Wingate, N.C.----The 16th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs swept a doubleheader over the Bobcats of Georgia College & State University in NCAA Division II softball action Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs won by scores of 9-1 (six innings) and 4-2 to improve to 23-3 overall. The Bobcats fall to 10-21 overall on the season.

Game #1
#16 Wingate 9, GCSU 1 (six innings)       BOX SCORE

Junior right-hander Brittany Blankenship (Midlothian, Va.) picked up career win number 50, while senior shortstop Debra Grijalva (San Jose, Calif.) blasted a three-run homer in Wingate’s 9-1 victory. Junior outfielder Gina Ager (Columbia, Md.) was three-for-three with an RBI and a run scored. Senior infielder Leyila Myers (Marietta, Ga.) had two hits and two RBI, while sophomore outfielder Jessica Bowen (Matthews, N.C.) added two doubles and scored twice.

The Bulldogs plated two runs in the first for the early lead. Bowen doubled to right center, then scored on an error for a 1-0 lead. Myers added a two-out RBI single to push the lead to two.

The Bobcats scored their run in the second on a sacrifice fly from sophomore infielder Jessica Solomon (Douglasville, Ga.). Wingate answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Bowen got it started with an RBI double. Grijalva provided the big blow, a three-run shot to left field to make it 6-1.

Wingate scored two more in the fourth, getting an RBI single from Myers and an RBI double from sophomore outfielder Joya Wortham (Creedmoor, N.C.) to make the score 8-1. The Bulldogs finished the game in the sixth on an RBI double from Ager.

Blankenship allowed one run on three hits while striking out five, improving to 12-1 overall on the season. The 2009 first team All-SAC selection is 20 wins away from the all-time Wingate record. GCSU sophomore Haley Burnett (Columbus, Ga.) took the loss, allowing six runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. She is 7-10 overall on the year.

Game #2
#16 Wingate 4, GCSU 2       BOX SCORE 

Myers blasted a three-run homer in the first to spark Wingate’s offense in game two. Ager added two more hits, while sophomore catcher Brittany Barrineau (Monroe, N.C.) was two-for-two with a double and a run scored.

The Bulldogs did all of their damage in the first, plating four runs. Junior outfielder Emily Chavis (Berkeley Lake, Ga.) drove home the first run with a sacrifice fly. Myers followed with her fourth homer of the year, a three-run shot to left to put Wingate on top by four.

GCSU plated a run in the third on an RBI single from senior infielder Kayla Smith (Lexington, S.C.). The Bobcats plated another run in the fourth on an RBI single from junior infielder Brandie Monroe (Guyton, Ga.), making the final tally 4-2.

Wingate junior right-hander Allison Smith (Daleville, Va.) got the win, improving to 11-1 overall on the season. She allowed one earned run on seven hits in seven innings of work, while striking out five. Sophomore Caitlin Duvall (Douglasville, Ga.) took the loss, falling to 0-6 overall on the year. She allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Wingate returns to action Saturday, hosting Tusculum College in the SAC opener at 1 p.m. The Wingate Sports Network will provide a live PPV video broadcast of Saturday’s action. GCSU returns to action Sunday, traveling to Francis Marion for a 12 noon start. 

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)