GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team earned its fifth-straight win behind a doubleheader sweep against Southern Conference (SoCon) foe Furman on Friday at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
The Spartans won game one with a 5-3 score and then took game two with a 5-3 eight-inning victory.
Game 1: UNCG 5 – Furman 3
UNCG scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning.
Kiley McQuillan reached on an error to lead off the frame and
Rylie Williams who pinch ran for her scored on
Madelyn McKinnon's single to center field for a 1-0 lead.
Furman had a two-run fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead scoring on two hits and two errors. The Paladins had the bases loaded five times during the inning, but the Spartans defense kept them from scoring three times.
The Paladins extended their lead to two, 3-1, after Hannah Poole hit a two-out RBI single to center field.
The Spartans fought back in the bottom of the sixth scoring four runs on three hits. With runners on second and third with two outs,
Meredith Harwood walked on four-straight balls and on the passed ball,
Anna White scored cutting the deficit to one, 3-2.
Tori Dalehite took the next pitch over the left center field wall for her third home run of the season giving the Spartans a 5-3 advantage.
Furman led off the top of the seventh with back-to-back singles and a walk and
Salem Ward returned to the circle striking out a batter for out number one. The next Paladin lined out to White at first who then stepped on first for the double play securing the win.
PITCHING RECORDS
Reese Byrd: W, 2-0
Salem Ward: Save, 1
Sierra Tufts: L, 8-5
Game 2: UNCG 5 – Furman 3 (8 innings)
UNCG got on the board in the bottom of the first with a two-out RBI single from White that scored
Brooklynn Maxwell, 1-0.
Furman responded in the top of the second with its own run off Kaitlyn Laudick's solo home run to center field to tie the game, 1-1.
Neither team was able to put up a run for the next five innings.
The Paladins capitalized on their bats in the top of the eighth, scoring two runs on three hits and one error for their first lead of the game, 3-1.
The Spartans responded in their half of the eighth as White led off with a double to left field.
Samantha Beck then took her first pitch over the center field wall to extend the game and tie it 3-3. With one out and
Maycin Brown on second,
Meredith Harwood crushed a 1-1 count over the left field wall for the game-winning hit and her fifth homer of the season.
PITCHING RECORDS
Jorde Chartrand: W, 2-3
Angelina Ricciardi: W, 1-5
Up Next:
The Spartans will return to the diamond tomorrow, Saturday, March 30 hosting Furman for the final game of the three-game series with a first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
