ASU softball sweeps Fort Valley in Saturday doubleheader

Albany State senior Aryn McGowan pitched a complete game shut-out Saturday afternoon to lead the ASU Golden Rams softball team to a sweep of rival Fort Valley State Saturday at ASU West. With McGowan’s performance on the mound, the Rams won the second game 2-0 after blasting the Wildcats 11-3 in game one. The Golden Rams are now 16-27 overall, but boast an impressive 13-2 SIAC mark.

Both pitchers gave up only six hits each in game two, but McGowan fanned 12 batters to keep the Wildcats scoreless. McGowan also knocked in the second run of the game with a double to center that scored Lavette Tucker. Tucker started the scoring with a double to center that pushed Mikaiyah Harris across home plate after she reached on a walk.

While the second game was a pitcher’s duel, the Golden Rams’ Harris led the day off with a home run, followed by a double by Lavette Tucker. Megan Shepherd followed with a single and then Jala Stewart singled to score Tucker. Shepherd scored the third running in the evening when the FVSU short stop couldn’t handle a hard hit ball by Norman.

Harris continued to be a menace to FVSU pitching in the bottom of the second when she smacked a double to center to knock in Keychelle Evans who had walked. That run gave the Rams a 4-1 advantage. The Wildcats closed the gap to 4-3 in the fourth inning, but then Jayla Stewart slapped a home run over the fence in the fifth inning to make it 5-3 for the Rams, before the huge sixth inning where the Rams blew game wide open.

A three-run homer by Lauren Lowery was the blast that ended the game in the sixth. The Rams had already earned three runs in the inning with RBI by Harris, Tucker and Shepherd to raise the score to 8-3 before Lowery’s homer ended the game at 11-3.

The Golden Rams will travel to Valdosta Tuesday to take on the Blazers in non-conference action. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. Albany State will host the final regular season series of the year Thursday and Friday when Clark University of Atlanta comes to town. Thursday will feature a double header starting at 2 p.m. and Friday’s single game will begin at noon.

Albany State will host the SIAC softball championship tournament in Albany May 2-4.

Courtesy of Albany State UniversityCourtesy of Albany State University