Story Courtesy Appalachian State sports information

Appalachian State 8-7, NC A&T 0-0

GREENSBORO, NC - Appalachian belted out a combined 22 hits and held North Carolina A&T scoreless as the ASU softball team took a pair of games from the Aggies Tuesday afternoon. Appalachian won the first game, 8-0, in six innings and prevailed 7-0 in the second game. The two wins gives ASU 26 wins on the season, the most in the program’s six-year history and evens its record at 26-26. The Aggies fall to 18-35 with the losses.

Keri Blackwelder led the Apps at the plate, going 4-for-8 with three runs, four RBI and two doubles in addition to earning the win in the second game. Renecia Lovelace was 3-for-5 for the Aggies.

Appalachian scored first with three runs in the top of the third inning of the first game. Keri Blackwelder (Stanfield, N.C.) singled up the middle to drive Lindsay Glover (Greensboro, N.C.) in. Glover’s run set a new ASU single-season record for runs in a season with 29. The next batter, Ashley Gaston (Roswell, Ga.) then cleared the bases with a double to left center to drive in Kristyn Hurt (Siler City, N.C.) and Blackwelder.

The Apps added four more runs in the fourth frame on RBI doubles from Brittany Gaston (Roswell, Ga.) and Blackwelder to give ASU a commanding 7-0 lead. Appalachian posted the game-ending run in the top of the sixth inning when Blackwelder’s RBI groundout scored Diana Cook (Concord, N.C.).

Freshman Yancy Moose (Hamptonville, N.C.) pitched a gem in the first game, allowing just two hits and striking out 11 while walking none.

The Mountaineers got a 2-0 lead in the first four innings in the second game. The first run came in the second inning on Mary Lutz’s (Brentwood, Tenn.) infield single that scored Hurt from third base. ASU plated another run in the fourth inning as an errant throw by the shortstop on a ball hit by Natalie Willis (Cherryville, N.C.) allowed Ashley Gaston (Roswell, Ga.) to score from second base.

Appalachian extended its lead with three more runs in the sixth inning on RBI singles from Ashley Gaston and Elizabeth Holbert (Long Beach, Miss.). A two-run home run from Willis over the left field fence in the top of the seventh gave ASU the final 7-0 tally.

Blackwelder was strong from inside the circle, allowing no runs in the complete game victory on six hits. She struck out four Aggies and walked none in her eight win of the season.

Story Courtesy Western Carolina sports information

Western Carolina 5-6, Gardner-Webb 2-4

CULLOWHEE, NC - Sophomore Savannah Filley and freshman Jenny Jackson proved to be the heroes on Tuesday evening as Western Carolina swept its final non-conference doubleheader defeating Gardner-Webb, 5-2 and 6-4, at the Catamount Softball Complex. Filley smashed a three-run home run in the fourth inning to propel WCU to the win in game one while Jackson pitched a complete game to earn the win. In the night cap, it was Jackson blasting a three-run, walk-off home run to left center to give Filley the win on the mound.

The twin bill marked the return home for Western (37-16), who had played its previous 10 on the road. The Catamounts improved to 16-3 in Cullowhee, while running its current winning streak to a school-record seven games. All told, WCU has won 13 of its past 14 games and moves to 3-0 all-time versus Gardner-Webb coupled with the 12-3 win in Rock Hill, S.C., earlier this season.

Jackson led the team on the day, hitting 3-for-7 (.429) with three RBI all coming on her 10th home run of the season. Filley and freshman Lauren Ross each hit 2-for-5 with homers number 13 and 10, respectively. Also getting in on the home run derby was junior Ashley Adams, who lifted her SoCon-record 20th over the fences on Tuesday in a 2-for-6 afternoon with a pair of runs driven in.

Western pushed across two early runs in game one capitalizing on three Bulldog errors in the frame. Freshman Allyson McCubbins drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on an error by Gardner-Webb's catcher, who tossed the ball into centerfield while attempting to throw behind freshman Heather Pritchard at second. The error allowed Pritchard to move to third where she was plated by Adams on an RBI single to left center one batter later. The Catamounts continued to threaten until a double-play ended the inning with two left on base.

After putting runners on first and second in both the second and third innings without scoring, Western added some insurance in the fourth. Junior Nikki Bost led off with a double to right center and moved to third on an infield groundout by McCubbins. The next batter, Pritchard, laid down a picture perfect bunt for an infield single to put runners on the corners with one out. Filley then laced an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left center driving in three for the 5-0 lead.

Gardner-Webb (11-35) scored twice in the sixth inning as sophomore JoAnna Ward hit a two-run home run to right center with two out to score freshman Lindsey Whitfield, who reached on an error, and Haley Scism, who was on by fielder's choice. Adrienne Smith singled on the first pitch after the long ball, but Lindsay Cox grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Jackson went the distance to secure the win in the first game, tossing seven innings with three strikeouts and one walk while giving up the two runs, only one of which was earned, on eight total base hits. For GWU, sophomore Taryn Beck gave up five runs, three earned, on seven hits in six innings of work. She struck out six, but gave up four walks in a 135-pitch outing.

