GREENSBORO, N.C. – Behind a SoCon Championship single-game record six home runs, top seed UNCG (34-15) won its second Southern Conference Softball Championship with a 9-4 win over No. 2 Western Carolina (27-26) on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon at the UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
Western Carolina, making its first appearance in the SoCon championship game, scored quickly in the top of the first. Leadoff batter Claudia Riddle drew a walk to open the game. Riddle stole second and came around to score when Kailey McNeil found the gap in right-center field. UNCG answered in the bottom half of the inning, plating a run of its own. After leadoff batter Makenna Matthijs popped up for the first out of the inning, Delaney Cumbie and Kayleigh Willis were each hit by pitches before Hannah Kincer drew a walk. Maycin Brown came to the plate with bases loaded and one out, reaching on a fielder’s choice as Cumbie came around to score. With runners on first and third and two outs, Jasmine Palmer drew a walk to reload the bases, but first-team all-conference pitcher Jayme Eilers struck out Katie Stettler to get the Catamounts out of the jam.
 
The Spartans took the lead in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Matthijs hit a solo home run over the left field fence to put UNCG in front 2-1.  After a scoreless top half of the third for the Catamounts, UNCG added another run when Willis hit a home run to left field. Kincer was hit by a pitch and Anna White came in as a pinch runner, scoring when Maycin Brown hit a two-run homer to center field that extended the Spartans’ lead to 5-1. Western Carolina head coach Jim Clift, the SoCon Coach of the Year, brought in Savannah Rice to replace Eilers and Rice got out of the inning without any further damage.
 
Western Carolina began to chip away at the lead, scoring two in the bottom of the fourth. Myra Twitty led off the inning with a home run to left field and Jeralynn Wells followed with a double to center field. Lindsay Perillo laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt, moving Wells to third before Savannah Baldwin answered with a sacrifice fly to right field, plating Wells and cutting the lead to two, 5-3.
 
Hannah Stiltner came in to pitch in relief of Morgan Scott, the Spartans ace and SoCon Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, to open the fifth inning. Like in the first, Riddle drew a leadoff walk and stole second. SoCon Player of the Year Bailey Huneycutt followed with a single through the left side and Scott reentered in the circle for the Spartans. McNeil and Twitty drew back-to-back walks, the second of which brought Riddle in to score. Wells came to the plate and flied out to center field, where Matthijs was able to double up McNeil at second for a double play. Scott was again able to get out of the jam after inducing a pop up down the first base line that Melanie Darges easily corralled in foul territory.
 
With the lead down to just one, UNCG pushed it back to three, adding two runs in the bottom half of the fifth. Kincer led off the inning with a home run, giving the Spartans, who have a school and SoCon record 87 home runs this season, four home runs from four different players. Brown followed with a single to third and Palmer answered with a double down the left field line, scoring Brown and running the lead to 7-4.
 
Western Carolina threatened in the top of the sixth, starting off the inning with two on and no outs but UNCG got out of the inning unscathed after Scott struck out two and got McNeil to ground out. In the bottom of the sixth, Cumbie hit a solo shot to left center, UNCG’s fifth by five different players, to extend the lead to 8-4 before Willis hit her second long ball of the contest, also to left center, to make it 9-4. Cumbie’s home run set a new SoCon tournament record for home runs by a team in a game, passing Georgia Southern who hit four against College of Charleston in the 2012 tournament, and ran UNCG’s season total to 89.
 
 Willis finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Brown, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, was 2-for-4 with a game-high three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Palmer was 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

Twitty led the Catamounts at the plate, going 1-for-1 with two RBIs and three walks.

With the win, Scott improves to 20-8 on the season, while Eilers dropped to 14-13.

UNCG will find out its NCAA tournament destination on Sunday at 9 p.m. (ET). The selection show will be broadcast on ESPN2. 

Scoring Summary
Top 1^st – Western Carolina 1, UNCG 0: Claudia Riddle walked, stole second base and scored on a single to right field by Kailey McNeil.
Bottom 1^st – Western Carolina 1, UNCG 1: Delaney Cumbie scored on a fielder’s choice by Maycin Brown.
Bottom 2^nd – UNCG 2, Western Carolina 1: Makenna Matthijs hit a solo home run over the left field fence.
Bottom 3^rd – UNCG 3, Western Carolina 1: Kayleigh Willis hit a home run to left center field.
Bottom 3^rd – UNCG 5, Western Carolina 1: Maycin Brown hit a two-run home run to center field.
Top 4^th – UNCG 5, Western Carolina 2: Myra Twitty hit a solo home run to left field to lead off the inning.
Top 4^th – UNCG 5, Western Carolina 3: Savannah Baldwin’s sacrifice fly to right field scored Jeralynn Wells from third.
Top 5^th – UNCG 5, Western Carolina 4: Myra Twitty walked with the bases loaded and Claudia Riddle scored.
Top 6^th – UNCG 6, Western Carolina 4: Hannah Kincer led off the winning with a solo home run.
Top 6^th – UNCG 7, Western Carolina 4: Maycin Brown hit a single to third and Jasmine Palmer answered with a double down the left field line, scoring Brown.
Bottom 6^th – UNCG 8, Western Carolina 4: Delaney Cumbie hit a solo home run.
Bottom 6^th – UNCG 9, Western Carolina 4: Kayleigh Willis hit a solo home run.

All-Tournament Team 
Adele Braun, Mercer, Fr., INF
Allie Jones, Mercer, Sr., OF
Maycin Brown, UNCG, So., INF
Makenna Matthijs, UNCG., Sr., OF
Morgan Scott, UNCG, So., P
Courtney Ball, Chattanooga, Fr., INF
Jayme Eilers, Western Carolina, So., P
Kailey McNeil, Western Carolina, Sr., C
Addie Pate, Western Carolina, Sr., OF
Myra Twitty, Western Carolina, Jr., 1B

Most Outstanding Player
Maycin Brown, UNCG, So., INF

Pinnacle Award Recipients
Jordan Gontram, UNCG
Katie Stettler, UNCG

2021 SoCon Softball Championship
UNCG Softball Stadium ? Greensboro, N.C.

Thursday, May 13
Game 1: No. 1 UNCG, No. 4 Mercer
Game 2: No. 2 Western Carolina 5, Chattanooga 0
Game 3: No. 4 Mercer 6, No. 3 Chattanooga 2

Friday, May 14
Game 4: No. 1 UNCG 3, No. 2 Western Carolina 1
Game 5: No. 2 Western Carolina 4, No. 4 Mercer 1

Saturday, May 15
Game 6: No. 1 UNCG 9, No. 2 Western Carolina 4