DAHLONEGA – Despite a valiant effort from the No. 3 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team, the Nighthawks dropped their opening game of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament 8-7 to Lincoln Memorial in 12 innings on Thursday afternoon.
Thursday's matchup was nothing short of a back-and-forth battle between the top-seeded Nighthawks and the No. 8 seed Lincoln Memorial. Even after erasing a three-run deficit in the eighth, the Nighthawks saw their defeat at the hands of an RBI single from the Railsplitters four innings later to break a 12-game win streak and fall to the elimination bracket.
North Georgia struck first in the bottom of the first. Marycille Brumby laced an RBI double to right field to give the Nighthawks an early advantage.
The Railsplitters had a counterattack with an RBI double of their own in the third to even up the score.
The Nighthawks immediately responded in the home half of the inning, as Carleigh Knowles blasted her 10th homer of the season past the wall in left field to put her team back in the lead 3-1.
Lincoln Memorial continued to match the blows from the Nighthawks, sending a solo home run to centerfield to bring the score within one.
With two outs on the board in the top of the seventh, the Railsplitters rallied off a two RBI single up the right field line to take their first lead of the afternoon.
North Georgia needed to answer in the bottom of the seventh to keep its hopes alive, and the team got what it needed to take the game to extras.
After Chloe Poss and Ava Lunsford took advantage of a pair of Railsplitter errors, Sydnee Reaves roped a single to left field to load the bases for Jenna Miles. With nobody out, Miles sent a groundball to the shortstop, paving the way for Poss to come home and tie the game. The Railsplitters hung on for the final two outs, including a game-saving diving catch in left field by Kristin Griffin to take the game to the eighth inning.
The two-out rally for the Railsplitters remained true in the eighth, as Jordan Reagan lifted a three-run homer to left to put Lincoln Memorial in the driver's seat 7-4.
With their backs against the wall, North Georgia refused to back down. Poss paid off a leadoff walk from Morgan Martin by sending her home on an RBI single up the middle to cut the lead to two. Lunsord immediately followed up Poss with a run-scoring single of her own to bring the score within one.
After watching the Railsplitters put together a couple two-out rallies in the ballgame, North Georgia made sure to get one of its own. Down to their final out, Miles connected on a big RBI single to score Emma Hare and tie the game.
The 7-7 score remained intact through the next three innings. Both sides were able to put traffic on the bases, but neither could translate it to runs to take the lead.
It was not until the top of the 12th inning that the bats would get warmed up once more. With two outs on the board, the Railsplitters found momentum once again, as Hannah Bogoski drove an RBI single to left field to give Lincoln Memorial the final lead it needed to win the game.
The Nighthawks put two runners on in the bottom of the 12th, but Lincoln Memorial was able to hold on for the final three outs to seal the victory.
Lila Mullinax was tacked with the loss, tossing four innings, all of which came in extras, surrendering five hits and the game-winning run while in the circle.
Reaves' three hits and Knowles' two RBI with the homer led North Georgia's offense.
The Railsplitters (26-22, 12-10 SAC) were pushed to victory by Griffin's double and home run.
The Nighthawks (45-9, 22-5 PBC) need two wins tomorrow to survive and advance to Saturday's games. They will face off against Columbus State in a rematch of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship with their season on the line. First pitch for the elimination game is set for tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m.