Softball loses a pair at Point

WEST POINT, Ga. - Looking to improve its hopes of making the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament, the Union softball team was met with great resistance Saturday, losing 12-4 and 4-1 in a road doubleheader against Point.

The Bulldogs fall to 9-20 overall and 8-12 in the AAC. With a little over two weeks left in the regular season, they are two games behind Milligan in the loss column for the eighth and final spot in the conference tourney.

GAME ONE

Down 6-1 entering the fourth inning, the Bulldogs were able to cut into the lead thanks to RBI singles by Onnica Nichols and freshman Tori Turner, whose hit came in the first at-bat of her collegiate career.

But the momentum would be short-lived, as the Skyhawks answered back with three runs in the bottom of the inning, a response started with a leadoff home run by Taylor Knight.

Nichols, Megan McGinley and Sarah Lowe all had two hits. McGinley had Union's first RBI on a third-inning single, with Lowe getting the last on a sixth-inning home run.

GAME TWO

Despite having just three hits, the Bulldogs had opportunities to get back in the game after falling behind 3-0.

Ariel Dailey hit a one-out double before coming around to score on a pass ball in the fourth inning. Kaylee Stuckey and Selina Tavarez then each got into scoring position in the next two innings, but neither was brought home, with Tavarez being stranded at third base in the sixth.

Megan Merritt had four strikeouts in a complete game in the pitching circle for Union, which has dropped its last six games.

Things don't get easier for the Bulldogs, whose final eight AAC games are all against teams currently in the top four of the league standings. That stretch begins with a home doubleheader against Kentucky Christian, beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday.