Myrtle Beach, S.C. - Georgian Court University concluded Saturday's portion of the Myrtle Beach Snowbird Freeze Out in dynamic fashion as the upstart Lions rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat perennial regional juggernaut, the University of New Haven, 6-5, as the Lions improve to 2-2 on the trip.

The Chargers (1-2) struck first in the bottom of the third when Jovanna Hillman (Fr.-Seymour, Conn.) launched a two-run dinger to left to provide UNH a 2-0 lead. The long ball marked the third in as many games to start the season for the freshman phenom. Teammate Tori Schiebe (Sr.-Monroe, Conn.) followed with a power display of her own in the fourth frame, a solo shot to center, providing New Haven a 3-0 surplus.

GCU responded in a big way in the top of the fifth as the Lions commandeered the lead with four runs on four hits and two costly New Haven flubs. Malia Black and Caitlin Hughes brought in the first two tallies with ribbie singles while Malaya Black brought in the go-ahead score with a productive ground out to second base.

Refusing to be outdone, Kristine Liptack (Sr.-Trumbull, Conn.) blasted the Chargers' third dinger of the day, a solo shot to left that tied the dramatic affair at 4-4. The stalemate dissipated quickly as Samantha Reilly strolled to the dish with two outs in the top of the seventh and crunched a soaring solo slam over the left field fence, her second in as many days, to provide the Lions with a slim 5-4 advantage.

Georgian Court would add a highly-important insurance run later in the frame.  Kendalia Turner, who ripped a single, stole second, and advanced to third on a passed ball, proceeded to scurry home, courtesy of a New Haven third strike wild pitch that also permitted Lindsey Fischbach to reach first base on the play.

New Haven provided plenty of nervous excitement in the last of the seventh, inching within one after Liptack struck once again, this time by drawing a bases-loaded walk from Georgian Court reliever, Marissa Trezza (0.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K). Jessica O'Neil promptly took over for the Lions and registered the two final outs to close the door on the Chargers, secure the save and, most importantly, the regional "W" for GCU.

 Jennifer Tellefsen (6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) earned her first win in a GCU uniform with a solid starting effort.. Kylie Stonebraker (So.-Mechanicsburg, Va.) (6.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) was tagged with the loss. 

In the opener, West Virginia State University (4-3) took advantage of seven Georgian Court errors by plating runs in all but the first frame en route to the 7-3 victory. Taylor Baloga, in her first outing of the year, suffered the loss for GCU by yielding three runs (2 ER) on a hit and three walks in her 2.0 innings of work.

Calli Norton (Sr.-Boca Raton, Fla.) went the distance for the Yellow Jackets (7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 BB) to earn the win. Georgian Court mustered six hits, including a pair each from Reilly (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Fischbach (2-2, 2 2B, BB).

The Lions close out their visit south on Sunday morning with a 10:00 a.m. contest vs. Saint Anselm College.