PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke softball team had 40 at-bats with runners on base in Saturday's twinbill, but stranded 18 runners on base, while visiting Georgia College scored 10 of their 15 runs with two outs to fuel a 9-6, 6-4 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) sweep of the Black & Gold at the UNCP Softball Field.
The setbacks snap a nine-game winning streak for the Braves (14-8, 0-2 PBC), who were looking to win 10-straight outings for the second time in five seasons under coach
Brittany Bennett. Georgia College (13-9, 2-0 PBC) has now claimed four-straight meetings with UNCP and 10 of the last 13 dating back to the 2013 campaign.
Freshman
Tatum Brummitt logged a career-high four RBIs on a pair of hits in the opener, while
Haleigh Epperson and
Alex Watkins each tacked on two base knocks and one run batted in. Seven of UNCP's starting nine recorded at least one hit, as the Braves reached double-digit hits for the seventh time in the first 21 games.
Georgia College jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings, but the Black & Gold battled back with a single run in the third and fourth innings before plating three in the latter half of the fifth. Brummitt's two-run single cut the deficit to 6-5 through five innings.
However, the guests used a two-out, two-run single in the sixth and an RBI double in the seventh to stretch the lead back to four. Brummitt picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the final frame, but the tying run only got as close as the on-deck circle.
In the nightcap, Brummitt,
Cara Davis and
Jamie Johnson each banged out a pair of hits and the UNCP offense racked up 11 total base knocks. Brummitt drove in two more runs, while Johnson and
Taylor Gerhart each picked up an RBI.
The Bobcats struck first again in game two with three runs in the top of the third, but the Braves responded with a pair in the bottom half on a two-run single from Brummitt. UNCP knotted the game at 3-3 in the fourth when Davis doubled and came around to score on Johnson's second triple of the season.
Georgia College once again scored three times in the final two innings and the Black & Gold scored just once on Gerhart's RBI single in the sixth. The Braves had the go-ahead run on second with two outs in the sixth, but a fly out ended the threat.
The Braves are back in action Thursday when Emmanuel invades Pembroke for a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the UNCP Softball Field. The Lions (7-11) snapped a seven-game skid with a sweep of Catawba on Friday. Thursday will mark the first meeting between UNCP and Emmanuel on the diamond.
