GREENWOOD, S.C. – The No. 4 University of North Georgia softball team split a Saturday double header at Lander with a 10-5 loss in game one, followed by a 14-5 win in game two. 

The Nighthawks and Bearcats will finish the series with game three tomorrow, Sunday, Apr. 21 at 3 p.m. 

Game one: Bearcats def. Nighthawks, 10-5

Two home runs in the first inning put UNG in front of Lander 2-0 early in Saturday's game one. Senior catcher Georgia Blair belted a solo shot that would foreshadow a historic day for her to make it 1-0. 

Senior outfielder Mallory Parker followed with a solo blast of her own in the next at bat. 

However, that would be all the scoring the Nighthawks would muster until the fifth inning. In the meantime, Lander charged back and took the lead in the bottom of the third with a four run inning.

After scoring an unearned run in the second to make it 2-1, the Bearcats sent nine batters to the plate in the third, totaling four runs on two hits as another error cost UNG a run. 

Things got worse for the Nighthawks in the fourth. 

Senior pitcher Tybee Denton started the game for UNG, but fellow senior Anistron Wright took over in the circle after Denton walked the lead off batter in the fourth. Still, the Bearcats loaded the bases with nobody out against the new pitcher. 

Back-to-back infield singles brought home a pair of runs to make it 7-2. A ground out to first base scored another, before a single up the middle brought home two runs. Before the Nighthawks knew it, they trailed 10-2. 

UNG quickly got a run back in the top of the fifth as junior infielder Rylie Moody led the frame off with the Nighthawks' third home run of the game. The solo shot, her fifth homer of the season, made it a 10-3 ball game. 

In the sixth it was the long ball again doing damage for head coach Mike Davenport's squad. A two-run shot off the bat of sophomore first baseman Marycille Brumby made it 10-5. The long ball was Brumby's fourth of the season, despite only being inserted into the starting lineup as of recently. 

UNG, however, was unable to get the timely hits it needed down the stretch of the game before suffering the loss.

Game 2: Nighthawks def. Bearcats, 14-5

Four more home runs were belted by the Nighthawks in game two, this time leading to a dominant victory in the day's final game. 

Again in the first inning, Blair got it started with her second bomb of the day. She hit a two-run tank over the centerfield wall to make it 2-0 early. 

A two-run single from senior third baseman Gracie Mixson followed to pad UNG's lead at 4-0 after. Then Mixson and sophomore infielder Chloe Poss executed a double steal perfectly. As Mixson nabbed second base, Poss came home to score and make it 5-0. 

Lander kept things interesting with a run in the first and two in the second to make it 5-3 before the Nighthawks scored again. 

However, they scored again quickly after that in the third, thanks to one swing of the bat from Brumby. She tattooed her fifth home run of the year and second of the day with a blast to straight away center field that scored two runs, extending the lead to 7-3. 

In the fourth, Blair struck gold again. For the third time in just seven plate appearances on the day, she launched yet another home run. This one was a solo shot to center field once more, giving her team an 8-3 advantage. 

The Nighthawks added a pair of runs again in the sixth, one of which came on a sac fly from Brumby. The sophomore totaled five RBI on the day to help UNG.

Despite an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Nighthawks were in the driver's seat with a 10-4 lead entering the seventh. Yet, they were not satisfied. 

Three straight walks loaded the bases for none other than Georgia Blair. The catcher, as one could have seen coming, did the unthinkable yet again. For the third time in game two and fourth time of the day, she launched another home run to center field. The grand slam made it a 14-4 and marked Blair's 15th homer of the season. She's the second Nighthawk this season to hit three home runs in a game joining sophomore second baseman Katie Ward and the first such player to hit four in a single day all year. 

A meaningless home run from the Bearcats gave them another run in the bottom of the frame, but senior pitcher Kristen Davis then closed the door for her 17th win of the season.