AMERICUS, Ga. -- Shannon Gibson threw a complete game no-hitter in game one and Hayley Tierce homered in both games to lead the Georgia Southwestern State University softball team to a doubleheader sweep over Fort Valley State Wednesday at Lady Canes Field.
Tierce went 3-for-6 on the day with the two homers and a double while driving in five. Gibson helped her own cause with a hit and a run scored in game one and followed with two hits in the finale. Freshman Lauren Kuerzi collected two hits to go along with four RBIs.
The Lady Canes improve to 3-6 on the season with the two victories over the Wildcats.
Game 1: Georgia Southwestern 8, Fort Valley State 0
Gibson dominated the Wildcats lineup from the first pitch of the game, striking out seven FVSU batters and not allowing a walk. Onnly two baserunners reached for Fort Valley, both coming on errors. Tyanna Askew bunted back to Gibson in third and she misplayed the ball allowing Askew to beat her throw to first. Keteria Loney reached on an error by Elizabeth Wills in right field to lead off the fifth.
The Lady Canes jumped out early in the first. Mikela Barlow was hit by a pitch and following a Cassidy Burton strikeout Hayley Tierce crushed a 2-run homer to dead center putting GSW in front 2-0.
GSW tacked on another run in the third on Tierce's second extra base hit of the game. Barlow reached on a walk and scored when Tierce doubled on a line drive to center for her third RBI of the game.
Payton Singletary and Allee Denney both reached on errors after a Gibson flyout in the fourth and Chloe Zoeller followed with a single to load the bases. Barlow followed with a fielder's choice groundout before Burton reached on an error by the left fielder, clearing the bases and putting the Lady Canes up 6-0. A Lauren Kuerzi single to right scored Burton and made it a 7-0 advantage after four.
GSW added the eighth and final run in the fifth inning when Gibson led off with a single to third and scored three batters later on a passed ball to end the game.
Game 2: Georgia Southwestern 9, Fort Valley State 1
The Lady Canes didn't waste time building a big lead in game two, putting up five runs on three hits in the first off Wildcats starter Courtney Walker.
Mikela Barlow led off with a walk and Hayley Tierce reached on an error by the third baseman before Lauren Kuerzi went deep to left for her first homer of the season to put GSW up 3-0. Two more runs came across when Ansley Dean reached on an error allowing Shannon Gibson to score after she singled, and Graysen Sanders drove in Payton Singletary with a single of her own to center making it 5-0.
The Wildcats scored their only run of the day in the third off of Madason Messer, who came on in relief of Brittany Childs who threw the first two innings. Ashley Simmons-Blair doubled to center and scored when Shakerra Geter singled through the left side, making it 5-1.
Singletary hit her first home run of the season to dead center in the third, making it a 6-1 Lady Canes lead.
Deep shots from Barlow and Tierce ended the game in the sixth. A solo shot to right field from Barlow gave GSW a seven-run lead and a 2-run walk-off drive to left off the bat of Tierce that scored Allee Denney made it 9-1 for the second run-rule victory of the day.
Up Next: The Lady Canes face Southern Wesleyan on Saturday in a doubleheader at Lady Canes Field with the first game scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and the second game to follow at 4:00.