COLUMBUS, Ga. – Two run-rule games kicked off the CSU Cougar Classic, and the No. 7 University of North Georgia softball team was on the winning side of both, defeating Wingate, 8-0, before downing Tuskegee, 14-0, in game two.

GAME ONE
The Nighthawks wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, using a Marley Stowers double and an Alishia Frierson single to put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the first. Stowers kept her hot bat alive in the second, knocking a three-run homer over the fence in left field to extend the lead to four.

North Georgia continued to put runs up in the second as Lexi Duncan brought home two runs on a single in the gap in left center. A Sydney Sprague homer in the third and a Brittany Gilliam bomb in the fourth brought the game to the 8-0 run-rule limit after a scoreless fifth.

Kylee Smith earned her sixth win of the season with a four-inning performance, highlighted by six strikeouts.

GAME TWO
Amber Johns threw a gem in her three innings of work in the second game of the day, striking out the side in the first inning after the offense gave her a 3-0 lead. The Nighthawks added four more runs in the second on two RBI doubles from Duncan and Laken Chambers.

In the third, Shelby Hammontree put three more runs on the board with one swing, homering to left center. Kaylyn Anthonyand Brooke Wakenigg highlighted a four-run fourth with RBI doubles, bringing the game to its final score.

NOTES
– The Nighthawks hit 20-for-55 in the doubleheader, compared to 3-for-33 for their opponents.

– With the win over Wingate, the Nighthawks will have an opportunity to tie the all-time series against the Bulldogs tomorrow, pulling the series to a 5-4 deficit.

– The 13-0 start is the best start since the 2010 season, when the Nighthawks started 51-0.

NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will finish the Cougar Classic with games tomorrow against Wingate and Tuskegee. UNG takes on the Bulldogs at 11 a.m. before the Tigers at 3 p.m.
 
 

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