SOFTBALL'S SEASON ENDS IN TITLE GAME
What you need to know:
* Georgia State's season came to an end with a 3-2 loss to Kennesaw State Thursday in the NISC Region 5 title game.
* The Panthers finish the year 36-25.
* Megan Litumbe homered in the loss to KSU, tying the GSU single-season home run record (22).
ATLANTA - After fighting through the double-elimination bracket to get back to the NISC Region 5 championship game, Georgia State fell 3-2 to top-seeded Kennesaw State, ending Georgia State's season with a 36-25 record.
Game 1: Georgia State 3, Western Kentucky 2
The Panthers were the designated away team Thursday morning against WKU. The Hilltoppers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer, but that would be all as Mandy Chance would hold WKU to just the two runs on five hits. Chance went the distance in the win to finish her sophomore season with a 10-7 record.
The Panthers chipped away at the WKU lead with a Mandy Blackwell RBI-single to center field in the top of the fourth. Blackwell went 4-for-4 in the game.
After GSU tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth, Kirsten McMonigle singled home the go-ahead run in what would prove to be the game-winner.
The win eliminated WKU and moved Georgia State into the title game, needing to beat Kennesaw state twice to claim the championship.
Game 2: Kennesaw State 3, Georgia State 2
The second game of the day proved to be nearly identical to the first, with the home team scoring two runs in the first before falling to a late rally. Unfortunately for GSU, the Panthers found themselves on the losing end this time.
After a two-out single by Ivie Drake in the first, Megan Litumbe launched her fourth homer of the tournament and 22nd of the season. The 22 homers matches the GSU single-season record.
That would be all the runs GSU would get, however, as KSU spent the final six innings mounting a comeback. The Owls scored a run in the second, fourth and seventh innings to knock off the Panthers.
Emily Soles threw a good game, going all 7.0 innings and holding the top-seeded Owls to just three runs.
For four seniors, it was the final game of their Georgia State careers. The Panthers finish the 2017 season with a 36-25 record, the 11th straight 30-win season for GSU.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSU_Softball) for the latest news.
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Warhawks Fall in NISC Regional Final
BEAUMONT, Texas - The ULM softball team used a seventh inning rally to pick up the 2-1 walkoff win over Lamar to keep the season alive, however Lamar bounced back with a 3-2 walkoff win in the second game to win the Beaumont Regional in the NISC and advance to the final round of the tournament and end the Warhawk season.
TURNING POINT
-In the first game of the day the Warhawks trailed 1-0 going to the last of the seventh inning needing two runs to force a second game on Thursday went to work. Brie Wrobel led the inning off with a single and after an error by the Cardinals shortstop the Warhawks had the winning run on with no outs. After a Sydney McKay ground out advancing both runners up into scoring position the Warhawks looked to take the game. Sami Billeaudeau picked up the RBI groundout to tie the game then Jayden Mount won the game with an RBI single.
-With a 2-2 game in the bottom of the seventh the Cardinals got a leadoff single to put the winning run on base before Lamar loaded the bases with one out before a single brought in the winning run and ended the ULM season.
NOTABLES
-McKay paced the Warhawks with three hits in the contest. Cheyanne Lyon and Brie Wrobel added a pair of hits each as Sami Billeaudeau and Jayden Mount drove the RBI.
-Paige Murray got the start in the circle for the Warhawks, going only one inning and allowing three hits and the only run of the contest. Jessie Watts entered behind her and pitched the final six innings, scattering two hits while striking out a pair of Cardinals while getting her fourth win of the season.
-In game two the Warhawks were led by Lyon's two hits, while McKay, Mount, Hunter Hogan, Samantha Agamaite and Megan Shaw each added a base hit apiece. Lyon had both of the RBI for the Warhawks in the contest.
-Melanie Coyne got the start in game two, giving up two runs in three innings as she was followed by Murray in the final 3 1/3 innings. Murray allowed three hits, including the game-winning knock for the Cardinals.
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SB: Memorable Season Ends In NISC Vs. ULM
The Mavericks Ended Their 32-Win Season, Most Since 2011, With The First Postseason Appearance Since 2003.
BEAUMONT, Texas - In an all-Sun Belt matchup in the National Invitational Softball Championship, it was ULM who topped UTA 5-0 to eliminate the Mavericks from the competition on Wednesday in the Beaumont Regional.
The Mavs saw the end of a campaign that featured a 32-28 record, the best win total since the 2011 season and first postseason appearance since 2003. ULM advances into a second elimination game at 7 p.m. this evening against the loser of Lamar and Abilene Christian. The matchup marked the 101st meeting between the two teams, the Mavs lead 51-50.
Freshman Mariah Denson, making just her fifth start of the season, pitched a perfect opening three innings before luck would turn against her. A bloop-hit led to a double to start off the fourth and back-to-back hits opened scoring. ULM knocked a two-out double to the wall to push two more across in the frame, but the Mavs would get the third runner out on a relay from left that ended the threat at home.
Three consecutive singles once again in the fifth plated a run to make it a 4-0 game.
Despite being held off the board in the opening four innings, the Mavs had their opportunities and put runners on second in third in both the first and fourth. However, UTA would be unable to get any closer to get on the board.
Denson, knocked with the loss, went to 2-8 for the year. Denson was on the hook for four earned, seven hits and struck out two.
Senior Mallory Foster led the offsense with two hits in her final game as a Maverick. Junior Sandra Mendoza notched her 60th hit of the season, coming just one short of entering the top-10 of UTA's single-season records. UTA finished with six hits overall compared to ULM's 11, while each team left six on base.