GC sofball splits series versus Anderson (S.C)

Emily Henderson

Staff Writer

GC softball hosted the Anderson University Trojans Tuesday, April 4, for their Strike Out Cancer and Tailgate Tour game of the season, bringing a big crowd to the stands.

Game one started off strong for the Bobcats, getting an early 3-0 lead in the second inning after a double by freshman Stephanie Condland followed by a throwing error by the Trojans. The bats for the Bobcats got quiet while the Trojans started to get fired up.

The Trojans tied up the game in the fifth before dealing damage to the Bobcats in the sixth after multiple errors that GC failed to recover from.

Both teams started out slow in game two. The starting pitcher for the Bobcats, junior Shelby Jones, got out of the first inning after the first two runners reached on singles with the help of a double play and flyout to center field.

The Bobcats had a spark in the lineup in the fourth, starting with a single by sophomore Kam Caldwell.

After a stolen base by Caldwell, a liner to the third baseman followed by a throwing error al- lowed her to advance to third. Condland then drove in Caldwell on an RBI-single to right field.

After a hit-by-pitch and another single, sophomore Divina Checo came up to the plate with bases loaded. A perfectly placed hit between the shortstop and third baseman allowed another runner to score, leaving the bases loaded.

Another hit-by-pitch brought home another runner to score for the Bobcats, making the score 3-0 before the inning was ended by a groundout to the shortstop.

The Trojans tried to start a late sixth-inning rally, starting the inning with an error at shortstop and a tricky hit off of the third base bag putting a runner on second and third for the Trojans. A close play at the plate after a fly ball to right went in favor of the Trojans, scoring their first run of the game.

Shortly after, a bobbled ball at short allowed the runner on third to score. A hardhit ball was caught right at the left field wall by Haydn Bendall, ending the inning and allowing the Bobcats to maintain their lead, 3-2.

After the Bobcats went scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, there was no room for error in the top of the seventh. Shelby Jones dealt a clean onetwo-three inning, ending the game with her fourth strikeout of the game and helping her team split the double header.

“I think, right now, we are just grinding,” said head coach Jamie Grodecki. “We just need to keep pushing, like we did in game two, be steady and just pull some more games out, like today.”

GC was scheduled to have seven games the week of April 3. With the postponement of the weekend series to April

24 and 25, the Bobcats have time to regroup and focus on the last few weeks of play before the playoffs begin.

“We just need to practice hard and make sure that we are getting everything right,” Jones said. “We need to make sure all of the pitchers are hitting their spots, and the hitters are working on what they need to work on, and the same with defense.”

Tough, important conference games are coming up for the Bobcats, which will determine where they will be placed in the tournament. This season for GC softball has been a big improvement from previous seasons.

“We have had new kids step up,” Grodecki said. “We had many transfers come in and take a lead there. Overall, this team just really gets along well. We have had some adversity with some injuries. We have had different people step up and get it done, and that, to me, is a sign of a team that is going to have success.”

No matter the outcome of the season, there is a lot this team should be proud of. The team is currently No. 5 in the Peach Belt Conference while having an overall record of 23-16 and a conference record of 9-9, compared to the previous season of 1232 overall and a conference record of 4-20.

“We just want to have fun,” Checo said. “As long as we have each other’s back all the time and just play for each other, at the end of the day, we will play GC ball and end up having a good rest of the season.”