Saints Dominate Canes in PBC Tourney Opener
FLORENCE, SC – North Georgia College
& State University breezed through the opening game of the
Peach Belt Conference Softball Tournament, defeating Georgia
Southwestern 9-0 in five innings Friday afternoon at Freedom
Florence Park.
The Saints improve to 40-3 on the season with the 9-0 shutout of
the Hurricanes, while Georgia Southwestern falls to 13-36 on the
year.
Sarah Phillips (29-1) continued to shine a day after being named
the PBC Pitcher of the year, no-hitting the Hurricanes and striking
out seven in the five-inning contest. She tossed just 50 pitches
and faced the minimum 15 batters in the game.
North Georgia scored single runs in the first and third innings
before exploding for seven runs in the fourth inning to pick up the
victory.
The fourth inning saw the Saints use just four hits to plate all
seven runs. Courtney McGuire coaxed a walk to force home the first
run of the inning, and Leslee Smith followed and lined a double
down the left field line to bring two more runs around and make it
5-0.
Pilar Harden added an RBI to make it 6-0 before Hilary Cox smoked
a double to left center, plating two more runs to give the Saints
an 8-0 lead. Stephanie Farmakis added the final run of the game
with a single up the middle to bring Cox racing home and cap the
7-run inning.
Cox finished the game 2-for-3 at the dish with three runs batted
in, while Leslee Smith tallied a hit in two trips to the pate with
a pair of RBI’s.
The Saints will now move on to the second round of the PBC
Tournament to play Augusta State University who defeated Armstrong
Atlantic 2-1 in a 9-inning contest earlier in the day. First pitch
on semi-final Saturday is set for 11:00 a.m. at Freedom Florence
Park.
North Georgia runs their winning streak to 17 games, dating back
exactly a month ago when the Saints fell 4-0 at USC Aiken in game
two of a doubleheader. Phillips also runs her winning streak to 26
consecutive games won as she records her 22nd complete game of the
season.
Leslee Smith lines a two-out double down the left field
line in the Saints seven-run 4th inning