Story Courtesy Furman sports information
Furman 6-8, East Tennessee State 7-2
JOHNSON CITY, TN - Junior Megan Jaudon went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and Jessica Mathis allowed just one earned run over seven innings to lead the Furman Lady Paladins to an 8-2 victory and doubleheader split with East Tennessee State in softball action at Metro-Kiwanis Park in Johnson City, Tenn., Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Bucs downed Furman 7-6 in game one.
After freshman Stephanie Cushing reached on a one-out single in the top half of the first inning, Jaudon clubbed her first roundtripper of the season to stake the Lady Paladins to a 2-0 lead. Furman extended its lead to 3-0 in the top of the third. Cushing and Jaudon reached on singles and Abby Roberston reached base on a two-out error to score Cushing.
East Tennessee State tallied an unearned run in the bottom of the third, but Furman put the game out of reach with a five-run top half of the sixth. Robertson opened the frame with a single and Danielle Franklin, 3-for-4 at the plate, followed with a bunt single. Furman scored its first run of the inning as Robertson scored on a Blake Murray fielder's choice. Jessica Mathis laced a two-run double to centerfield to clear the bases and give Furman a 5-0 advantage.
After a bunt single by Amber Kiser, Mathis stole home to up the lead to 6-0. Kiser, who swiped second, tallied the final run on a Cushing groundout.
Mathis allowed eight hits and only one earned run to improve to 1-1 while going 2-for-3 with two RBI. Cushing went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Robertson also collected two safeties for the Lady Paladins who pounded out 13 base hits.
In game two, ETSU used a six-run second inning to overcome a 4-1 deficit and down the Lady Paladins 7-6.
Furman jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Jaudon started the scoring with an RBI single and scored on a double off of the bat of Amber Nelsen. Roberston capped the inning with a single to score Nelsen.
After a single, hit batter and base on balls loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the second, Briana Knight single to drive in two runs and trim the Furman lead to 4-3. Janine Sprague out the Lady Bucs agead on a two-run triple and came home to score on an error by Mathis. East Tennessee State added two more runs on a passed ball and fielder's choice after the Lady Paladins went to the bullpen.
Trailing 7-4 in the sixth Furman mounted a rally. Joni Lockridge ripped a one-out double to right centerfield and Cushing reached on an error moving Lockridge to third. Jaudon walked to load the bases and Nelsen drew a base on balls to force in Lockridge. Following an infield single by Robertson to score Cushing, Franklinlined out to left to end the inning.
Brittney Lersschall (1-0) worked six innings allowing three earned runs on nine hits to take the win. Courtney Jenkins worked a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save. Knight paced the Lady Bucs at the plate going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Murray (0-2) took the loss for Furman allowing seven runs on seven hits in 1.1 innings of work. Freshman Vanessa Williams worked 4.2 innings of perfect relief in her second career outing. Lockridge collected three hits and scored two runs while Nelsen and Robertson each drove in two runs in the loss.
Story Courtesy UNC Greensboro sports information
NC State 4-5, UNC Greensboro 0-3
RALEIGH, NC ? North Carolina State won both games of a doubleheader with UNC Greensboro in non-conference softball action Wednesday at Walnut Creek Softball Complex. The Spartans dropped their season-opening games by scores of 4-0 and 5-3 in the coaching debut of head coach Jennifer Herzig
Junior third baseman Kara Clouser gave UNCG (0-2) a 1-0 lead in game two with a solo home run to right-center field to start the third inning. It was the sixth career homer for the Summerville, SC native.
Jennifer Chamberlain answered Clouser’s long ball in the bottom of the third. Only this time it was a three-run blast to center that gave NC State (4-3) a 3-1 lead. The inning was created by a lead-off walk and an error and after a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up 60-feet, Chamberlain took Vanessa Oakes’ (0-1) offering over the fence for the first Wolfpack homer of the year.
