Story Courtesy College of Charleston sports information
Furman 1-0, College of Charleston 0-3
CHARLESTON, SC - College of Charleston and Furman split a doubleheader Saturday at Patriots Point in Southern Conference Softball action with the Paladins taking game one 1-0 and the Cougars taking game two 3-0.
Charleston moves to 25-25 on the season and 10-4 in the SoCon with the split. Shannon Howard pitched a two-hit shutout in game two to improve to 13-13 on the year and Amber Havnar fell to 12-12 on the season with the game one loss.
In game one the Cougars were shutout by the Paladins as CofC managed only three hits in the game. Furman scored one run on eight hits committing one error in the game one victory. Vanessa Williams earned the win for Furman improving her record to 12-10 on the year. Havnar was credited with the loss for the Cougars despite only giving up one run while striking out two batters.
Game two saw the Cougar bats come alive as CofC scored three runs on nine hits while committing one error in the game. Izmena Cabrera went three-for-four from the plate as she was batting from the leadoff position. The Paladins were held scoreless on two hits with only four base-runners in the game.
Story Courtesy UNC Greensboro sports information
Western Carolina 9, UNC Greensboro 1
GREENSBORO, NC ? Two Western Carolina homers and costly UNC Greensboro fielding errors led the Catamounts to a 9-1 victory over the Spartans in Southern Conference softball action on a rain filled Saturday afternoon at UNCG Softball Stadium.
Western Carolina (33-16, 10-2 SoCon) maintained its grip on first place in the league by scoring three run in each of the final three innings. Heather Pritchard got the Catamounts on the board in the fifth with a laser shot over the fence in leftcenterfield for a three-run homer.
UNCG (18-31, 3-10 SoCon) got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Krista Judge to bring the Spartans to within two, 3-1.
However, Stephanie Beatty launched a two-run double off the wall in left to make it 5-1 in the sixth. Jenny Jackson capped the scoring spree with another three-run blast to left in the seventh to give Western the 9-1 victory.
Western’s Mendy McKenzie cruised to her 19th victory of the season, after allowing one run on five hits and stuck out eight Spartan hitters.
Vanessa Oakes took the loss for UNCG, falling to 9-13. She got little help from her defense as six of the nine runs allowed on the afternoon were unearned. She stuck out a game-high 10 batters, which was one of her career best.
Lyndsay Mouse had two hits for UNCG, while Judge, Kelly Allen and Vanessa Oakes each added one hit for the Spartans.
Pritchard finished the day 3-for-4 with two runs scored, three RBIs and her ninth homer of the season. Beatty was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Lauren Ross also had two hits for the Catamounts.
Story Courtesy Georgia Southern sports information
STATESBORO, GA - A complete-game three-hitter by Georgia Southern junior Logan Free (Sandpoint, Idaho) helped the Eagles split a Southern Conference softball doubleheader with Elon Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field. Elon took the first game 5-1 and GSU won the second game 6-0.
The Eagles are now 23-28 overall on the season and 7-7 in the Southern Conference. Elon stands at 20-23 and 6-7.
Elon 5, Georgia Southern 1
The Phoenix’s four-run rally with two outs in the fourth was the difference thanks to senior Nicole Ellis’ (Chesapeake, Va.) bases-clearing double.
Georgia Southern took an early lead with a run in the first that lasted until the fourth. Sophomore Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) retired the first two batters of the inning before two singles and a walk loaded the bases. Freshman Patti Weber (Middlesex, N.J.) drove home the first run with a single and Ellis followed with a double to right to score all three runners.
Sophomore Samantha Schroeder (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) went the distance for Elon, allowing seven hits with one walk to improve to 6-7. Laliberte took the loss, falling to 9-10.
Georgia Southern 6, Elon 0
The Eagles pounded out 14 hits and six runs, and rode the arm of Free to split the twinbill.
Georgia Southern again struck quickly, scoring twice in the first inning. Senior Shanita Black (Fayetteville, N.C.) started it off with a three-bagger, and in the process, set a new GSU single-season and career triple record. She now has seven triples on the season and 12 for her career.
Black came around on a single by junior Aurora Johnson (Macon, Ga.) and Johnson crossed the plate on a bases loaded walk to junior A.J. Street (Lilburn, Ga.).
The Eagles padded the lead with three runs in the fourth, all unearned, and tallied their final run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Both Black and junior Maria Laurato (New Orleans, La.) had perfect games at the plate, going 4-for-4 and 3-for-3, respectively.
Black’s four-hit performance helped her set another record, breaking the school’s single-season hit mark. She surpasses the record of 68 she tied in 2005. She has set eight school records this season
Free struck out three and walked three to up her record to 10-9. Senior Whitney Meeks (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.) gave up 11 hits two earned runs to drop to 9-6.
Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information
Chattanooga 4, Appalachian State 1
BOONE, NC - After a six-hour rain delay, Appalachian State University softball and Chattanooga were finally able to start their three-game series under the lights at the Carroll Complex. The time off suited the Mocs much more favorably as they prevailed 4-1 in the contest. The two teams will wrap up the series tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
Ashleigh Bull had an outstanding night at the plate for the Mocs, going 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Lindsay Glover (Greensboro, N.C.) led the Apps with a 2-for-3 evening with one RBI. Her second hit was her 61st of the season, tying her own school record set last season for most hits in a single season.
The win improves UTC to 28-29 overall and 6-7 in Southern Conference action. Ashley Frizzell collected the complete-game win, striking out eight to improve to 15-17. The Mountaineers fall to 23-25 and 8-8 in the SoCon with the loss. Yancy Moose (Hamptonville, N.C.) took the loss, falling to 8-7.
UTC got its four runs on 10 hits and committed two errors. The Apps could only manage a single run on eight hits.
ASU scored first on Glover’s RBI double in the first inning that scored Brittany Gaston (Roswell, Ga.). UTC tied the contest in the third inning on Bull’s infield single that plated Ashley Cuticchia. The Mocs took the lead in the fifth frame courtesy of Toni Hutchison’s single that scored Bull. The Mocs added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh, both home runs off ASU reliever Teri Fister. Bull’s home run to right center came first, followed two batters later by Alyssa Edwards’s mammoth shot to center field to give UTC the 4-1 victory.