Related: Gerhart Blasts Walk-off Home Run In Softball Split With Francis Marion
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Trailing 3-0 entering the seventh inning in game one, the UNC Pembroke softball team put together four runs on three hits and two walks to steal a 4-3 victory over Columbus State. The Cougars took game two 5-1 in Saturday's Peach Belt Conference doubleheader at Cougar Field.
The Braves' record sits at 13-10-1, 4-2 PBC after the split and have now halved back-to-back conference twinbills. Columbus State is 15-10, 3-1 PBC after suffering its first league defeat in game one.
The home squad scored two runs in the opening frame of game one and added an insurance tally in the sixth to take a 3-0 lead into the Braves' final at-bat. Entering the seventh, Cougar pitcher Peyton Sorrells had quieted the prolific UNCP offense, holding the Braves to just two hits over six innings. But that was not the case in the final inning, as the Black & Gold put together a late rally, capped off by a two-out single up the middle by Jamie Johnson that plated two runs to give UNCP the 4-3 lead.
Junior Abbey Walters started the comeback with a lead-off home run to center, her third of the season. Taylor Gerhart then drew a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on a Savannah Melvin single. After a fielder's choice was out number one, pinch hitter Bailey Jones was walked to load the bases. An infield fly brought the Braves down to their final out, before Sierra Shipley drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to 3-2, setting the stage for Johnson.
Katie Saunders (8-5) tossed all seven innings in the circle for UNCP, her ninth complete game of the season. The senior allowed three runs (two earned), while striking out three and walking five. She dropped her team-best season ERA to 3.41.
Walters was the lone Brave to notch multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, her 16th multi-hit game of the season. Johnson, Toni Nelson and Morgan Davis all added one hit apiece.
Game two begin much like the first with Columbus State jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The UNCP deficit was cut in half in the third when Walters sent an RBI single through the left side to plate Shipley, who had reached on a leadoff single earlier in the inning. Walters' RBI was her 22nd of the season, tying for the team lead with Gerhart and 10th in the PBC.
The Cougars added three runs in the fifth and the Braves could not carry over the magic from game one, leading to the split.
Johnson was 2-for-4 at the dish in game two, extending her hitting streak to six games and she has now reached base in 21 consecutive games. Walters one hit brings her current hitting streak to 12 and team-best batting average to .489, good for second in the conference. Jackson, Shipley and Davis all added one knock.
Walters (3-3) took the loss in the circle after pitching just the first inning, surrendering two runs on two hits and three walks on 34 pitches. Freshman Taylor Strickland tossed the final five frames in relief, allowing three runs on three hits. She struck out two Cougars and walked two.
The Black & Gold will now make the 65-mile journey to Georgia Southwestern for a Sunday doubleheader with the Hurricanes. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Lady 'Canes Softball Field in Americus, Georgia. The squads have met just 19 times in history, with UNCP holding a 10-9 advantage in the series. Last year in Pembroke, they split a pair of games, as the Hurricanes took game one 9-4 before the Braves bounced back with a 10-2, run-rule victory in game two.
