STATESBORO, Ga. – Senior A.J. Hamilton probably couldn’t have scripted a better story for her final game at Eagle Field. Georgia Southern’s four-year starter at catcher, Hamilton helped lead the Eagles to a 2-0 victory over the eighth-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette with a 2-for-3 outing at the plate, including a home run in the fourth with a huge crowd in the stands.
The Eagles (29-24, 12-9 SBC) controlled the game from the outset with pitcher Dixie Raley and the defense retiring ULL (37-7, 18-2) in order in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame, the Eagles loaded the bases with three base hits and never looked back. GS ended the game out-hitting the Cajuns 10-3.
Eagles Take Down Eighth-Ranked Ragin’ Cajuns With 2-0 Victory on Senior Day
In the bottom of the third inning, Snider broke the scoreless tie by hitting her sixth home run of the season to put the Eagles up 1-0. Hamilton followed that up by leading off the Eagles’ half of the fourth with a solo shot to center field of her own, extending the GS lead to 2-0. The home run was the ninth of the season for Hamilton and was the 23rd of her career, a mark that has her sixth in the Georgia Southern record book.
Hamilton ended the game 2-for-3 at the plate, matching Taylor Rogers, Morgan Robinson and Hannah Farrell. Hamilton added the run scored and run batted in.
Raley (22-11) secured her 22nd win of the season as well as her fifth shutout on the year as she held the Cajuns to just three hits spread out over the seven-inning affair. Alex Stewart (22-4) started the game for the Ragin’ Cajuns and pitched the first three innings before Victoria Brown came on in relief in the fourth inning.
COACH SMITH SAYS
“The team played a great game today. Dixie pitched well, Emily had the big home run to put us up and then A.J. followed and hit a home run against the No. 8 team in the county as well on Senior Day. Defensively, we did a great job. We made plays throughout the game, our outfielders made some great catches and the infielders did what they needed to do. It was a great way to close out our final home game in front of a great crowd. Our fans have been great all year coming out to support these players and it is just awesome for us to have that sort of support in the stands. I’m glad we were able to get a great win for the fans today.”
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will close out the regular-season on the road next weekend as they travel to in-state rival Georgia State for both a critical Sun Belt Conference series as well as a critical showdown in the Southern vs. State Rivalry Series. One point will be on the line in the series. To date, Georgia State leads the 2015-16 series 11-5. Georgia Southern and Georgia State will meet on the softball diamond in Atlanta for the first time since the 2013 season. The two will play a single game at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 6 and will then play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, May 7.
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UTA walks off in nine innings on Senior Day
ARLINGTON, Texas – It took nine innings, but UT Arlington was finally able to finish off Troy in a 13-12 win on Sunday at Allan Saxe Field.
After Troy scored six runs over the final two regulation innings, including a three-run homer to tie the game on two outs in the seventh, UTA was able to put together a rally in extras. With runners on the corners, senior Britnea Barilli induced an error by the pitcher to score the winning run from third.
"The whole game was a battle," Barilli said. "We knew we had to keep battling and knew that we can get one across. I felt everyone's energy today and everyone wanted to win for the seniors and that really helped push us."
The Mavericks improved to 29-16 overall and 8-13 in Sun Belt play after taking the series finale. UTA closed the home portion of its schedule with a 19-8 record. Troy went to 30-20 overall and 11-10 in conference play.
"I am really excited that we could get a win for our seniors," UT Arlington coach Kristie Fox said. "It was a dogfight every game we played against them. We have some things we need to clean up. We were one out away from the win, but to keep fighting and not give up after that moment, it is fitting on Senior Day that it came to a senior to get us the win. The mentality that this group has from top to bottom stems from them leading the way and never quitting."
UTA closes the regular season with a three-game series at Texas State that opens on Friday.
Hidden in the heroics of extra innings, sophomore Sandra Mendoza etched her name into the top of the Mavericks' single-season hits record with a 4-for-5 performance in Game 3. The four hits sent her by Katie Jones' mark set in 2007 as Mendoza has 71 hits in 2016.
