Lady Bobcats grab two seed in PBC tourney
The seventh-ranked Georgia College & State University softball team swept a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader with host USC Aiken Monday evening at Pacer Park to close out the regular season. GC&SU (32-4, 12-4 PBC) pulled out the victory in the first game 1-0, then needed only five-innings for the 11-3 win in the second game.
In the first game, GC&SU,s hurler Jennifer Joiner (18-2) set a new school single season record with the 1-0 victory. Joiner tossed a complete game in the four-hit shutout with five strikeouts to earn her record-breaking 18th win of the season. Despite stranding 10 runners on base, freshman Diana Baruffa plated the eventual winning run in the top of the third inning with a RBI single scoring Joni Frei on second. Frei also went 2-4 in the game. JoAnn Jones (9-10) took the loss for the Lady Pacers after allowing one run on hits with three strikeouts.
In the second game, USCA wasted little time scoring three runs in the first inning including back-to-back home runs by Meredith Headings and Jayme Durand for the 3-0 lead. The Lady Bobcats responded in the third with a Kristin Hughes game-tying double who later scored on a double by Frei to take the 4-3 advantage. The game was blown open from then on as GC&SU plated five runs in the fourth, capitalized by a pair of two-run singles from Hughes and Amy Davenport, for the 11-3 victory. Amy Fox (8-11) took the loss for USCA allowing nine runs on 10 hits in 3.2 innings of work.
Senior Cathy Chandler (7-1) picked up the win after allowing three runs on eight hits in five complete innings. Hughes finished the game 3-4 with a double and four RBI, while Aundrea Baker went 2-3 with an inside-the-park home run and two RBI. Mandi Jones turned in a 3-3 performance at the plate with a double and RBI, while Heather Jones went 2-3 with a double and a RBI.
GC&SU will be the number 2 seed at this weekend’s Peach Belt Conference Tournament hosted by USC Aiken. GC&SU, ranked seventh in the nation in NCAA Division II, finished as the PBC regular season runner-up after posting a 32-4 overall record and 12-4 league record. Eleven Peach Belt Conference teams will battle in the double elimination tournament for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional.
The Lady Bobcats open play Friday at 2 p.m. against the winner of the first round match-up between the number 10 seed from Lander and the number 7 seed from USC Spartanburg.
Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Champion North Florida, which is
ranked fourth nationally, is the top seed and will receive a first round bye. In addition to GC&SU and UNF, the tournament also features four other nationally ranked schools with number 18 Columbus State, number19 Francis Marion, number 20 Armstrong Atlantic State, and number 24 Kennesaw State.
The 2003 Peach Belt Conference Tournament runs Friday through Sunday at Citizen’s Park in Aiken, South Carolina. For complete tournament information, brackets, directions and results, please visit the tournament site at GOTOBUTTON BM_1_ www.usca.edu/athletics/2003PBCSoftball.html.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Apr 18 2003. Filed under Sports.
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