North Georgia staged a 5-run rally in the fifth inning on Tuesday to pull off a win in game one of the Division 2 World Series championship series.
With the victory, the Nighthawks enter Wednesday needing just one more win to take home the D2 national championship trophy.
“That’s what it’s going to take at this level, in this time of year. With two teams left fighting for a national championship, it’s going to take all seven innings and maybe more,” UNG head coach Mike Davenport said.
On Tuesday, Grand Valley State held a 2-0 lead after the first inning before North Georgia tied the game in the bottom of the first inning with a pair of runs of their own. Two close plays were challenged via instant replay by Grand Valley in the bottom of the frame, but both calls were upheld.
In the second inning, Grand Valley pushed a third run across to take a 3-2 lead; that score held for three full innings until the fifth inning rolled around.
“Tybee [Denton] actually grabbed us in the circle and said ‘Let’s act we’re playing for a national championship’ and I think that’s where you saw the momentum shift,” North Georgia infielder Olivia Sinquefield said after the game. “For a pitcher to be working as hard as she is and to grab her team that way, that was awesome. And I think, as a team, we said ‘she’s right, what are we doing?’ and changed our momentum a little bit.”
Momentum certainly did seem to swing in the Nighthawks’ favor, with five unearned runs in the inning after a fielding error to start the frame. An RBI single for Sinquefield herself was followed by a two-run triple by Sydney Blair and a two-run home run by Mariah Wicker that gave the Nighthawks a four-run lead.
All seven runs were tacked onto GVSU ace Hannah Beatus, who took just her second loss of the season and her first in the World Series. Beatus nine hits and two earned runs, striking out four. Denton, in the circle for UNG, allowed eight hits and three earned runs with one strikeout while earning the win; Sophie Mooney picked up the save after 1.2 innings of hitless ball to close the game.
“Two good teams duking it out; that’s all I can say,” Grand Valley head coach Dana Callihan said. “Our team played well, we put the ball in play, we scored a few runs; they just got a few more. Two good teams and we’re going to duke it out again tomorrow.”
Beatus, for her part, was almost upbeat, clearly prepared for a chance at a couple of wins on Wednesday. “I think the message to everyone after the game was just to be a goldfish, have a short-term memory about it,” Beatus said. “Learn from this game, of course. It’s okay to be mad and get a little fiery about that, but using that in a way that’s going to help us come out on top tomorrow.”
Grand Valley State needs to win in both ends of Wednesday’s doubleheader to win the best-of-three series and see themselves crowned as national champions. Wednesday’s slate kicks off at 12 pm Eastern time, with a winner-take-all championship game following immediately after, if that game is necessary.
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