FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4-9-07

College Softball: AASU 9 (10 inn.) -2, North Georgia 8-5

Release Courtesy of North Georgia Sports Information

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – North Georgia College & State University fell 9-8 in ten innings in the opener and rallied in game two for a 5-2 comeback win and series split with Armstrong Atlantic University here Monday afternoon. Leslee Smith set the pace for the Saints again with five hits and seven RBI’s, including a home run and three doubles.

Down 2-0 in the third the Saints started their comeback with back-to-back doubles to start the inning by Krista Goodlet and Brooke Kesler. Raynor and Propes each followed with singles to load the bases for Smith who took advantage of another RBI situation with a bases clearing double off the fence in right-center to give the Saints a 4-2 lead. Skeels would single home Smith for the fifth run of the inning and a 5-2 Saints lead.

The Pirates had a shot in the seventh with two on and no outs, but a line drive to Smith and a flip to Goodlet at second resulted in a key double-play. Trisha Snider then speared a line drive up the middle and tossed it to first to end the game with two dazzling defensive plays and
a Saints victory.

Trisha Snider picked up the win in relief and evened her record to 2-2 with four innings and no runs. Jessica Waters got the loss as she went six innings and allowed 10 hits and all five Saints runs.

In game one, an overturned double-play call led to the game-winning run to cross the plate in the top of the tenth inning. With one out, Amanda Vickers hit a groundball to North Georgia third baseman Krista Bess who in turn tagged the bag at third and threw across the diamond for an apparent double play. Only Armstrong Atlantic head coach Ted Evans questioned the call and asked the home plate umpire if first baseman Natasha Willemse pulled her foot off the bag. The umpires gathered and overturned the ruling, bringing North Georgia back out of the dugout to finish the top of the tenth inning. Tori Richter promptly delivered for the Pirates, blooping a ball between shortstop Leslee Smith and leftfielder Whitney Propes to bring home Kari Marsico for the winning run.

Pirates got on the board first in the opening thanks to a one out triple down the left field line by Natalie Vogler to plate Tori Richter and take a 1-0 lead. The Saints came right back with an attack of there own in the bottom half of the inning with four hits to bring three runs home. Leslee Smith got the offense going with an RBI single up the middle to plate Page Raynor and tie the game 1-1. After Brittany Cobb was hit by a pitch, Jessica Skeels walked to load the bases for Meigan Grimm who drew a walk to bring home Smith for a 2-1 lead. Natasha Willemse followed with a single to left to plate another run and the Saints led 3-1 after an inning of play.

The Saints added a run in the second with another RBI hit from Smith, this time a double that bounced off the centerfield wall to plate Whitney Propes for a 4-1 lead. In the fourth, Smith continued her unstoppable offensive streak with a one out bomb to right-center for her seventh home run of the season and her fourth long ball in only three games. The homer scored Raynor and the Saints led 6-1 after four innings.

Armstrong added two more runs in the fifth as Vogler added another hit to bring two runs to the plate and make it a 6-3 Saints lead. In the bottom of the inning, Krista Bess hit the team’s second long ball of the game to give the Saints a 7-3 lead after five innings. The Pirates kept fighting and pulled off a five run seventh on five hits to tie the game 8-8. Jessica Strong got the clutch hit as she singled to center with two outs to plate a pair of runs and tie the game.

Andrea Moss (18-8) got in the loss in 10 innings of work as she allowed 13 hits and four earned runs. Pam Bykowski picked up the win as she went six and 2/3 innings giving up six hits and one earned run.

- Pirates -