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COLUMBUS, Ga. | The University of North Georgia softball team dropped its first two games of 2016 Saturday at the Peach Belt/Gulf South Southern Softball Showdown at the South Commons Softball Complex in Augusta.

GAME ONE
Freshman pitcher Brianna Michaud suffered some two-out struggles in both the first and the second inning, giving up a two-run homer in the first and three two-out RBI hits in the second all with two outs on the board.

The Nighthawks plated six runs in the third to put the game away. UNG scored once in the bottom half of the third asAlexis Collis picked up an infield RBI single to make it 11-1. The two teams traded runs in the fifth to give the game its final score of 12-2.

GAME TWO
Macy Watkins, also a freshman, put forward a valiant effort against Delta State but ultimately the Nighthawks could not pull through, falling 3-2 to the Lady Statesmen. DSU scored two in the second on a bases loaded walk and brought in another run on a wild pitch.

North Georgia answered with a run in the bottom of the second with an RBI ground out from Hannah McSwain to scoreKatie Block.

Delta State scored what would be the game-winning run in the third with their only RBI hit of the night. The Nighthawks scratched across one in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly to deep center by Jessica Finch to bring home Laura Spivey to make it 3-2. UNG had runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh, but a fly out to left ended the game.

NOTES
– The season opening loss was the first for North Georgia since 2005, snapping a 10-year winning streak in the first game of the year.

– The Nighthawks issued a total of 15 free passes on the day, with 12 walks and three hit batsmen.

– UNG stranded 13 base runners in the Delta State game, leaving the bases loaded twice.

– The last time North Georgia surrender 12 runs or more came in the final game of 2014, a 12-10 loss in the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals.

NEXT UP
The Nighthawks will face a pair of top 25 teams tomorrow with a game against Alabama-Huntsville at 11:30 a.m., before finishing off the PBC/GSC Southern Softball Showdown against No. 6 Valdosta State at 4:30 p.m.
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