Western Carolina Softball Splits Opening Day at Charlotte First Pitch Classic
Charlotte, N.C. ? Fresh off its first win of the season on Wednesday, the Western Carolina softball team split its two games on Friday on the opening day of the Charlotte First Pitch Classic. The Catamounts surrendered five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as Marshall rallied from down three to a 10-8 victory in the first game of tournament play. In the evening session, WCU plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning, adding an insurance run in the third to hold on to knock the host Charlotte 49ers from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 4-2 win.
Tournament action continues for Western (2-6) on Saturday (Feb. 24) as the Cats face the Drexel Dragons at 10:00 am, and SoCon-rival, UNC Greensboro, at 4:30 pm in non-conference play.
With a 6-for-8 showing from the plate, freshman Serena Smith led the Catamounts offensively on the day, adding a pair of RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Lauren Ross and junior transfer Jamie Swank each went 4-for-7 in the two games with Ross driving in three with Swank tallying two runs scored.
Against Charlotte, sophomore Mendy McKenzie, who made the start in right field, led off the home half of the first inning with a single and scored from first on an RBI double to right center by Smith for the early advantage. After being moved to third, Smith came home on a Ross single through the left side for the second run, with Ross later touching the dish on a two-out single up the middle by freshman Danielle Reese.
Up three, the Catamounts pushed across an insurance run in the bottom of the third as Swank laced a two-out single down the left field line and scored from first when sophomore Beth Hauser doubled to right field.
Charlotte (12-1) managed to slice the WCU advantage in half in the top of the seventh on the strength of three-consecutive two out singles, but sophomore shortstop Heather Pritchard gobbled up an infield roller and tossed to Stephanie Beatty at third for the final out preserving the 4-2 win.
Tossing a one-hitter entering the seventh inning, Ross went the distance for Western in the circle to earn the first victory of her collegiate career. In seven innings of work, the Hope Mills, N.C., native only allowed two earned runs while striking out six with three walks. The 49ers only managed to hit .160 against the right-hander.
In the first game, WCU surrendered five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as Marshall rallied from a three-run, 8-5, deficit for the10-8 victory. Western could not maintain its early 1-0 advantage as Smith scored on a Ross RBI single up the middle in the top of the first inning. The Thundering Herd answered with a three-spot in the home half of the third inning to take a 3-1 edge it would enjoy for half an inning.
Down two in the top half of the fourth inning, Reese singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by Marshall’s second baseman. Pinch running, Hauser came home to score two batters later when McKenzie singled and eventually moved to third on another Herd error. Following a one-out walk and stolen base by Smith, back-to-back singles scored two additional runs to push WCU ahead, 4-3. After a pitching change, two additional runs crossed home for a five-run frame and a 6-3 Catamount advantage.
Marshall got two runs back in the fourth to trim the deficit to one, 6-5, but WCU scored a run in both the fifth and sixth to lead, 8-5, before Marshall’s five-hit, five-run bottom of the sixth.
McKenzie made her fifth start of the young season in the first game, but was lifted in place of Filley after just two innings of work. Filley worked 3.1 innings before running into trouble in the bottom of the sixth inning with McKenzie coming on to finish out the final two outs of the frame. Filley suffered her second loss of the season after exiting with the bases loaded with the two hurlers combining for 11 walks and just two strikeouts.
Fans can follow all of the action from the Charlotte First Pitch Classic LIVE on GameTracker.
Lady Mocs Go 2-0 in Panara Bread Challenge
Chattanooga, Tenn. ? The freshmen stole the show Saturday afternoon in the Chattanooga Lady Mocs (3-5) softball team’s win over the St. Francis Red Flash 4-0.
Freshman pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) threw a new career-high 14 strikeouts, including three straight in the top of the seventh, and recorded the team’s first shutout of the season.
And freshman Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) went three-for-three and recorded two RBI in her third start of the season.
Chattanooga got off to a quick start with leadoff batter senior Jeannie Cochran (Maryville, Tenn.) reaching first on a hit to the shortstop before stealing second. She advanced to third on sophomore Ashley Cuticchia’s (Rising Fawn, Ga.) ground out to the pitcher. And drove in Cochran on a single up the right side making the score 1-0.
Cuticchia reached on a single to left field in the bottom of the third before advancing to second on an error. Blosser had her second RBI of the day on her double to right field to make the score 2-0.
The Lady Mocs held the Red Flash to 11 straight outs behind Loudermilk’s pitching before walking Kelly Slingwine and giving up a hit to Kara Stroup in the top of the fourth.
The score stayed 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth when Chattanooga capitalized on two St. Francis errors and two hits by Carey Cooper (Sweetwater, Tenn.) and Cochran to score two more runs to secure the win for the Lady Mocs.
St. Francis was led by Slingwine and Stroup with one hit each.
