DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The Lee softball team used a combination of timely hitting and North Georgia errors to earn a 7-5 victory in game two and a doubleheader split with the No. 9 Nighthawks on Thursday afternoon at the beautiful all-turf field at Hill Stadium.

The victory moves the Lady Flames to 13-10 overall while the loss drops North Georgia to 19-5 on the season and is just the second setback in the last 14 games for the Peach Belt Conference opponent.

Lee opened things early in the top of the first on the legs of Amanda Lynn. The junior walked, stole second, advanced to third and scored on a wild pitch.

The Lady Flames broke things up thanks to a six-run second frame. All six runs were unearned due to four Nighthawks' errors. Kaylie Drew delivered the decisive blow in the inning as she launched a two-run shot right center for her fifth home run of the season.

The Lee offense tallied eight hits in the nightcap. Lexie Dean and Dominique Hannah registered two singles apiece. Lynn, Lewis and Polacek also added hits.

Freshman Brianna Eichbaum (2-0) started and earned the victory tossing the first four innings for Lee. Eichbaum allowed two runs on five hits. Angie Hughes worked an inning in relief and was charged with three runs (one earned) while striking out one and allowing two walks .

The Nighthawks chipped away at the Lee advantage with solo runs in the second and fourth before tacking on three in the fifth. Meagan May had two hits a RBI and scored twice. Katie Block added a double and walked twice.

Game one starter Leigh Beatenbough came on to work the final two scoreless innings to earn her first save of the season. Beatenbough allowed just one hit in shutting down the Nighthawks' comeback effort.

Meagan Stover started and worked five innings for North Georgia. She allowed seven runs but none of them were earned. Stover struck out seven and walked one while giving up six hits.

Courtney Poole returned after pitching all seven innings in game one for the home team. Poole tossed two scoreless innings and gave up two hits.

The Lady Flames will return to Gulf South Conference action as they host Mississippi College beginning on Sunday with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. The series concludes with a single game on Monday at 2 p.m. Games were moved back a day because of the threat of rain in the Cleveland area.
 
GAME 1, LU 0, No. 9 UNG 3
The Lee softball team dropped game one of Thursday's doubleheader with the University of North Georgia by a 3-0.

Leigh Beateanbough (5-6) started for the Lady Flames and worked five innings giving up six hits and three runs. Walks plagued Lee's freshman as she surrendered four free passes while striking out a pair. Angie Hughes pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

Courtney Poole moved to 13-1 as she continued to shine in the circle for the Nighthawks. Poole entered the contest with a 0.84 ERA and allowed just seven hits in tossing the complete game shutout. The junior kept the Lee bats at bay all contest and finished with 10 strikeouts.

North Georgia jumped on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second on an Ansley Phillips' RBI ground out.

Beatenbough battled out of trouble in the bottom of the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out the righty struck out a batter and then forced a dribbler in front of the plate which catcher Emily Dagnan alertly pounded on and tagged the runner out in one motion to keep the home team off the board.

North Georgia would extend its lead in the bottom of the fifth. Katie McMillian doubled and Tiffany Burns followed with a run-scoring two-base knock. Katie Block added a sacrifice fly to right field to complete the scoring.

Kaylie Drew roped a double to right center to account for Lee's lone extra base hit to lead off the seventh as the Lady Flames tried to rally late off the North Georgia ace. After a pop out Beatenbough drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate. The rally was short-circuited as Poole struck out the next two batters to end the game.