Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
DELAND, FL - Georgia Southern tallied 13 hits in an 8-2 victory over Cornell and shutout Stetson 1-0 to get softball two wins in day two of the Stetson Tournament in DeLand, Fla.
The Eagles have now won three straight and hold a 12-17 record. They complete their Spring Break trip tomorrow, hoping to avenge an earlier loss to Boston University at 10 a.m.
Georgia Southern 8, Cornell 2
GSU manufactured a run in the first on a fielder’s choice and the Big Red answered in the fourth with an RBI single to tie the score at 1-1. Later in the inning, a walk to Jenna Campagnolo loaded the bases with nobody out, but GSU starter Logan Free (Sandpoint, Idaho) escaped the jam with a forceout at home, a strikeout and a flyout.
The Eagles wasted little time in going back on top, posting a three-run fourth on four hits. Two singles and a passed ball put runners on first and third with no outs. Jenn Meunier struck the next two batters out but senior Shanita Black (Fayetteville, N.C.) singled down the left field line to score pinch runner Michelle Beasley (Metter, Ga.). A wild pitch moved the runners up a base and senior Heather Smith (Williamson, Ga.) drove them home with a single.
Georgia Southern and Cornell scored a run each in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, but the Eagles put the game away with three in the sixth on a three-run homer by junior Aurora Johnson (Macon, Ga.).
Free, a junior, struck out nine and allowed no earned runs to improve to 4-5.
Georgia Southern 1, Stetson 0
Junior A.J. Street (Lilburn, Ga.) and sophomore Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) combined on a seven-hit shutout to defeat Stetson (18-6) for the second time in two days.
The lone run came in the GSU half of the sixth as the Eagles took advantage of two Hatter errors and a passed ball. Smith reached on an error and advanced to second on a groundout. While she was moving to third on a passed ball, the throw went into left field allowing Smith to score.
The Hatters attempted a rally in the bottom of the seventh. Lindsay Whiteman led off with a single and was sacrificed to second. Laliberte (5-5) struck out the next batter, but two walks loaded the bases. Laliberte ended the threat by striking out Sherrel Fountain to end the game.
Laliberte earned the win in relief by pitching four innings of one-hit ball while striking out six.
Story Courtesy Furman sports information
Appalachian State 13, Furman 7
GREENVILLE, SC - Kristyn Hurt went 3-for-5 with a double, homer and five RBI to lead Appalachian State to a 13-7 victory over Furman to salvage the final game of a three-game series Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
Trailing 4-1 with two outs and nobody on base in the top of the third inning, Appalachian loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsman. Ashley Gaston followed with a two-run single up the middle to pull the Mountaineers within one and Hurt cleared the bases with a three-run blast to left-center to give ASU a 6-4 lead.
After Kasey Motsinger singled to drive in two runs and double Appalachian's lead in the top half of the fourth, Furman answered with a three-run bottom of the fourth. Amber Kiser opened the frame with a triple to right field and scored on a single off of the bat of Joni Lockridge. Following a two-out walk to Amber Nelsen, Danielle Franklin laced a two-run double to the laft field wall to trim the lead to 8-7.
The Mountaineers added one run in the top half of the fifth and shut the door on the Lady Paladins with four more in the top of the seventh. Ashley Gaston's two-run double and Hurt's two-run double provided the offense for Appalachian State in the final frame.
Reliever Keri Blackwelder picked up the win for the Mountaineers to improve to 4-6 on the season. Blackwelder surrendered three runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of work. Kayla Richardson hurled 3.1 innings of scoreless relief to pick up her first save of the campaign. Gaston finished 2-for-3 with four RBI while Glover went 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
Vanessa Williams (8-6) suffered the loss for Furman allowing nine runs on eight hits in four innings. Williams issued four walks and recorded one strikeout. Franklin paced the Furman attack going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nelsen scored and two runs and drove in two.
