Furman Softball Tops Army, Falls To Georgia State at Panther Invitational
Atlanta, Ga. -- Georgia State rallied with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to top Furman 9-7 in the Panther Invitational Championship Sunday afternoon at Bob Heck Field in Atlanta, Ga.
Danielle Roddy keyed the Panther rally going 5-for-5 with a double and four RBI. After the Panthers trimmed Furman’s lead to 7-6 in the sixth inning Roddy notched her fifth hit of the game, a single up the middle, to plate the tying and eventual winning runs.
Georgia State took an early lead, but Furman rallied and went ahead in the fifth. Megan Jaudon doubled and moved to third on a sacrifice. Lana Mackey singled to drive in Jaudon and give the Lady Paladins a 4-3 lead.
After the Panthers regained the lead at 5-4, Furman struck for three runs to build a 7-5 lead in the sixth. Amber Kiser reached base on a one-out bunt single and Abby Robertson followed with an RBI double. Two batters later, Jaudon laced a double to right to give Furman a 6-5 lead. Brythe Blankenship followed with a single to plate Jaudon and cap the three-run frame.
Georgia State used a single and an error to set the table in the bottom of the inning. Rachel Cunningham delivered a double to cut the Furman lead to one. After loading the bases with a walk, Mackey fanned Lily Skelton for the second out before Roddy delivered the game-winning hit.
Cunningham, Alison Bradford and Jackie Jaegle each collected three hits for the Panthers. Elizabeth Thomas worked a scoreless 1.1 innings of relief to earn the victory.
Kiser and Mackey collected three hits apiece for Furman while Jaudon went
2-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Blankenship registered two hits to stretch her hitting streak to seven games. Mackey allowed five earned runs on 18 hits in six innings to take the loss.
Amber Kiser notched three hits, including her first career homer, to lead Furman to a 5-3 victory over Army and propel the Lady Paladins into the Panther Invitational finals in the day’s first game.
Army carried a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning before Furman mounted a rally. Down to the final out, Kiser provided the heroics blasting a solo shot to left field to tie the game at 3-3. Robertson doubled to right-center and Cushing followed with a roundtripper to centerfield to give Furman the lead.
Blake Murray pitched 4.1 innings allowing only one earned run on three hits to earn the victory.
Furman (2-5-1) takes a week off before visiting South Carolina State for a twinbill on February 26, at 1:00 p.m.
SAMFORD RALLIES IN SIXTH TO WIN GSU SOFTBALL INVITATIONAL
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Whitney Terry’s pinch-hit, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth gave Samford a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Georgia Southern Sunday in the championship game of the GSU Invitational at Eagle Field.
The Bulldogs (7-2) went 5-0 on the weekend, including two wins over the host Eagles (3-5). Earlier in the day, Charleston Southern (3-6) defeated Bethune-Cookman (3-5) 5-2.
Samford 2, Georgia Southern 1
Georgia Southern scratched across a run in the third and took advantage of two Samford errors. Freshman Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) led off, reached on an error and went to third on a Heather Smith (Williamson, Ga.) double. Sophomore Robyne Siliga laid down a sacrifice bunt that was booted by the pitcher which allowed Iduate to score.
The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth. Liz Pearse and Amanda Barrs led off with back-to-back singles and after a strikeout, moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt. Terry hit a 1-2 pitch back up the middle and off GSU starter Melissa Laliberte’s (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) glove. The ball went into short rightfield, and Pearse and Barrs both scored on the play.
Georgia Southern went down in order in the ninth, capping off a stellar performance by Royall. She struck out nine and walked none to improve to 5-1 on the season. The run she allowed was unearned and she also gave up five hits.
Laliberte was the hard-luck loser, falling to 1-2. She fanned six and allowed five hits and two earned runs.
Caitlin Allen (1-0) gave up seven hits and walked just one batter for Charleston Southern. Lanaya Jenkins (2-3) got the loss for Bethune-Cookman despite giving up no walks.
Cougars Outslug Manhattan College, 12-2
The College of Charleston wrapped up the 2007 Cougar Classic with a 12-2 win over Manhattan College at Patriots Point Field in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Jennifer Golden went 2-for-2 plate with three runs scored, including a homerun in the first, and had three RBI. Kristie Shifflett was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and had a RBI.
Katie Sansouci earned her first collegiate win as she gave up five hits and two runs in six innings of work. She struck out four and had three walks.
Jaclyn Churilla led Manhattan College as she went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI. Liz Pennino gave up 13 hits, walked five and struck out three in six inning of work for the loss.
The College of Charleston will host South Carolina on Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. in a doubleheader at Patriots Point.
SOFTBALL COMES UP SHORT AGAINST FORDHAM 5-2
Gainesville, Fla. ? The Lady Mocs scored two runs on six hits in the final game of the Cox Communications classic but came up short against the Fordham Rams 5-2 on Sunday morning.