"It is awesome and really good for the program, I could not have done it without the girls," Mendoza said. "They put me in situations where it is a team win all the time. We go through this together and we work hard everyday."
Four other UTA hitters joined Mendoza with multi-hit games. Brianna Burchianti was 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs. Kacey Everett, Krista Rude and Britnea Barilli each had a pair of hits.
The Mavericks continued their trend in the series of getting on the board first. UTA, doing so in all three games, picked up a run on a RBI ground out by Burchianti to plate Mendoza.
The teams would exchange back-to-back big innings through the second and third as Troy sent three across the plate in each. Mendoza provided the big blow in the second to tie the game at three apiece with a two-RBI double to the right-centerfield wall.
UTA got things started in the third as it loaded the bases with no outs. Burchianti advanced home on a wild pitch and Britnea Barilli was able to bounce a single off the right-field line to score two. UTA picked up another pair of runs before Mendoza added another double that completed a five-run frame for UTA.
"It was a very big win," Mendoza said. "We kept fighting the entire day and wanted to do it for the seniors."
The Trojans and Mavericks combined for 29 hits.
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GSU Notches 1,000th Program Win, 200th for Kincaid
MONROE, La. – Georgia State swept UL Monroe in a doubleheader Sunday to win the series at Monroe. The 6-2 win in Game 1 was the 1,000th win for Georgia State and the 200th for head coach Roger Kincaid.
Game 1 | GSU 6, ULM 2
Georgia State pulled ahead early in the first game of the doubleheader, scoring all six runs in the first three innings to give starter Katie Worley a nice cushion.
With the bases loaded in the first, Arden Jobe hit a bouncer back to the pitcher. The pitcher threw home to get the force out, but overthrew the catcher and two Panthers crossed the plate. Morgan Brown provided the third run with an RBI-single through the right side that scored Mandy Blackwell.
Blackwell came back up in the second inning and singled through the left side to bring home Taylor Anderson and make it a 4-0 game in favor of GSU. In the third, Taylor Bradley singled home Brown and then Anderson hit a double over the left fielder’s head to send Bradley home and give the Panthers a six-run advantage.
Six runs would be plenty for Worley, who held UL Monroe to just two runs on four hits through 6.1 innings. Amanda Chance came on in relief with one out in the seventh and finished the deal with some help from her defense. With two outs and two on, the ULM batter sent a deep fly ball to center field, but Brown went full extension towards the wall and made the diving catch to end the game.
The win marked both GSU’s 1,000 program win and head coach Roger Kincaid’s 200th win as coach of the Panthers. Georgia State is just the 36th NCAA Division I program to reach the milestone.
Game 2 | GSU 7, ULM 1
In the second feature of the day, ULM jumped out to a 1-0 lead with two hits in the bottom of the first. That would be all, however, as Amanda Chance got the start and held the Warhawks to three runs on six hits through 5.1 innings.
GSU tied the game in the second with a Taylor Anderson RBI-single and then took a 4-1 lead with a bases-loaded triple off the bat of Brenna Skalski. Remington Hasty added a run on an RBI-single in the third and the Panthers went up 7-1 in the fourth with a two-run home run by Ivie Drake. Drake’s 14th homer of the season pulls her within two of tying Callie Alford’s record of 38 career long balls.
ULM mounted a rally in the bottom of the sixth, scoring a run on an RBI-single up the middle with no outs. The Warhawks then loaded the bases with one out and scored on a hit-by-pitch to pull within four. Annie Davis came in to pitch with the bases full and shut the door on the ULM rally.
Davis stayed in to pitch the seventh and held the Warhawks off the board to secure the 7-3 win.
With the doubleheader sweep, GSU improves to 28-25 (11-10 SBC) while UL Monroe falls to 23-29 (7-14 SBC).
Up next for the Panthers is the final series of the regular season. Georgia State hosts rival Georgia Southern for three games at the Bob Heck Softball Complex beginning Friday at 5 p.m. and concluding with a doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday. Georgia State will honors its three seniors following the doubleheader on Saturday.