THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Thomas University softball team opened its 2015 campaign by splitting a double-header with NCAA Division II foe Georgia Southwestern.  The Lady Night Hawks (1-1) defeated the Hurricanes (1-1) in game one 8-1, but fell short in game two in the 5-1 loss.
 
In the opening game of the season, Thomas jumped out to the 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.  Rachel Hoeft reached first base on a misplayed grounder by GSW's pitcher to lead off the inning.  After two Lady Night Hawks struck out swinging, the squad rallied to hit four consecutive singles, plating three runs.  The inning continued on a second error by GSW's Allee Denney that would score Chandler Seay and Alex VanWagner to take the 5-0 lead.
 
The Lady Night Hawks extended their lead to six in the bottom of the third when Aileen Fiallo singled to shallow left field, plating Michael Cooper from third.  Cooper previously singled to lead off the evening and then advanced to third on a one out double by Chelsea Carter.
 
The Hurricanes would plate their only run of game one in the top half of the fourth when GSW's starting pitcher Haley Goodson launched a homerun to deep center field on a 1-0 count.  Thomas would rebound in the bottom of the fifth to plate its final two runs of the game.  Shortstop Kayla Johnson added the insurance runs with a two out single up the middle to secure the 8-1 victory.
 
Freshman Katie Lopes (1-0) picked up her first collegiate victory while Ashley Chapman picked up her first save of the season.  GSW's Goodson was credited with the loss.
 
In game two, the Lady Night Hawks struggled to connect with the ball on offense.  They scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the third when Cooper singled to short plating Johnson for the 1-0 lead.  Johnson previously reached on a double to lead off the inning.
 
Georgia Southwestern, however, rallied to score five unanswered runs over the final three innings to pick up the 5-1 victory.
 
Sophomore Ashley Sikes (0-1) suffered the loss for Thomas while Savannah Carlisle (1-0) picked up the victory for the Hurricanes.
 
Johnson led the way for Lady Night Hawks on the day going 3-for-6 at the plate, picking up three RBIs and two stolen bases.
 
The Lady Night Hawks return to action on Friday, Feb. 13 when they host Truett-McConnell at 11 a.m. and Coastal Georgia at 3 p.m.  Both games will take place at Armory Field.
 
A complete photo gallery of today's games can be accessed by clicking here.
 
For up-to-date information on these games and other TU Athletics, visit www.TUNightHawks.com.  Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, and feature stories of your TU softball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksSoftb.