Softball splits with top PBC team Columbus State

The Georgia College softball team returned to their home field from Spring Break on March 29 for a dog fight against conference favorite Columbus State University. The game was pushed from March 29 to March 30 due to the weather.

Junior righty Sabrina Chandler continued her consistency on the mound by pitching all of game one, including a clutch extra inning where the Bobcats took the first game of the doubleheader against Columbus State, who entered the game as the top team in the PBC Conference.

Vanessa Whited | gcsunade.com

Freshman centerfielder Whitney Okvist beats out a groundball for the Bobcats on March 11 against Wingate. The Bobcats dropped the doubleheader, losing 5-4 in the first game and 9-1 in the second game.

The gloomy and overcast day weighed little on the Bobcats as the dugout chants and on-field chatter filled the ballpark to help them out hit Columbus State 11-3.

Senior shortstop Brandie Monroe had a clutch game one for the Bobcats, going 2-3 at the plate and scoring both of the Bobcats runs and junior designated hitter Haley Burnett continued her reign at the plate, giving a 3-4 performance.

“She played really well for us,” Head Coach Jamie Grodecki said. “She’s been starting and getting more at bat. She is settling in and getting more confidence at the plate.”

Monroe led off the bottom of the fifth with a double, and the next batter, junior second baseman  Caitlin Duvall, singled to plate Monroe for the first score of the game, and the only for the inning, while the Bobcats left two runners on base.

“I felt amazing because I knew how big of a game it was and how big of a game it could be,” Monroe said. “We knew Columbus was a team that could come back at any point.”

The Bobcats lead influenced Chandler in the top of the sixth as she recorded three quick outs to get her team back to the plate. Junior third baseman Maggie Davis was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and her pinch runner, senior Bailey Thompson was sacrificed to second on a bunt by freshman first baseman Lindsey Conway.

Columbus State’s catcher Casey Googe was keeping Georgia College base runners honest on the bags all day. In the bottom of the sixth, Duvall lined a shot up the middle. Grodecki recognized the opposing catcher’s arm, but stuck by her decision to send Thompson home.

“Runner in scoring position, we should have been able to score,” Grodecki said. “(Googe) was keeping us close at second, but I’m sending her all day.”

The Cougars were able to put one across in the seventh off of a “fatty-pitch” Chandler said, but remaining calm, she shut down the rest of the inning to force extra innings as the Bobcats got nothing going in their seventh inning plate appearances.

“I let it go and let it roll of my shoulders—and pitched how I was pitching before the pitch.” Chandler said.

Chandler earned a Columbus State groundout to second base to start the eighth inning followed by a fly-out to center. The Cougars left their go-ahead run on first, when Chandler got the fourth batter of the inning to ground out to her. Monroe led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and reached second from a well-executed sacrifice.

Columbus State’s shortstop would throw the routine ground ball in the dirt to first base, giving the Bobcats a 2-1 lead and the win in extra innings.

Game two saw complete differences for the Bobcats offense and defense. Using three different pitchers, the Bobcats fell behind early 6-0. In the seventh, senior rightfielder Kati Pickowitz, who was 2-4, plated their first, along with junior shortstop Corby Holmes, who added a second.

In earlier action, the Bobcats (11-30, 6-8 PBC) dropped a pair of non-conference games to Wingate on March 11, 5-4 and 9-1. On Alumni Day on March 13, they dropped a pair at home to Carson-Newman, 1-0 and 6-2. In PBC Action, the Bobcats split a doubleheader on March 15, winning the first game 5-1 before losing the second game 9-7. On March 17, the Bobcats split a home doubleheader against Augusta State, winning 3-2 before losing 4-2. On March 20, the Bobcats picked up another road split at UNC Pembroke, winning 5-4 and losing 3-2. Finally on March 22, the Bobcats dropped a doubleheader at North Georgia, 8-0 and 3-1.

Georgia College travels to Flagler on April 2, for another PBC match-up.

Posted by Taylor Lamb on Apr 2 2011. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.