With the biggest Southern Conference series in the program's infancy looming on the horizon - and its ace in the circle, the Catamounts appeared sluggish in the early going in the second game of the twin bill. Yet a lot had to do with the pitching of Bulldog starter, Scism. The Concord, N.C., sophomore limited the Catamounts to three hits entering the bottom of the sixth inning and was clinging to a 4-0 lead, threatening to blank WCU for the first-time at its new facility.

But the sixth inning proved to be the beginning of the end for Scism and the Bulldogs. With one out, Adams homered down the left field line to delete the goose egg from the WCU score column. The next batter, Jackson, singled to left and scored when Ross hit a towering shot to straight away center to pull Western to within one. After freshman Stephanie Beatty walked, Canton, N.C., native, Brittany Underwood, making her first career start, registered her first career extra base hit, doubling to right center on a 2-2 pitch, moving Beatty to third to continue the threat. However, the Catamounts would have to settle for the three runs in the frame as GWU tallied back-to-back outs to end the inning.

Entering the seventh down by one, Pritchard opened the final frame by reaching on a fielding error by the Bulldog first baseman, Ward, but was erased on a close play at second on a fielder's choice by Filley. With a pinch runner, Hendersonville, N.C., native Sam Stepp at first, Adams worked the count full and stayed alive with multiple foul balls before drawing the one-out walk. With two on, Jackson blasted a 1-0 pitch over left center field for the second walk-off home run in school history, joining Filley in that regard.

Early in the game, it was all Gardner-Webb as the Bulldogs took the early lead with a lead-off home run by Whitfield to left in the fourth and a two-run home run by Christie Barlow, coupled with a manufactured run scored by Kelly Linsley and driven in on the fielder's choice by Jessi Williams as a part of the three-run fifth. But over the final two innings, GWU only managed one base runner and never safely reached second base.

Freshman Mendy McKenzie earned the starting nod for Western, going five full innings, surrendering four earned runs while fanning four and walking three. She also gave up both homers, marking the first home runs she's allowed since giving up one on April 1st at Appalachian State, a run of ten-consecutive appearances without allowing a round tripper. Filley came on in relief in the top of the sixth, pitching the final two hitless and scoreless innings while walking one and striking out three to ear her fourth victory of the season.

Story Courtesy Chattanooga sports information

Chattanooga 2-7, Middle Tennessee 1-5

CHATTANOOGA, TN - Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Tara Tembey smashed a grand slam over the fence in right center to give the Lady Mocs a 7-5 win over Middle Tennessee to complete a sweep Tuesday afternoon at Frost Stadium. Chattanooga won the first game of the doubleheader 2-1.

Brittney Whittier led off the seventh with a single through the left side and Robyn Johnson walked to put runners at first and second. MTSU pitcher Trish White was lifted in favor of first game starter Laura Moore. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. With one out, Moore walked Ashley Cutichia to load the bases for Tembey’s second home run of the game.

Tembey went 2-for-4 with five RBI, two home runs and scored twice. Alyssa Edwards went 2-for-3 with a home run and one RBI and Ashleigh Bull had a run batted in for the Lady Mocs on her 11th home run of the season. Chattanooga had four home runs in the contest and are just two shy of the school single-season record of 43 set in 2003.

Muriel Ledbetter led off the second frame with a homerun over the fence in left center to give Middle Tennessee a 1-0 lead. The Lady Mocs answered it with a solo shot from Edwards in the bottom of the frame to tie it up 1-1. Chattanooga took a two-run lead in the bottom of the fourth on back-to-back solo shots from Tembey and Bull, but fell behind on a four-run fifth inning by the Blue Raiders.

Chattanooga starter JayCee Wood got the first two batters out then struggled though the next five giving up four hits and a walk. Ledbetter went 3-for-4 on the day with four RBI including a bases-clearing three-run double in the inning to give Middle Tennessee a 5-3 lead.

Wood (15-12) picked up the win for the Lady Mocs striking out five and walking three. She gave up five runs, all earned in 32 at bats.

In game one, the Lady Mocs scored twice in the fourth then held on for the 2-1 win over Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single with just one out. Martha Davis flew out to centerfield to sacrifice in a run cutting Chattanooga’s tenuous lead in half. Junior Ashley Frizzell got the final batter to ground out to shortstop to end the scoring threat and get the win moving her to 16-18 on the year.

Tembey led off the fourth and was hit by a pitch to reach base. Bull walked and Edwards singled to left field to load the bases. Toni Hutchison drew a walk to push in the first run followed by a fielder’s choice by Brittney Whittier plating Bull for UTC’s second run. It would stand up, and UTC would get the win.

Chattanooga is 31-30 on the year, over .500 for the first time since defeating Connecticut on March 18 at the Florida Atlantic Parent’s Weekend Tournament.