Chattanooga finished the weekend with a win over Marshall to put the team 1-4 on the season.
Senior Brittney Whittier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) went 3-for-3 scoring one run and improving her season batting average to .333.
The Lady Mocs got off to a slow start getting only one on base from a base on balls in the top of the second but giving up three runs to the Rams in the first including a solo home run by Megan Hansen.
In the third, Whittier reached on a lead off single to the right side followed by freshman Lynleigh Hurndon (McDonough, Ga.) reaching on a bunt and senior Jeannie Cochran (Maryville, Tenn.) reaching on an error to load the bases. Sophomore Ashley Cuticchia (Rising Fawn, Ga.) bunted to drive in Whittier to put the Lady Mocs on the board.
Chattanooga held Fordham at three runs in the bottom of the third with freshman pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) recording her third strikeout of six on the day before back-to-back ground outs to retire the inning.
Whittier recorded her second hit of the day in the top of the fourth with two outs before being left on base, the fifth left on the day. In the bottom of the inning, Fordham’s Jessica Weckenman hit a two-out double to drive in Allison Twarowski to make the score 4-1.
The Lady Mocs continued to put more runs on the board in the fifth with Cochran hitting a single before advancing to second and third on back-to-back ground outs before scoring on a passed ball to make the score 4-2.
In the top of the sixth, Whittier hit another two-out single, the sixth hit of the game for the Lady Mocs, but once again was left on base after a fly ball out to left field ended the inning.
Fordham scored another run in the bottom of the sixth to seal the game for the Rams with five runs on eight hits and one error. Gina Capardi, Weckenman and Twarowski led the team with two hits each with Twarowski scoring two runs and Weckenman recording two RBIs.
The Lady Mocs host its home opener against non-conference opponent Lipscomb on Wednesday in a doubleheader starting at 5:00 p.m.
UNCG 3, Ohio 2
Greensboro, NC ? UNC Greensboro’s Jennifer Bonilla hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give UNCG (4-5) a 3-2 win over Ohio in the final game of the 2007 UNCG Spartan Softball Classic. The Spartans concluded the weekend with a 3-1 record.
Freshman Amber Harrell earned the win for the Spartans, working 8.0 innings and allowing only two runs on nine hits. She struck out eight batters in her first complete game of the season.
“This was a great weekend for us,“ head coach Jennifer Herzig said. “We set the goal to go 3-1 on the weekend and we did, which was great. We did some really good things this weekend and I’m pleased with the way that we played.”
The teams were scoreless heading into the bottom of the third inning when UNCG designated player Adriane Audley hit a one-run homer to give the Spartans the early 1-0 lead.
The Spartans held on to their lead until the seventh inning when Ohio was able to tie the game at 1-1. Ohio’s Debbie Szalejko hit a triple and teammate Alicia Catlette drove her in with a RBI single.
UNCG had a chance to win the game in the seventh inning when senior third baseman Kara Clouser singled to get on base and Mary Greenway reached on a Bobcat error. UNCG was able to load the bases when Bobcat pitcher Michelle Sauter walked Audley but Lyndsay Mouse couldn’t find a hit in the next at bat and the Spartans left three stranded on base.
Ohio opened the eighth inning with Courtney Waters on second base due to international tie-breaker rules. The Bobcats were able to get a runner across home plate when Waters came home on a single by teammate Kristen Salvatore in the Bobcats next at bat. Ohio ended the inning when Amanda Sacks popped up to centerfield.
Down a run, the Spartans placed Mouse on second base per international tie-breaker rules. In the first at bat of the inning Leslie Furness grounded out to the first baseman and advanced Mouse to third base on the play. Bonilla stepped up next and crushed the ball right over the left field wall to give UNCG a two-run home run and the ball game.
In the early game Kent State defeated Morehead State 4-2 to conclude the 2007 Spartan Softball Classic with a 4-0 record.
Morehead State struck first when Melody Ross hit a two-run home run which brought teammate Brandy Bucher around the bases. Kent State cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the inning when Morehead State pitcher Kari Quinn walked the first two batters and a batter reach base on a fielder’s choice. First baseman Jamie Fitzpatrick scored when teammate Lauren Ellis had a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
Kent State sealed the win in the bottom of the third when lead-off batter Brittney Robinson singled and teammate Corey Houk tripled to drive in Robinson. Houk was able to round the bases herself in the next at bat when Jessica Toocheck singled down the right field line.
The Golden Flashes got an insurance run in the fifth inning when they scored on a Morehead State miscue by the leftfielder.
Kent State’s Brittany Robinson got the win allowing two runs on two hits in 7.0 innings of work. She walked two and had 13 strikeouts. Morehead State fell to 1-3 on the season and pitcher Kari Quinn fell to 0-2 on the season.
The Spartans are next in action Tuesday when they head to Buies Creek, NC to take on Campbell in a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for 4 pm.