Western Carolina Sweeps South Carolina State 10-1, 10-0
ORANGEBURG, S.C. ? Western Carolina softball (14-20) swept South Carolina State (2-27) 10-1, 10-0 Wednesday at Lady Bulldog Field. It was the first time this season the Catamounts have pulled off a doubleheader sweep. Western Carolina is also riding its longest winning streak of the season, having won three consecutive games. Western Carolina returns to action on Saturday when the club travels to Elon in Southern Conference play. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. and the single game of the three-game series starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The games had a couple of momentous occasions, besides the pair of wins. Sophomore Heather Prichard returned to the lineup for the first time since February 21, having sat out due to an injury. It also saw the first long ball of the season for Mollie Fowler, who hit a two run shot in the second game.
Lauren Ross and Mendy McKenzie both had stellar performances on the mound. Ross tossed the first game going five innings allowing one run on five hits and striking out six. She improves to 6-5 on the season. Filley closed out the shortened, six inning game, tossing one inning and fanning three of the four batters she faced. In the second game, McKenzie hurled her second shutout of the season, tying her season-high with nine strikeouts. In five innings, McKenzie allowed just two hits and improves to 6-11 on the season.
McKenzie drew a walk and Kayla Kelley was hit by a pitch to begin the first inning of the opening game with South Carolina State. The Lady Bulldogs recorded two outs but wouldn’t get out of the inning until Lauren Ross put the Catamounts on the scoreboard. She hit a shot to centerfield, just missing going over the fence, for a two RBI double.
In the second inning a walk would again come back to haunt the Bulldogs. Senior Nikki Bost walked to start the second inning and she stole second to put her in scoring positing. A double by Danielle Reese to left field plated Bost.
With one out, Reese got her second hit of the game in the fourth inning. There were runners at first and second when McKenzie slapped the ball to right field. With two outs, an errant throw by the Bulldogs allowed Stephanie Beatty to reach first base and Reese to score. A single by Savannah Filley scored McKenzie. Then inning ended when Beatty tried to go home as well but she was thrown out at the plate.
South Carolina scored one run in its half of the fourth. With one out, Krystal Anthony hit a single to right field and she scored off an RBI single by Janae Palmer.
The sixth inning saw the return of Catamount sophomore Pritchard as a pinch hitter. She popped up to the pitcher, but the significance of her return far outweighs her performance at the plate, as she will help the short-staffed Catamounts as the season continues.
Reese continued her hot-hitting by knocking her second double of the game and third of hit of the game, in the sixth, and McKenzie notched her second consecutive hit to put runners at first and second. Kayla Kelley picked up just her second hit of the season and it was an RBI single that scored Reese. Ross kept the inning alive when she hit a single to right centerfield to push across her third and fourth RBIs of the game. Mollie Fowler got into the hitting action as well, hitting a double to centerfield scoring pinch runner Beth Hauser and Ross.
Western Carolina picked up where it left off in the scoring department to start the second inning. The Catamounts posted four runs to open the game, all with two outs. With runners on first and second, Ross singled to right field to score Beatty. Filley also scored on the play off a Lady Bulldog error. With Ross at second, she had a short run around the bases when Fowler hit a homerun over the left field wall to score the final two runs of the inning.
The Catamounts added three runs in the second inning. With two outs and runners on first and second Beatty hit an RBI single to right field to score McKenzie. Filley’s frozen rope to centerfield scored Kelley and Beatty.
With one out Bost hit a single and then advanced to second off a perfect bunt by Jamie Swank. A single by Reese to left field moved Bost to third and she motored home off a Bulldog error.
Western Carolina tacked on two runs in the top of the fifth inning. A hits batsman and a pair of walks loaded the bases with Catamounts. A single to centerfield by McKenzie scored Bost and Pritchard was out at third when she tried to advance. A wild pitch moved McKenzie to second and Reed to third. The second consecutive passed ball by Lady Bulldog pitcher TaTareka Polite allowed Reese to score.
Mountaineers Split With East Tennessee
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Appalachian State University softball split a doubleheader with regional rival East Tennessee Wednesday afternoon, winning game one 5-1, and falling in the nightcap, 2-1.
ASU’s 5-1 win was its first ever on the Bucs’ field as the Mountaineers used a four-run first inning to cruise to the victory behind an 11-hit effort from the offense.
Appalachian (9-21) was paced by Danielle Peters in the opening game as she went 3-for-4 with a run. Yancy Moose picked up her sixth win in the circle with the complete-game effort. Moose surrendered four hits and struck out six Bucs.
ASU scored its four first-inning runs in a two-out rally that was extended by an error from the shortstop. Kristyn Hurt and Meagan Squartino drove in all four runs with back-to-back two- RBI doubles. The Apps tacked on their fifth run in the top of the fourth inning on Brittany Gaston’s single through the right side that drove Peters in. Peters opened the inning with a double to the wall and advanced to third on a passed ball.
ETSU (16-16) notched its only run in the bottom of the sixth inning on Amanda Haverman’s double to the warning track that drove in Mary Catherine Vercoe with two outs.
