Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
STATESBORO, GA - Georgia Southern senior Sam Steiner (Loxley, Ala.) hit one of five home runs on the afternoon, setting a new GSU career long-ball record as the Eagles split a softball doubleheader Sunday afternoon with Florida A&M. The Rattlers took game one 7-6 and GSU won game two 11-2.
Four of the five roundtrippers came in the second game. Junior Maria Laurato (New Orleans, La.) hit two, both in game two, while senior Gina Sterchi (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and junior Aurora Johnson (Macon, Ga.) had one each.
Senior Kenycia Byrd (Tallahassee, Fla.) reached base all seven times for the Rattlers with five walks and two hits.
Game 1 - Florida A&M 7, Georgia Southern 6
Down 1-0, FAMU crossed the plate four times in the second inning, taking advantage of three GSU walks. Freshman Ashley Smith (Decatur, Ga.) drove in the first run with a single and a bases-loaded walk to junior Nakendra Jones (Bartow, Fla.) gave the Rattlers the lead. Freshman Tiffany Johnson (Ellenwood, Ga.) had the big hit of the inning with a two-run double down the left field line.
Florida A&M added an unearned run in the third, but Georgia Southern had one of the their own as well as an RBI groundout to cut the deficit down to 5-3.
Sophomore Alacia Strafford (Lakeland, Fla.) added two insurance runs in the fifth with a two-run homer. That hit paid off in the bottom of the inning when the Eagles closed to within one, 7-6, on a RBI single by Sterchi and a two-run hit by junior Heather Smith (Williamson, Ga.). Reliever Alicia Mitchell (Port St. Johns, Fla.) escaped further damage by striking out the next two batters.
Despite getting runners in scoring position in their final two at-bats, the Eagles were unable to tie the score.
Senior Danielle Brown (Orange Park, Fla.) picked up the win for FAMU while Mitchell recorded the save. Sophomore Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) was tagged with the loss.
Game 2 - Georgia Southern 11, Florida A&M 2
GSU struck first on Laurato’s first round-tripper of the game in the second inning and doubled its lead in the third on Sterchi’s two-run homer.
Florida A&M halved the deficit in the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles by Strafford and James, but left the bases loaded.
A seven-run fourth inning ended the contest early, thanks in part to Steiner’s two-run shot and Laurato’s three-run bomb. The rally was extended thanks to a throwing error on a strikeout that would have ended the inning and Laurato followed with the 10th long-ball of her career.
Steiner now has 17 career homers, besting the previous record of 16 set by Kim Griffin (2001-04)
Junior Logan Free (Sandpoint, Idaho) got the win in relief, striking out four in 1.2 innings. Junior Destiny Gordon (Liberty Lake, Wash.) took the loss.
Story Courtesy Furman sports information
Virginia Tech 8-10, Furman 0-0
GREENVILLE, SC - Angela Tincher tossed a no-hitter in game one and Katie Maynard and Karie Morrison combined on a four-hit shutout in game two to lead Virginia Tech to an 8-0, 10-0 doubleheader sweep of Furman in the season openers for both softball teams Sunday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
Tincher struck out 13 batters and allowed just a hit batter to reach base in game one. Leftfielder Caroline Stolle went 3-for-3 with a double and four RBI to lead the Hokies' 13-hit attack. Callie Rhodes, Charisse Mariconda and Jessica Everhart each added two hits while Alisia Narodowski belted a home run.
Blake Murray (0-1) took the loss for Furman allowing six runs on 13 hits in five innings of work. Murray struck out two and walked two.
In game two, Mariconda went 4-for-5 with two doubles and Everhart blasted a three-run homer to lift the Hokies (2-0) to a 10-0 win.
Maynard improved to 1-0 in the circle limiting the Lady Paladins to just four hits over six innings. Morrison completed the shutout working a scoreless inning of relief.
Furman, who stranded 10 runners on base, left the bases loaded in the second and third innings. Stephanie Cushing, Megan Jaudon, Amber Nelsen and Jessica Mathis each collected hits for Furman.
Freshman Vanessa Williams took the loss for Furman to fall to 0-1. The righthander surrendered 10 runs on 16 hits while walking five in the complete game effort.