Chargers split Saturday softball doubleheader with Highlanders

April 12, 2025

Hayden Joyner scattered six hits and three walks while striking out four in the Chargers' 4-3 win over Gordon State on Saturday.

Georgia Highlands College softball split a home doubleheader on Saturday with Gordon State, winning 4-3 in the opener before dropping the second game 5-4.

The visiting Highlanders opened Game 1 with three runs in the first inning, but GHC pitcher Hayden Joyner settled in and shut out Gordon College the rest of the way.

The Chargers scored a single run in the second inning and pushed ahead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Joyner tossed a seven-inning complete game to collect the pitching victory. She scattered six hits and three walks while striking out four.

In Game 2, the Highlanders scored two runs in the top of the first inning and never trailed. The Chargers cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first, but Gordon added two runs in the fourth to lead 4-1. GHC narrowed the margin to 4-2 in the sixth before Gordon secured the win with an insurance run in the seventh. Georgia Highlands scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and had the potential tying run on base, but the game ended on an infield groundout.

Three GHC pitchers toiled in the second game. Athens Hudson (3.2 IP, 4ER, 8H, 1BB, 1K) started in the circle and was tagged with the pitching loss. Grace Kendrick (2.1 IP, 0R, 2H, 1K) and Hannah Mounce (1 IP, 1ER, 2H) also pitched.

Maci Andrews had three hits — two doubles and one triple — with one RBI to lead the Chargers offense in the two games. Ahmani Green and Emma Darrow finished the day with two hits and two RBI. Abbi Hall (double), Mary Catherine Kimball (two doubles, two RBI), and Emmalee Freeman contributed two hits. Haylee Dishmon added one hit.

With Saturday’s split, the Highlanders are 17-21 overall and 10-2 in Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association play. Gordon College trails first-place Georgia Military in the conference standings by two games.

Georgia Highlands (28-12, 9-3) is one game behind Gordon in the league standings. The Chargers have a conference doubleheader at Georgia Military College on Thursday.