RELATED: Softball Uses Comeback In Fifth Inning To Topple Georgia College, 4-2

PEMBROKE – Visiting Georgia College halted the UNC Pembroke softball team's seventh inning comeback by tagging a runner headed home and ending the game on a fly out to split the Peach Belt Conference series, 8-7, on Saturday afternoon at LRA Field.

UNCP (17-13, 5-3 PBC) split its third league series with the loss, while Georgia College (23-7, 2-2) obtained a .500 record in conference play.

The Lady Braves outhit the Bobcats, 15-12, as junior Brea Hartley was 3-for-4 and Kaytee Wilson, Caitlin Steel, Shelby Holland, Taylor Cloninger and Morgan Davis each registered two hits. Steel, Holland and Hartley led the team with two RBI each as Karlee Wilson added one RBI. Whitney Okvist led Georgia College with three hits, while Taylor Campbell and Danielle Bernstein posted a pair each.

"I think there was fight in both games today and that is all you can ask your players to do," said UNCP head coach Brittany Bennett. "I think we should have come out on top in the second game if we would have taken care of some small stuff and we are going to go to work on that this week."

Senior Katy Austin (0-3) suffered the loss after going six innings, before being relieved by junior Selena Ashley for the final three outs. Austin gave up all 12 hits and eight runs (three earned) after facing 35 batters and striking out a career-high five batters.

Georgia College's Marisa Boyette (8-3) pitched a total of 4-2/3 innings and allowed four earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts, while Faith Flanders went 1-2/3 innings and Becca Olson grabbed three outs. Flanders gave up the three earned runs on six hits in her 10 batters faced.

Kaytee Wilson put the first hit on the board for UNCP and scored on Holland's double to right field to give the Lady Braves the 1-0 lead after the first inning.

Georgia College took the lead after scoring three runs in the third, adding another in the fourth and fifth and finally bringing in another three in the sixth.

The Lady Braves came to within one run in the fourth inning after Davis, Whitney Jackson and Steel crossed home plate. Again in the fifth, Karlee Wilson posted her second home run of the season before Davis scored the second run of the inning. 

Finally in the seventh, Hartley sent her tatter over the left field fence to trail the Bobcats by one. Cloninger singled to the shortstop, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on Hillards sacrifice bunt, but was tagged before crossing home plate to record the second out of the inning before Karlee Wilson's fly out to left field to fall short by one run in game two.

The Lady Braves will hit the road for a 10-game road series beginning with Young Harris (11-18, 1-3) on March 29 at E.D. Rivers Softball Field in Young Harris, Ga. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.