Softball splits doubleheader after rough weekend

The first week of the 2011 season has been unkind to the Georgia College softball team. The Bobcats (2-8) did pick up another win on Feb. 15, splitting a doubleheader with Young Harris after dropping five out of six games over the previous weekend including five in a row.

In the opener against Young Harris, the Bobcats rallied three separate times to outlast the Mountain Lions, 8-7 in a 10-inning affair. Junior Sabrina Chandler delivered a gutsy performance on the mound, as she went the distance for a complete game victory. Chandler allowed four earned runs, seven in total, and had five strikeouts. She has been the winner in both Georgia College victories this season.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, the Bobcats responded in their half of the inning with a run of their own. Freshman centerfielder Whitney Okvist reached on an error and stole second. She later came in to score when junior designated hitter Haley Burnett reached on an error.

The Mountain Lions regained the lead in the top of the second, 2-1, but the Bobcats tied things back up in their half of the third. Junior first baseman Anna Parker ripped a double down the left field line.

After a pair of fielder’s choices, freshman third baseman Lindsey Conway’s single to right scored Burnett, knotting the score up at 2-2.

The next five innings brought multiple scoring opportunities for both teams, but neither was able to cash in, as the game entered extra innings. The Mountain Lions finally broke through with four runs in the top of the ninth, but the Bobcats roared back in their half. Junior Corby Holmes, who made the last out in the previous inning, was placed on second base to start the inning due to the international tiebreaker rule for all NCAA non-conference games.

A bunt single by Okvist scored Holmes after she had advanced to third. After senior rightfielder Kati Pickowitz singled, and Parker fouled out, Burnett doubled to left center, plating Okvist and Pickowitz and cutting the Young Harris lead down to 6-5. Later in the inning, another single by Conway scored senior pinch runner Bailey Thompson to tie the score once again.

Young Harris regained the lead one more time in the 10th with a run, but Georgia College got the final say. With freshman leftfielder Alex Duvall already on second, junior second baseman Caitlin Duvall had a bunt single, moving her sister over to third. Holmes followed with a single, scoring Alex Duvall and placing runners at the corners. After a fielder’s choice and a single by Pickowitz, Parker walked, and Burnett’s single to right scored Holmes with the winning run. Head Coach Jamie Grodecki was pleased with the victory.

“It helped our confidence a good bit,” Grodecki said. “We were able to get some big hits, and our girls got a lot of good swings at the plate in that game.”

The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead over the Mountain Lions in the second game, but weren’t able to hang on as they fell 6-3.

Georgia College jumped ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first with the help of a couple of errors by the Mountain Lions. But Young Harris eventually tied the game in the third and added a run in the fifth and three more in the sixth to take control. The Bobcats scored once more in the seventh, when Conway tripled and scored on Caitlin Duvall’s RBI groundout.

Last weekend, the Bobcats played three doubleheaders, dropping five out of six games. On Feb.11, they split a twin bill with Queens (N.C.), winning 8-0 in the first game and falling 7-5 in the second game.Chandler was sharp in game one, allowing just two hits in the shortened five-inning contest. The Bobcats got all eight of their runs in the first two frames, highlighted by a pair of homeruns from Burnett. Junior third baseman Maggie Davis also had a pair of hits in the win.

On Feb. 12, the Bobcats dropped a pair to Catawba, 9-1 and 6-3, On Feb. 14, the Bobcats traveled to West Georgia for a doubleheader but came up short, losing the first game 9-6 despite homers from Parker and Davis, and 7-2 in the second game.

The Bobcats are back in action this weekend in the Charger Chillout in Hunstville, Ala., starting Feb. 18 at 10:30 a.m. While the team is off to a slow start, Grodecki said there is room for improvement and optimism.

“We’ve been tinkering with the lineup a little bit, trying to see what works, and our pitchers are trying to get settled in a little bit,” Grodecki said. “If we can start hitting the ball and pitching well on a consistent basis, we will come around.”