The Lady Mocs host the Vermont Catamounts at 4:45 p.m. in the final game of day one of the Panera Bread Challenge at Frost Stadium.
Chattanooga, Tenn. ? The Lady Mocs recorded their second shutout over the Vermont Catamounts Friday evening 4-0 to go undefeated on day one of the Panera Bread Challenge.
“Well it’s always nice to get a couple of wins,” Chattanooga head coach Frank Reed said. “We’ve got to learn how to be a little more aggressive. In this kind of tournament to sit on a two-run lead that can go away quickly. But I think they had a fun time today and hopefully we get better as time goes on.”
Sophomore Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) sealed the win for Chattanooga (4-5) with her solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth, her second hit of the season.
Senior pitcher Ashley Frizzell (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) captured her second win of the season, throwing eight strikeouts on 23 batters faced.
The Lady Mocs held the momentum from the first game coming out swinging tallying two hits and two runs led by leadoff hitter senior Jeannie Cochran (Maryville, Tenn.) to take an early 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, junior Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) scored, after being walked for the second time of the game, off a Cochran single to make the score 3-0.
Sophomore Rachel Norris (Ringgold, Ga.) made her first appearance for the Lady Mocs at first base replacing senior Alyssa Edwards (Geneva, N.Y.) with each player recording one hit and Edwards also tallying a RBI.
The Catamounts were led by leadoff hitter Rachelle Eloschuk with two of the team’s three hits and four putouts.
The Lady Mocs continue competition in the Panera Bread Challenge on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. when the team hosts the Akron Zips at Frost Stadium.
East Carolina 2, Appalachian State 0
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball dropped its opening game of the Baymont Inn & Suites Pirate Classic to host East Carolina, 2-0.
Appalachian got a gem of a pitching peformance from Yancy Moose (Hamptonville, N.C.) but couldn’t score a run with five hits scattered throughout the seven innings.
Moose went the distance pitching six innings and allowing just one hit and striking out six. Both runs were unearned. ECU (7-4) scored in the bottom of the second inning when Vanessa Moreno, the leadoff batter reached base on a throwing error and advanced to second base. A hit batsmen and two passed balls brought Moreno in for the first ECU run. Moose recovered to strike out the next two batters and limit ECU to one run in the inning.
ASU (1-3) threatened the lead in the top of the third inning with two singles from Diana Cook (Concord, N.C.) and Danielle Peters (Vass, N.C.) to put two runners on base with one out. However, ASU wasn’t able to bring either across the plate. Peters went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead ASU.
The Pirates added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth with two hit batsmen, followed by a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch brought ECU’s second run in.
The Mountaineers attempted to rally in the seventh frame with a Kasey Motsinger (Yadkinville, N.C.) single, followed by a walk putting runners on first and second, but again, ASU couldn’t come up with the big hit to score either runner.
ASU will continue round-robin play in the tournament tomorrow against St. John’s at 9:30 a.m. followed by a 1 p.m. game against Towson. Seeded bracket play for the tournament will then start at 3 p.m.
Elon Splits in First Day of Elon Invitational
BURLINGTON, N.C.- The Elon softball squad split in the first day of the Elon Invitational held at Springwood Park on Friday afternoon. Elon downed Rider 5-2 before falling to Ohio 9-2.
In the first game, Elon jumped to a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning. With runners on first and second, Laurin Smith singled down the right field line to plate Tracey Dahlen and give the Phoenix the lead.
But Rider knotted the game in the bottom half of the inning when Desiree Harbaugh's RBI single scored Mandi Sekly to tie the game, 1-1.
Elon put two more runs ont he board in the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded, Brandi Jones knocked a single through the left side to score Dahlen and Debbie Zeigler and put Elon ahead 3-1.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, with runners on second and third, Rider's Ashley Boulden knocked an infield single to score Katy Mills and cut the lead to one at 3-2.
But Elon tallied runs in the top of the sixth and seventh innings to secure the win. In the top of the sixth, a double by Zeigler scored Paige Goss to put Elon up 4-2 and in the seventh, Dahlen earned a walk with the bases loaded the extend the lead to 5-2.
Melanie Helterbran (2-1) earned the win for Elon after tossing a complete game and giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out five batters. Lauren Brunner (0-1) suffered the loss for Rider. She tossed seven innings and gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits while retiring two batters.
Jones led Elon from the plate, going 2-for-2 with one run and two RBI. Dahlen was 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI while Zeigler and Smith both posted two hits and one RBI.
Harbaugh was 2-for-3 at the plate with one RBI for Rider. Boulden, Sekly, Mills, Aimee Schiller and Derrin Minunni all tallied a hit for the Broncs.
