COCHRAN, Ga. - Senior center-fielder
Madison Cosgrove delivered when it mattered most on Friday night at Knights Field as her walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Middle Georgia State to a 3-2, series-opening win over Lander University.
Game Recap
The Knights jumped on the board first with a first inning run as junior
Briana Murray delivered a sharp single up the middle that plated Cosgrove who led off the inning with a single. The early lead would be short lived for MGA as Lander shortstop Bella Angeli provided a spark in the top of the second inning with a solo home run to center-field to knot the score at 1-1.
MGA came right back however in their half of the second inning as
Lizzy Vales singled to lead off the frame, stole second base and would eventually come in to score on a
Kaylee Oliver infield single. The back-and-forth affair would again be tied up by Lander the next half inning in the top of the third when the Bearcats came through on a run scoring double by Samantha Bumgarner to pull even at 2-2.
From that point both pitchers settled in as MGA's
Riley Haley and Lander's Paige Sherman each put zeros on the board and worked their way in and out of trouble.
After Haley closed out the Bearcats in the top of the ninth with her fourth strikeout of the contest, the Knights offense would go to work. Oliver led off with a sharp single and was replaced by pinch-runner
Nora Mack. Haley helped her own cause with a single up the middle after a long at-bat to put two Knights on with nobody out. From there it was Cosgrove who worked another solid at-bat until she smoked a single through the left-side. Coach Randi Wimpy opted to send Mack to the plate and despite a good throw the ball squirted out of the catcher's glove leaving the MGA team sprinting to the field to mob Cosgrove and celebrate the walk-off victory.
Notable Performances
Haley put together one of her finest pitching outings of her young career with a career-high nine inning performance to improve to 5-5 on the season. She finished the game with four strikeouts, no walks and scattering just six hits allowed.
On offense, the Knights were led by Cosgrove's 4-for-5 night at the top of the lineup along with a run scored and RBI.
Nayeli Hernandez and Oliver each finished with two hits as well.
What's Up Next
The Knights wrap up the series against the Bearcats with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 28th at Knights Field. First pitch is scheduled for 12 PM EST.
