>> GEORGIA COLLEGE
Georgia College & State University (GCSU) softball (10-3) won fivestraight games Feb. 17-19, to win the annual Bobcat Battle Tournament at the GCSU Peeler Complex, over Southern Wesleyan University (SWU), Converse University (CU) and Mars Hill University (MHU).
The Bobcats opened the tourney with a 5-2 win over SWU on Friday.
GCSU got off to a quick start on the scoresheet with one run in each of the first two innings, then added three more in the sixth to get the win with five runs on five hits and three Warrior errors.
McDonough’s Jana Shellhorse nabbed the start and the win for GCSU as she picked up nine strikeouts through seven innings.
GCSU kicked off day two with a second game against Southern Wesleyan. The Bobcats again scored early, knocking in their first run in the first inning, but the bats really came alive in the fifth with a big five-run result. The win was solidified with a three-run sixth inning to pick up a 9-1 run-rule win.
Sydney Lancaster from Woodstock had her first outing in the circle for the Bobcats and allowed only one earned run in one inning. Shelby Jones, from Kissimmee, Fla., then got the relief effort going and was credited with the win after five strike outs in five innings. The Bobcats took on Converse in game three on Saturday afternoon and earned a 7-1 win.
GCSU had a big three-run second inning to kick off their run production, then plated two runs in the third, a single score in the fifth inning and both teams scored once in the sixth inning.
Illinois native Montana Ledbetter got the start for the Bobcats and went the distance, picking up seven strikeouts and allowing only one earned run in seven innings.
There was no shortage of offense for the Bobcats in game four of the tournament, as they plated nine runs on seven hits, to earn a 9-1 win over MHU in their first game on Sunday.
The GCSU bats drove in four runs in the first inning, then added a pair in the second and a single run in the fourth inning.
Mars Hill finally got on the board with a run in the top of the fifth inning, but Georgia College answered with another pair of runs in the sixth.
Jones picked up her fifth win of the season and second of the tournament after striking out seven batters and allowing just the single run in six complete innings of work.
The hot bats stuck around for game two of the day as GCSU scored nine runs on nine hits for the five-inning run-rule victory.
Shea Zweifel, from Ormond Beach, Fla., had the hottest bat of all for the Bobcats, as she picked up her first RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly to center field. Zweifel then contributed another RBI on a double to the left field fence in the third inning.
In the fourth inning, GCSU put six runs across the plate, including four from a grand slam by Zweifel.
Bookending her work on the mound for the tournament, Shellhorse picked up the five-inning shutout win, which included nine strikeouts.
The Bobcats return to action Feb. 25, to kick off conference play with a doubleheader at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla. GCSU and Flagler will play once the following day, too. First pitch this Saturday is set for noon with game two to follow. Live stats and broadcast links will be available at GCBobcats. com.