February 10, 2008

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NOTE: Release contributed by NGCSU Sports Information

DAHLONEGA, Ga.—The 16th-ranked North Georgia College & State University softball team blanked St. Andrews Presbyterian 3-0 and 7-0 in non-conference action Sunday afternoon at the Softball Complex in their home-opener.

The Saints (6-0) returned to Georgia after a perfect four-game road trip to start the season and fans were not disappointed in the home opener as North Georgia captured a pair of wins, not allowing the Knights of St. Andrews (0-6) to score a single run.

In game one, The Saints put up all their runs in the first inning and the three spot proved to be enough to capture the win. Natasha Willemse had the big blow with a two run single to capture her fourth and fifth RBI’s of the season and gave North Georgia a 3-0 lead. Ansley Anderson picked up her first win of the year, tossing a complete game one-hit shutout while striking out six St. Andrews batters.

North Georgia exploded at the plate in the game two, and put a seven spot on the board to come away with another win. Jessica Skeels and Laura Voyles each drove in a pair of runs, and Tiffany Blackburn launched her second home run of the season in her only at-bat as North Georgia blanked the Knights 7-0. Sarah Phillips (3-0) took the mound and went six more scoreless innings, striking out 10 while only allowing one hit for the win. Phillips has logged 18.0 innings on the year with 28 strikeouts and a 0.50 ERA.

The Knights (0-4) were held to just 2-for-42 from the plate in the two games against the highly-ranked Saints with senior Erin Haugen (Ft. Mill, S.C.) and sophomore Kailee Munden (LaVerne, Calif.) collecting the only hits for SAPC.

Senior starting pitchers Samantha Stewart (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) and Mika Tanji (Honolulu, Hawaii) both went the distance for the Knights. Stewart and Tanji both fell to 0-2 on the season but they each had three strikeouts. Stewart settled down after a tough first inning by tossing five scoreless frames to finish the first game.

St. Andrews will next play in their home opener when they entertain non-conference Mars Hill College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.