Story Courtesy Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 12, Alabama A&M 0
Western Carolina 8, Charleston Southern 0
CULLOWHEE, NC - Western Carolina's freshman starting pitchers Jenny Jackson and Mendy McKenzie combined to throw 10 innings on Saturday in the Best Western Catamount Classic (BWCC), only allowing two total hits as the Catamounts secured wins over Alabama A&M, 12-0, and Charleston Southern, 8-0.
Jackson, who has shined through the first two days of the three-day tournament, earned her second win of the event tossing a five-inning no hitter as the Catamounts pounded Alabama A&M, 12-0. In the night cap, McKenzie threw five solid innings, only surrendering two base hits and allowing just one runner to reach second as WCU blanked Charleston Southern, 8-0.
Offensively for the Catamounts, Jackson continued her torrid hitting streak going 5-for-6 (.833) with a double and a home run, marking the only player in the tourney to hit two long balls. Jackson drove in five runs to bring her BWCC count to nine, tied for the most in the event. First-year second baseman, Samm Keppel, hit 4-for-6 in the two games, scoring three runs and driving in one. Breaking out of a recent mini-slump, sophomore Savannah Filley was 5-for-8 on the day with a double and three RBI, while freshmen Beth Hauser and Lauren Ross each hit .500 (2-for-4) with a combined four RBI as Ross delivered her fifth homer of the season.
On the day, Western combined to hit five doubles and three home runs. Entering the final day of the tournament, the Catamounts lead in batting average, hitting .416 (32-of-77). UNC Wilmington leads in terms of doubles (10) and home runs (5), but the Seahawks have completed their four games in round robin play. WCU's pitching staff leads with a combined ERA of 0.41 having only surrendered one run in three games (17.0 innings).
Story Courtesy Chattanooga sports information
Chattanooga 4, UMass 3
UConn 6, Chattanooga 4
BOCA RATON, FL - The Lady Mocs split a pair of decisions Saturday at the Florida Atlantic Parent’s Weekend Tournament and will be the top seed heading into championship play Sunday morning. Chattanooga defeated UMass 4-3 in eight innings then fell 6-4 to Connecticut in the nightcap.
With the score tied at 0-0 through seven, Massachusetts scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a commanding lead, but the Lady Mocs responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to claim its third win of the tournament. Ashley Frizzell got the win to improve to 10-9 on the year.
The Minutemen placed a runner on second following the international tie break rules in the eighth. An error by the second baseman put the runners at the corners. A batter’s interference and a pop up to second put two outs on the board. Acampora’s homerun gave UMass a 3-0 lead.
Chattanooga responded in the bottom of the extra inning. Brittney Whittier was placed on second and Amanda Hoiness singled to the gap in left center plating Whittier for the first run. Jeannie Cochran was hit by a pitch from Brandice Balschmiter then Hoiness and Cochran advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Tara Tembey sacrificed to left field scoring Hoiness and Ashleigh Bull singled up the middle to score Cochran and tie the game at 3-3. Laci Upchurch came in to run for Bull and the bases loaded on a single from Ashlan Clarkson and a walk from Alyssa Edwards. Toni Hutchison reached on an error by the third baseman to plate Upchurch for the winning run.
Against the Huskies, Chattanooga struck first with three runs in the second, but Connecticut responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning then plated a sixth in the fifth. The Lady Mocs could only muster one run in the top of the seventh and the Huskies claimed the 6-4 win.
With two runners on, Robyn Johnson homered to give Chattanooga a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Connecticut scored five runs on five hits to take the lead for good. UTC head coach Frank Reed lifted Frizzell in favor of JayCee Wood after the Huskies scored two runs on two hits and a walk. Wood gave up three runs, one earned and was lifted in favor of Brittney Whittier who got UTC out of the inning.
Johnson was 2-for-3 with three RBI and Tembey was 2-for-4 with one run batted in. Connecticut’s Neuschwander was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Chattanooga stranded six to UConn’s nine. UTC’s trio of pitchers combined to strike out four and walked three.
The Lady Mocs will face Michigan State at 9:00 a.m. in the Championship Round Sunday morning.
Each team would add a run before it was over, but UConn handed the Lady Mocs its first loss of the tournament and UTC fell to 19-18 on the year.