
"I have 100% confidence in my offense and the defense made some killer plays that kept us in the ball game and I knew both sides were going to have my back. We are never done until the game is complete and we are going to give it our all until the end."
Records:
UNCG (37-16, 17-2 SoCon)
Samford (30-18, 15-3 SoCon)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- With two outs, Samantha Lagrama punched the ball into right field and it was dropped to score Maycin Brown and Makenna Matthijs.
- Spartans led 2-0 in the top of the first.
- UNCG fended off the Bulldogs for three innings.
- Following Morgan Scott's third strikeout of the game, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 2-1 with a ground out to the shortstop that scored Lindsey Nelson from third.
- Merritt Cahoon hit a RBI single to center field to tie the game at two in the bottom of the fifth.
NOTES
- Lagrama and Cumbie went 1-for-4 with one RBI.
- Scott struck out four and walked three.
- She now has 259 strikeouts on the season, four shy of breaking the UNCG single-season strikeout record.
PITCHING RECORDS
Morgan Scott: W, 23-11
Jordyn Partain: L, 9-7
HISTORY VS. SAMFORD
UNCG leads the series 24-21.
Coach Janelle Breneman on the win and teams' competitive drive
"I am proud of Team 37's resilience. Morgan's experience and her competitive nature put together with our defense put us in a position to win today. We made some big-time plays to keep it a tied ball game.
"Offensively, we could not get things strung together until the 8th. Jessie, Maycin, and Samantha had some clutch at bats for us. Today's ballgame was big, especially securing our fifth-straight regular season title. A 16-2 record in league play is something to be proud of and it shows how talented our team is.
"We look forward to taking the field at home on Thursday in front of our amazing Spartans parents, alumni, and fans!"
ON DECK
UNCG will be the host site for the 2022 SoCon Tournament. The Spartans received the first-round bye into the SoCon Tournament as the number one seed and will play the winner of the game on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The game will be played on Thursday, May 12 at 12:30 p.m.