The second game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when ETSU scored two runs on Briana Knight’s double that drove in Katy Jett and Haverman. ASU responded with a run in the top of the fifth inning when Diana Cook’s double drove Lindsay Glover in from second base. However, the Mountaineers couldn’t muster another run as ETSU held off the Apps for the 2-1 win.
Keri Blackwelder suffered the loss for ASU, giving up both runs and four hits in six innings of work. Her counterpart, Darci Gilbert, got the complete-game win with four strikeouts.
ASU will resume conference play on Saturday, March 31 when it hosts the College of Charleston for a SoCon doubleheader. The double-dip will also be ASU’s inaugural game in its new on-campus stadium. First pitch at the ASU Softball Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
SOFTBALL DROPS CLOSE DOUBLEHEADER TO BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN
Chattanooga, Tenn. ? Freshman catcher Brittany Eason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) hit a lead off home run in the bottom of the second to help the Lady Mocs take an early 1-0 lead before falling to the Birmingham-Southern Panthers in two games on Wednesday night’s doubleheader 1-3, 3-4.
Freshman pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) threw nine strikeouts and only gave up one walk, but picked up her eighth loss of the season with her record now sitting at 11-8.
She moves into ninth place all-time for strikeouts and into 10th place on the single season list with 163 strikeouts. She continues to hold the career record for most strikeouts per seven inning game, averaging 8.64 per game on 132.0 innings pitched.
Sophomore third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) picked up another hit on the day in the bottom of the second after Eason’s home run, but was left base.
Senior left fielder Jeannie Cochran (Maryville, Tenn.) led off the bottom of the third reaching on a throwing error by the first baseman before stealing second, her 17th stolen base of the season. Sophomore center fielder Ashley Cuticchia (Rising Fawn, Ga.) advanced Cochran to third on her single up the right side before stealing second.
Eason walked to load the bases, and senior first baseman Brittney Whittier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) reached on a fielder’s choice with Cochran thrown out at home for the second out. And all three runners were left on base after a checked swing for a third strike retired the inning with the score still 1-0.
Loudermilk picked up her fifth strikeout of the game in the top of the fourth after allowing the first batter of the game on base on balls, but after four innings it was 12 up, 12 down and no hits.
Junior designated player Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.) picked up a double but was left on second as the inning closed with the score still 1-0 after four.
The Panthers’ Grace Stokes picked up the first hit for Birmingham-Southern in the top of the sixth before pitcher Raquel Sanfiel fouled into a double play to pick up the first and second outs. Loudermilk picked up the third out on a pop-up.
Junior second baseman Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) hit a two-out triple, close to being a in park home run, in the bottom of the sixth to pick up the fifth hit on the game for Chattanooga but was left on third as the inning closed with the score still at 1-0.
Birmingham-Southern’s Anne Lawrence, from Chattanooga, Tenn., picked up her second home run of the season, picking up three RBI and scoring DiAmond Jordan and Brooke Reed in the top of the seventh putting the Panthers up 3-1 going into the bottom of the inning.
Chattanooga tried to rally with two outs with Cuticchia reaching on a walk before freshman shortstop Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) picked up a single, but both were left on base to close out the game.
The first game of the doubleheader had a similar tone. Senior pitcher Ashley Frizzell (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) recorded nine strikeouts, including the first five outs on defense, to but gave up an error in the team’s 4-3 loss to Birmingham-Southern in game one dropping her record to 8-8 on the season.
Chattanooga committed two errors and allowed six hits in the loss, but picked up seven hits and left five on base.
Hutchison went two-for-three with a two RBI double before scoring one run to lead the Lady Mocs on offense.
The Panthers struck first with designated player Creighton getting a hit in the first inning before getting another on her second at bat, advancing to second on a ground out by Lawrence and scoring on Heather Fox’s two-out home run over the left field fence to make the score 2-0 going into the bottom of the third.
Chattanooga answered back with Blosser’s lead off single before scoring on Hutchison’s two-out double to right center. Hutchison advanced to third on a passed ball before scoring on sophomore first baseman Rachel Norris’ (Ringgold, Ga.) single to the left side tying the score at 2-2.
Birmingham-Southern picked up two more runs in the top of the fifth off of Reed’s double to left center, scoring Backlund and Schmissrauter and increasing the margin to 4-2 after four and a half.
Upchurch hit a solo home run over left center to start off the bottom of the fifth and to make the score 3-4. Cochran grounded to the short stop but beat out the throw before Cuticchia advanced her to second on a hit. Blosser advanced both runners into scoring position with her ground out with Tembey coming to the plate.
Tembey struck out, bringing Whittier up to the plate with runners still on second and third, but both were left on base as the inning retired with the score still 3-4.
Chattanooga picked up its second double play in the game in the top of the seventh picking up the first and second outs before Schmissrauter popped up to Frizzell to end the inning.
The Panthers were led by Creighton with two hits and one run on three at bats, and pitcher Bethney Reynoldson picked up her 11th win of the season throwing eight strikeouts and only allowing one walk.
The Lady Mocs head to UNC Greensboro for a conference series beginning on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.