CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Delta State University softball team battled through an 11-inning pitchers' duel to defeat West Georgia 3-2 in the series finale on Sunday, March 12. With the win in game three, the Lady Statesmen earned their fifth consecutive Gulf South Conference series win.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPFinal: Delta State 3 | West Georgia 2Location: University Softball Field | Carrollton, Ga.
Records: Lady Statesmen (23-6, 14-1) | Wolves (18-10, 8-7)
Get Social: @DSUStatesmen | @DSUScores | @DeltaStateSB
HOW IT HAPPENED - The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when Kilandra Dollar homered to left field giving UWG the 1-0 lead. Marley Stowers followed with a single down the left side, and Katie Spinks smashed a double to left field to score Stowers for the second run, making the score 2-0.
- Abi Gibson walked and swiped second to start the top of the fourth inning. Kaitlin Moore followed with a double, and Morgan Kazerooni reached first on a dropped fly by left fielder, Peyton Stallworth, which scored Gibson to put Delta State on the board.
- In the top of the sixth, Gibson walked and advanced to second on a sac-bunt by Moore. Then Madison Zoeller walked, bringing Jordan Jones to the plate. Jones singled to right center to score Gibson for the tying run.
- The Wolves started to pose a threat in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. Katie Justice recorded back-to-back stikeouts and forced Stallworth to fly out to end the inning.
- UWG loaded the bases once again in the seventh, but solid pitching by Justice kept the Lady Statesmen alive, as Jordan Corbin lined into a double play to send the game to extra innings.
- In the top of the ninth, Jones reached first on an error, stole second, and advanced to third on a sac bunt by Nowell. But a strikeout and ground out sent the game to the bottom of the ninth.
- The game remained a pitchers' duel, but Delta State finally found the breakthrough in the top of in the top of the 11th inning, when Moore scored on a sac fly by Zoeller to give DSU the game-winning run.
- Justice earned the win, improving her record to 7-2. In six innings, she recorded a season high five strikeouts and allowed just two hits. Taylor Tucker and Taylor Johnson both received no decisions. Tucker gave up two runs on five hits in 2.1 innings, while Johnson allowed three hits in 2.2 innings.
- Katie Shultes (6-4) suffered the loss for the Wolves, giving up one run on one hit over five innings. She was one of three pitchers used by West Georgia.
- Moore, Zoeller and Jones led the Lady Statesmen at the plate. Moore was 1-for-3 and scored a run. Zoeller was 1-for-3 with a RBI. Jones went 2-for-5 with a RBI.
STAT OF THE DAY - The Lady Statesmen collected just four hits, compared to UWG's 10.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE - The Lady Statesmen have recorded five straight Gulf South Conference series wins.
- The 11-inning contest was the longest game the Lady Statesmen have played this season.
- All three games in the series were determined by one run. The Lady Statesmen have won seven-of-11 one-run games this season.
- Delta State scored two runs off a lead-off walk.
- Senior Kassidy Tally is 39-of-40 in stolen base attempts this season. The Raleigh, Miss., native has 200 career steals, 49 away from the NCAA Division II record of 250 held by North Dakota State's Nikki Flynn-Gregg, who set the record in 285 career games from 1997-2000.
- Kaitlin Moore now has 148 career RBIs and has recorded a hit in all but five games.
UP NEXT DSU is scheduled to travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face Miles College in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. The games will be carried live on GoStatesmen.com