NC State scored two more runs off wild pitches in the fourth inning to take a 5-1 lead, before the Spartans rallied with two runs of their own to make it a 5-3 game. Lyndsey Wilson reached on an error to lead off the sixth inning and Adriane Audley followed with a single. After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, senior leftfielder Krista Judge doubled home both runs. One out later, junior first baseman Jennifer Bonilla singled to move Judge to third base, but Wolfpack starter Megan Dalthorp (1-1) got consecutive strikeouts to end the Spartan rally.
In the first game, NC State pushed across two runs in the bottom half of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. The Spartans struggled in the season’s opening inning with three fielding errors and three hit batters by freshman starting pitcher Hannah Angel (0-1) that led to one of the runs being unearned in the frame.
Angel, who made her collegiate debut after sitting out last season with an injury, allowed only two fifth inning singles in a complete game effort. The Eastbend, NC native struck out eight hitters and allowed four runs (one earned) over six innings of work. However, the UNCG defense did her no favors with seven errors.
Wolfpack starter Abbie Sims (3-1) showed dominant form as she allowed one hit, two walks and struck out nine hitters over the distance.
Kelly Allen and Leslie Furness drew consecutive one-out walks in the seventh inning for the Spartans, but Sims struck out the last two hitters to end the game. Judge had the lone hit for UNCG in the sixth inning.
NC State pushed across single unearned runs in the fifth and sixth innings to make it 4-0.
Story Courtesy Chattanooga sports information
Georgia Tech 7-7, Chattanooga 2-1
CHATTANOOGA, TN - Georgia Tech coach Ehren Earleywine reached career win 100 at the expense of the Chattanooga softball team as the Yellow Jackets swept the Lady Mocs 7-2 and 7-1 Wednesday night at Frost Stadium.
Five different Chattanooga batters recorded hits in the double-header. Junior Jeannie Cochran went reached base four times with a pair of walks and was hit once. She stole two bases and scored twice for the Lady Mocs. Freshman third baseman Toni Hutchison sent a rocket over the fence in left center for her first collegiate homerun.
In game one, the Lady Mocs got on the board first. Cochran drew a walk and stole second to get into scoring position. Freshman Ashley Cuticchia singled to advance Cochran to third and took second on the throw. That set up sophomore Tara Tembey whose sacrifice fly to centerfield scored Cochran from third.
The Lady Mocs kept Georgia Tech off the board with a play at the plate in the second inning, but a pair of hits in the third put the Yellow Jackets up 2-1. Tech had three hits to start the fifth and put three more runs on the board in the inning to take a 5-1 lead.
Hutchison’s homerun in the bottom of the inning made the score 5-2 and the Jackets got runs in the next two innings to win 7-2. UTC junior pitcher Ashley Frizzell struck out five batters in game one and gave up four earned runs.
Christine Sheridan went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Caitlin Lever was 3-for-4 in the game with a trio of runs batted in. Savannah Brown went 3-for-4 with one RBI and Whitney Humphries went to 2-0 on the year striking out seven, giving up one base on balls and two earned runs.
In game two, it didn’t get much better for the Lady Mocs. Chattanooga spotted the Jackets five runs on two hits and two errors in the first inning. Georgia Tech pitcher Sara Wood struck out the first three batters in the bottom of the inning, but a third strike wild pitch to Cochran to lead off the inning gave Chattanooga a run. Cochran stole her second base of the night to get to second and a passed ball put her in scoring position at third.
Senior Ashley Bull, hitting in the cleanup spot, sent a shot up the middle to make it 5-1 Tech. From there it became a defensive battle with neither team able to score again until the Jackets put two more runs on the board in the top of the seventh on three hits and an error.
JayCee Wood struck out four while walking four and giving up four earned runs. Sarah Wood and Lacey Richardson combined for 10 strikeouts and one walk. Brown went 2-for-2 in game two with one RBI. Kacey Ivey was 2-for-4 with one RBI and Amy Hosier garnered the third RBI for Georgia Tech.
The two teams combined for 12 errors on the night.