UNC WILMINGTON 3, GEORGIA STATE 0
UNC WILMINGTON 1, GEORGIA STATE 0 (8)
GEORGIA STATE 7, UNC WILMINGTON 4
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Senior Jennifer Bosley threw back-to-back complete game shutouts to give UNC Wilmington a pair of wins, 3-0 and 1-0, over Georgia State in Colonial Athletic Association softball action Sunday during Senior Day at Boseman Field. The Lady Panthers took the finale, 7-4.
With the wins, the Seahawks improved to 29-22 overall, 10-5 in the CAA, and set a program record for conference victories after their fourth-straight conference series win. UNCW also moved into a tie for second with GSU and is a game and half behind first-place Hofstra, who took two of three from JMU this weekend. The Lady Panthers dropped to 21-15 overall and 10-5 in the league.
During the first game, which was a continuation of yesterday's postponement, junior Krista Searle nailed a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Seahawks the win.
With the score at nil-nil, freshman catcher Carley Hughes led off the inning with a single through the left side, one of five hits for her on the day, off GSU starter Elizabeth Hyman. Hyman was impressive throughout the first six innings, striking out 13 and walking none.
However, freshman Ali Gardiner singled up the middle before Searle smacked her first of two homers on the day to give the Seahawks the win, 3-0.
The second game, another pitchers duel, also came down to the last at-bat. After Bosley continued to quiet the Lady Panthers' bats, even as the game into extra innings, the Seahawks rallied in the bottom of the eighth off GSU starter Meghan McCoy.
Hughes again ignited the inning by smacking a single through the left side. Searle singled one batter later, as did Bosley, which loaded the bases for sophomore Whitney Knudsen. The leftfielder hit a grounder in the hole that the shortstop couldn't corral in time, to score Hughes and gives the Seahawks a 1-0 victory.
Bosley allowed eight hits over 15 scoreless innings and struck out 14 with just one walk to improve to 13-11. The senior from Oakland, Md. has now pitched 23 consecutive scoreless innings.
In the third game, UNCW capitalized on two errors and two wild pitches to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning.
However, the Lady Panthers tied it in the third off a RBI-double from Nichole Griffin and a two-run homer from McCoy off Seahawk starter junior Jess Luckett.
GSU added two more in the fifth before a solo blast in the sixth off the bat of junior Alison Bradford took Luckett out of the game with the Lady Panthers up, 6-3.
However, Searle hit her second round-tripper of the day, and 12th of the season, tying her own school record, in the sixth to narrow the margin to 6-4. The Lady Panthers added one more run in the seventh, a solo homer from freshman Jackie Jaegle, to seal the victory, 7-4.
The Seahawks wrap up their non-conference schedule when they visit Coastal Carolina for a 4 p.m. doubleheader, Wednesday, April 26.
