Bucs fall 2-1 in game one; 14-1 in game two

GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 25, 2023) – The ETSU softball team opened Southern Conference play on Saturday by dropping a doubleheader at UNCG from the UNCG Softball Complex. ETSU battled and suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 eight-inning loss in game one before falling 14-1 in game two.

RECORDS

ETSU (7-20, 0-2 SoCon)

UNCG (21-12, 2-0 SoCon)

NOTABLES

• The trio of Sara Muir (Sequatchie, Tenn.), Riley Nayadley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Jasmine Sanchez (Buford, Ga.) finished game one with a pair of hits, while Sanchez recorded the lone RBI for ETSU.
• Brianna Bailey (Wewahitchka, Fla.) pitched 7.2 innings, allowing a pair of runs in game one.
• Recording the only run for ETSU in game two, Muir blasted her sixth homer of the year.
• In game two, UNCG recorded four homers – accounting for four of its eight hits.

GAME ONE RECAP

The conference opener featured a classic pitchers’ duel, but when the dust settled UNCG rallied for a 2-1 win in eight innings.

In her 11th start of the season, Bailey allowed just two hits in the first six frames, striking out a batter per inning.

After both teams were held scoreless for the first six frames, ETSU struck first with a run in the top of the seventh to up, 1-0.

Nayadley led off for ETSU in the top off the seventh inning with her second hit of the day she found her way to first base, before stealing second. Makenzie Henderson (Clinton, Tenn.) recorded her sixth hit of the year to advance Nayadley to third, while she scored the first run of the day when Sanchez knocked a ball into center field making it a 1-0 score.

Answering in the home half of the seventh, Brooklyn Maxwell homered over the right-field wall off the 12th pitch of the at-bat, tying the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the eight, the Spartans loaded the bases with a pair of walks and hit-by-pitch. UNCG plated the game-winning run when Grace Loftin hit a sac-fly to center field for the walk-off 2-1 victory.

GAME TWO RECAP

Following an extra-inning game in the opener, UNCG scored 10 fourth-inning runs to cruise to a 14-1 five-inning win in game two.

After scoring a run in each of the first two innings and a pair of runs in the third, UNCG exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Loftin and Harwood hit back-to-back homers to score four of the 10 runs in the fourth. In the frame, the Spartans used six walks and a hit by pitch to score the other six runs.

Muir notched her sixth homer of the year in the fifth inning when she blasted the second pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall.

PITCHERS OF RECORD

ETSU: Brianna Bailey (5-6) – loss. | Game two: Sara Muir (1-4) – loss.

UNCG: Maddie Spell (5-4) – win. | Game two: Rhyann Jones (7-1) – win.

UP NEXT

The Blue and Gold will finish the series against UNCG on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

For more information on Buccaneer softball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the softball tab.