Georgia Military College Softball improved their season record to 17-11 on Tuesday after picking up two non-conference wins at USC Salkehatchie. Behind solid offensive performances in both games, the Bulldogs won 16-3 and 12-6. Mackenzie Kilpatrick and Makensey Sapp both had perfect games, each going 4-4 in one game of the doubleheader. Kilpatrick had three singles and a triple in Game 1, while Sapp had two home runs, two singles, and a walk in the nightcap.
Fireworks began with the first at-bat of Game 1 when Lily Griffith started with a solo home run to centerfield. The Indians got the next two batters out. The Bulldogs took off on a two-out tear, scoring five runs on five hits, including the second home run of the inning, a two-run blast by starting pitcher Jana Shellhorse. The Bulldogs added an extra run in the second inning, seven in the fourth, and two in the fifth. Along with Kilpatrick's four hits, Griffith and Shellhorse had two each, adding doubles to their earlier earned home runs. Shellhorse allowed three runs and picked up her eighth win of the season. She had seven strikeouts, and one walk in five innings pitched.
The nightcap saw each Bulldog pick up a hit during the game. Sapp led the Bulldogs with four hits, Avian Trull provided three hits, and Molly Kalifeh and Griffith added two. The game started tight as both teams scored a single run in the first inning. The Indians scored two runs off of a sacrifice fly and error by the Bulldogs in the bottom of the second inning, taking their first lead of the day, 3-1. The Bulldogs bats came alive in the fourth inning; Marley Smith got things going with a two-out single to left field. Mary Katherine Lawrence followed with a walk, and both Smith and Lawrence scored on the double by Griffith. Sapp launched her first home run of the game, a two-run shot to left field. The Bulldogs scored three more runs in the inning, giving them an 8-3 lead. After sitting the Bulldogs down in the fifth, the Indians rallied to score their final three runs of the game before starting pitcher Avian Trull, and the Bulldogs defense shut them down. The Bulldogs scored one run in the sixth inning and three in the seventh to pull away. Trull pitched the complete seven innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and three strikeouts, earning her fourth win of the season.
"Once again, it was nice to see that everyone contributed to Tuesday's success. The deeper our lineup is, the more successful we will be heading into conference play next week", says head Coach Ashley Bunn. "Two major takeaways from Tuesday's wins were our ability to score with two outs and battling back in the second game after falling behind early."
The Bulldogs will be back in action next Thursday, March 17th, as they begin conference play at East Georgia State College in Swainsboro, Ga. Games at 1:00pm and 3:00 pm.