Story Courtesy Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 3, Tennessee Tech 1
Georgia State 3, Western Carolina 1
ATLANTA, GA - The Western Carolina softball team, playing its first ever contest in the fast-pitch era, handed Tennessee Tech a 3-1 loss Saturday afternoon at the Georgia State First Pitch Classic. The Catamounts were led by Lauren Ross, who was 3-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI, and Mendy McKenzie, who struck out 10 with zero walks, over a TTU team that returned its lineup intact from last year's NCAA Tournament team, is the defending Ohio Valley Conference Champion and had played in the NCAA postseason in two of the last three years.
McKenzie got the program off to a good start, firing a strike on the program's first pitch and later striking out the first batter she faced. The freshman from Clemmons, N.C., worked all seven innings in getting the win. She scattered five hits and allowed one run.
In the bottom of the second, Ross not only recorded the first hit in the program's history, but the Hope Mills, N.C., native gave WCU a 1-0 lead by sending the ball over the center field fence.
Tennessee Tech knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth on the strength on back-to-back doubles.
In the bottom of the sixth and with two outs, Savannah Filley extended the inning with a walk. Then, with a 3-2 count, Ross gave the Catamounts the lead for good with a two-run, home run to left.
In addition to Ross, Western's Ashley Adams and Heather Pritchard each went 1-for-2 to account for the Catamounts five hits on the day.
In the Catamounts second game of the day, Georgia State senior pitcher Elizabeth Hyman almost personally sent Western Carolina to its first ever loss, as she pitched a complete game, one-hitter in the Panther’s 3-1 victory over the Catamounts.
Hyman struck out nine Catamount batters over the course of the contest and did not give up a run in the contest since Western’s run was unearned.
Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
Kennesaw State 11-6, Georgia Southern 7-3
STATESBORO, GA ? The Georgia Southern University Softball team was swept as it opened the 2006 season Saturday (Feb. 11), in a doubleheader at Eagle Field against Kennesaw State University. The Eagles (0-2) surrendered a total of 17 runs to the visiting Owls (2-0) in the two game series, losing the first game 11-7 and dropping the second 6-3.
The Eagles enjoyed an offensive explosion in the first inning of Game 1, highlighted by senior catcher Sam Steiner’s grand slam off of Kennesaw State starter Brittany Matthews. The homerun ties Steiner for the career lead in the category all-time, and gave Georgia Southern a 5-0 lead. The Eagles would manage another two runs over the course of the game after Matthews was chased after a third of an inning, giving up three hits and five earned runs. However the Owls would mount a comeback.
In the top of the 5th inning, with the score 5-3 and two on and two out, Eagle junior starter A.J. Street was pulled for sophomore Melissa Laliberte. Keri McKee of Kennesaw State then doubled in the two runners to tie the score. Catcher Cambria McKay then stepped to the plate and hit a pop foul behind home plate that would have ended the inning if Steiner would have been able to hold onto the ball. The error gave McKay an extra swing which she used to park the next pitch over the left field fence for a two run shot that gave KSU the lead for good. The Eagles could not solve reliever Lisa Lamb and the Owls added four more runs on Laliberte and second game starter Logan Free to take the game 11-7.
The second game saw more offense early from Kennesaw State. The Owls played small ball in the third inning to push across three runs on junior starter Free. The Eagles managed runs in the fourth and fifth innings to cut the lead to 4-2, however the Kennesaw State combination of pitchers Andrea Moss and Norie Glazebrook would prove too much as they totaled eight strikeouts and only nine hits surrendered in the seven inning match.
After pitching an inning and two-thirds in first game, Logan Free went the distance for the Eagles in the second game, earning the tough-luck loss after throwing more than 160 pitches.
Georgia Southern will try to even up their record when they return to the field tomorrow (Feb. 12) to take on the Rattlers of Florida A&M University in another double-header. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.