Lady ‘Cats grab first PBC title

    Conference Champs. 
    That’s the new title given to the GCSU softball team.  The Lady Bobcats traveled to Florence, S.C., last weekend as the No. 3 seed in the Peach Belt Conference and left their mark on the tournament. 
    Heading into the weekend the Lady Bobcats were already set back without their starting right fielder, senior Brianna Hope, who broke her elbow during practice.  She was replaced by freshman Kati Pickowitz who would eventually score the winning run in the championship game.
    Head coach Ginger Chaffinch held practice as normal during the days before the tournament, claiming the recent conference games would aid preparation. She was pleased with her team’s attitude heading into the event.
    “The girls knew that we could win,” Chaffinch said.  “It’s just a matter of playing consistently through the weekend and that’s what they did.  They had all the confidence they could win.  I don’t think it was a surprise for them.”
    GCSU’s first game set them against the six seed Francis Marion University.  The Bobcats shut out the Patriots 2-0 and moved on to face the two seed Armstrong Atlantic University.   Junior Haley Holloway robbed a two run shot in left field and and junior first  baseman Chelsea Wilson hit the game winning RBI to knock off the Lady Pirates 1-0.
    Wilson acknowledged Holloway’s homerun saving catch as a momentum shifter in the tournament.
    “Left field has been an up and down position for us all year,” Wilson said. “Her stepping up and making a big play like that was just like wow, we still have it.”
    North Georgia College and State University would be GCSU’s next opponent.  NGCSU was tied for the best hitting team in the league with an impressive .315 team batting average.  GCSU squeaked by with a 2-1 victory aided by a go-ahead homerun by Lindsey Swanson and secured their spot in the championship game. 
    North Georgia would win out in the loser’s bracket and face GCSU again. This time, the NGCSU Saints’ bats would come alive as they beat the Bobcats 7-3, setting up a winner take all final game.
    The Saints struck first, scoring two runs in the third inning.  The fourth inning would see Sherquita Bostick earn her title as PBC Player of the Year as she hit a three run homerun to centerfield to put GCSU up by one run.
    In the seventh, Mandy Chandler would walk in the game tying run which pushed the game into extra innings. 
    The eighth inning included a scary moment at second base.  Laura Voyles of NGCSU was running to second and injured her head on the play.  The game was stopped for about thirty minutes while paramedics were needed.
    The ninth and final inning was capped by a game winning RBI by junior third baseman Tonya Medders, who scored Pickowitz on a hit to right field. Chandler finished the game allowing five hits and striking out seven.
    The Lady Bobcats are 39-12 with a PBC title and are currently awaiting the announcement of their seeding for the South Atlantic Regional Tournament that begins on May 8.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 25 2008. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry