‘Cats push for first, face tough schedule
Four of the six losses were of the one-run variety, a tough statistic for any team, but especially tough for the Bobcats, considering the difficulty of their schedule.
Senior ace pitcher Mandy Chandler broke the two most coveted records in pitching in the PBC during the stretch. She became the conference’s all-time strikeout leader on March 12 against Georgia Southwestern State University, and became the winningest pitcher in PBC history on March 20 against Lander University.
“If the offense puts up two or three runs, it’s my job to get us out of the game,” Chandler said.
Chandler also threw two no-hitters in less than a week, the first against the University of North Carolina at Pembroke on March 26, and the second on March 30 against Armstrong Atlantic State University.
“It’s weird, I’ve never thrown so bad, I’m throwing less strikeouts than I usually average, and giving up more hits, but when I don’t try, I throw no-hitters,” Chandler said. “I was just trying to get outs and the other team decided to not hit the ball.”
The Bobcats swept GSW, and took game one against Carson-Newman College on March 18 for a three-game win streak before dropping game two.
They then swept PBC foe Lander and had the opposite result against a good University of Alabama at Huntsville team on March 22.
“We’re at the point where it’s anyone’s game,” senior outfielder Haley Holloway said. “You can’t let these teams have any opportunities against you or they will take advantage. Our schedule is tough.”
A win in game two of a doubleheader split at Catawba College was the first of a four-game streak, including a sweep of Pembroke on March 26.
Two more PBC doubleheaders, against Francis Marion University and AASU, followed the Pembroke series, and the Bobcats took game one in each. The second games of each series were both heartbreaking one-run decisions which could have considerably helped the Bobcats’ first-place bid had they swung the other way.
On April 1, the Bobcats were scheduled to face current No. 1 in the PBC, North Georgia College & State University, but the doubleheader was rained out.
“I was totally ready to play (NGCSU) but it’s good to have days off,” Chandler said. “We were playing a bunch of games there for a while, and we have even tougher ones coming up so we can use the rest.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Apr 3 2009. Filed under Sports.
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