Sports

Darton softball splits DH with GMC; teams still tied for No. 1

• The Lady Cavs looked to grab the No. 1 spot in region against fellow top team Georgia Military on Thursday, but the two teams remained tied after splitting.

Derek Barichello

ALBANY — The Darton College softball team considered itself fortunate.

The freshman-laden Lady Cavs, who are 6-2 in the conference, struggled at the plate Thursday in a Region XVII showdown against Georgia Military College, but still managed to earn a split with the region co-leader after posting a 3-0 loss in Game 1, then rebounding with a 3-1 win in Game 2.

“We didn’t put up runs like we usually do,” Darton coach David Dews said. “I feel like the way we played, we were lucky to get a split. For a Top 10 ranked team in offense, we didn’t swing it very well (Thursday).”

In Game 1, the Lady Cavs missed opportunities to drive in runs, but made the most of five hits in Game 2.

Heather Crews hit her second double of the game in the fourth to tie it 1-1, Tatianna Zhuckova drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the fifth and Lisa Williams singled home an insurance run in the seventh.

In addition, the Lady Cavs’ ace — Britni McCall — looked good in Game 2 as the starter earned a complete-game victory.

After allowing a run in the third, she retired 12 of the last 14 batters she faced.

“I’m getting into a groove,” said McCall, who struck out four batters in the outing. “I’ve figured it out: The defense is coming together, now all we need to do is string some hits together.”

McCall did not feel any added pressure to perform with the offense struggling at the plate.

“All I can do is my part,” McCall said. “I’ll hold them to no runs if I can. You just do what you can do.”

In Game 1, Stephanie Martin shouldered the loss. To her credit, Darton didn’t do much to give Martin any run support.

“We need to take a better approach at the plate,” Dews said. “We showed a lack of softball intelligence. We got out of what they are taught to do.”

Still, Dews believes the conference is up for grabs but said his team will have  to do one thing if they want to remain on top: Be consistent.

“The conference right now is pretty undecided,” said Dews, noting Coastal Georgia is right behind the Lady Cavs with a 7-3 record. “What we’ve learned is that anybody can beat anybody. It will come down to who can string together some games towards the end.”

Much of that inconsistency has to do with a mostly young ballclub that has been both hot and cold.

“We’ve shown signs of being really good but we’ve shown signs of losing when we shouldn’t,” Dews said. “You have to understand, our team is mostly freshmen. They haven’t learned how to be consistently good day in and day out.”

As for GMC, it was upset to not come away with the sweep but feels if it take care of business, the Lady Bulldogs can win conference.

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