In the second game, Ohio started the scoring early, posting three runs in the top of the first inning. With runners on first and second, Amanda Sacks doubled to left centerfield to score Shanele Petrich and put the Bobcats ahead 1-0. Kelly Rodriguez singled down the left field line to send Kristen Salvatore and Sacks home to give ohio the 3-0 advantage.
The Bobcats added three more runs in the fourth inning. Debbie Szalejko led off with a triple and Petrich singled up the middle to score her. With runners on second and third, Marian Davis knocked an infield grounder that scored Petrich to five the Bobcats the 5-0 lead. Then, with Davis on third, Rodriguez knocked another RBI single to plate Davis and put Ohio ahead 6-0.
Elon got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when Zeigler earned a walk with the bases loaded to score Goss and cut the lead to five, 6-1.
Ohio put three more runs on the board in the top of the seventh with Meagan McCutcheon knocked a three-run homer out of centerfield to give the Bobcats a 9-1 edge.
Elon posted one run in the bottom of the inning when Smith put an RBI single through the right side to score Dahlen. But Elon could not produce any more runs as Ohio earned a 9-2 victory.
Michelle Sauter earned the win for Ohio after hurling a complete game. She gave up two runs on five hits and retired eight batters. Carol Lilley (1-3) suffered the loss for Elon after tossing three innings and giving up six runs on 10 hits. Meredith Gay tosses four innings in relief and gave up three runs onfive hits while striking out one.
UNCG softball team falls to Charlotte, 3-1; defeats Drexel, 6-2
CHARLOTTE, NC ? The UNC Greensboro softball team scored two runs in the first and second innings to defeat Drexel 6-2 in their second game of the First Pitch Classic hosted by UNC Charlotte. The Spartans fell in extra innings to host Charlotte, 3-1 in the early game but earned a split on the day with their win over Drexel.
UNCG (6-7) jumped out to the early 2-0 advantage in the first inning against Drexel. Brittany Ausley got things started with a leadoff single through the right side. Ausley advanced to second when outfielder Mary Greenway grounded out to the pitcher and rounded the bases when senior Adriane Audley smacked her third home run of the season.
The Spartans were able to extend their lead to 4-0 with back-to-back home runs by Lyndsay Mouse and Kara Closer to start the second inning. UNCG tried to get runners on base but Whitney Sirois grounded out to the pitcher in the next at bat and Leslie Furness and Ausley both struck out looking to end the frame.
Drexel finally got two runs on the board in the bottom of the third inning. The Dragons opened the inning with a single to the shortstop and scored when they were able to capitalize on two UNCG errors which cut the Spartan lead to 4-2.
The teams were scoreless for the next two innings but UNCG was able to tack on insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Furness scored a leadoff homer in the top of the sixth inning and Ausley, who Drexel pitcher Amanda Shattack walked to begin the inning, made her way around the bases and crossed the plate when Shattack walked Mouse.
Ausley was 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored while Furness and Jennifer Bonilla were both 2-for-4 from the plate. Mouse and Audley each had two RBI.
Hannah Angel picked up her second win of the season and allowed two runs on nine hits in 7.0 innings of work. She allowed no earned runs and had five strikeouts on the evening.
In the first game against Charlotte, the Spartans got on the board first for the 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the second. The Spartans were able to get two on base and third baseman Kara Clouser came across the plate when Ausley reached on a fielder’s choice.
Charlotte was able to tie the game up in the top of the third inning. Sarah Malene opened the inning with a leadoff single and stole second base before teammate Becky Matthews brought her home with a RBI single.
The game remained scoreless through the regulation seven innings so the teams went into eight innings and placed runners on second base according to international tie-breaker rules.
Charlotte placed Matthews on second and had two quick outs which advanced Matthews to third but a wild pitch by Harrell brought Matthews across the plate. The 49ers added another run when pinch runner Alyssa Kemmerer came home on an RBI single from teammate Jenny Rumbles. UNCG had a chance to tie it up or take the win in the bottom of the inning but couldn’t find a hit to bring anyone around the bases.
Amber Harrell suffered the loss allowing three runs on eight hits in 8.0 innings of work. She walked four and had eight strikeouts on the afternoon. Harrell falls to 2-3 on the season.
The Spartans had three hits on the afternoon and didn’t have any players with multiple hits.
UNCG resumes action at the First Pitch Classic Saturday when they take on Southern Conference rival Western Carolina at 4:30 pm on Saturday and Marshall at 6:30 pm.
Szalejko and Petrich each posted three hits for the Bobcats while Szalejko tallied one run and Petrich posted two runs and one RBI. Sacks and Rodriguez each had two hits and Rodriguez added three RBI, as did McCutcheon.
Smith posted two hits and one RBI for the Phoenix while Goss, Dahlen and Patti Weber all recorded one hit.
The second, and final, day of the Elon Invitational begins on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. at Springwood Park.