EAGLES GET TIMELY HITS IN SWEEP OF FURMAN
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern softball team won twice in walk-off fashion in extra innings to sweep Furman Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field.
The Eagles rallied for a 3-2 win in eight innings in game one and prevailed 1-0 in eight innings in game two.
Georgia Southern improves to 16-19 overall and 3-2 in the Southern Conference. Furman falls to 12-17-1 and 2-3.
“Last year we really struggled with coming from behind or trying to fight to win it in the end, but we’ve shown much better tendencies this year and it makes them believe in themselves, so that way they’re not down,” said GSU head coach Natalie Poole. “When you believe it can happen, a lot of times it does. We needed two wins today and they went and got them.”
Georgia Southern 3, Furman 2 (8 innings)
Furman wasted little time in getting on the board, getting a leadoff triple from Amber Kiser and a single from Abby Robertson within the first five pitches of the game.
In the third, the Lady Paladins doubled their lead with an unearned run.
Robertson singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an error.
Georgia Southern began its comeback in the sixth with a run on an RBI fielder’s choice from senior Katie Smith (Goose Creek, S.C.).
The Eagles capitalized on a miscue to tie the game in the seventh.
Freshman Lindsey Hopkins (McDonough, Ga.) reached on an error and was sacrificed to second. She scored on a single by sophomore Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.).
After a scoreless top of the eighth, senior Maria Laurato (New Orleans,
La.) began the inning with a double off the left-field wall and scored on a Smith single when a throw from the shortstop went into the GSU dugout.
Junior Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) went the distance for the Eagles and allowed seven hits, one earned run and five walks while striking out five (6-7). Furman’s Lana Mackey took the loss (6-7).
She gave up seven hits and one earned run.
Georgia Southern 1, Furman 0 (8 innings)
In a pitchers duel that saw both teams squander numerous chances, freshman Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) singled home junior Aubrey Thweatt (Georgia, Vt.) in the bottom of the eighth inning for the only run of the contest.
The two teams combined to leave 27 runners on base through 7 ? scoreless innings and had only one 1-2-3 half-inning.
“We left a lot of runners on today,” Poole added. “I know we’re creating some offense, but we’re just not stringing the hits together as much as we should.”
Thweatt reached on a pinch-hit single and went to second on a sacrifice.
Russo’s single through the left side ended the game.
Senior Logan Free (Sandpoint, Idaho) pitched the first five innings, allowed three hits, walked six and struck out eight. Senior A.J. Street (Lilburn, Ga.) went the remainder and tossed three-innings of one hit ball.
“Our pitchers did a good job of keeping us in the ballgame and giving us an opportunity to win,” said Poole. “Defensively we could have eliminated some errors, I definitely felt like we made some mistakes today that could have cost us, but luckily they didn’t.”
The series concludes with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
Cougars Spoil Mountaineer’ Home Opener
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball dropped a pair of games to College of Charleston in its home-opening doubleheader against the Cougars Saturday afternoon.
CofC belted a total of nine home runs on ASU’s new field to win 9-8 in eight innings in the first game, followed by a 17-7 rout that was propelled by a 10-run seventh inning.
CofC (16-17, 2-3 SoCon) took an early 7-0 lead in the first game with a 7-run second inning that was capped by Kristie Shifflett’s grand slam down the left field line. ASU’s Diana Cook added a long ball in the bottom half of the inning to put the Mountaineers on the board.
Both teams scored in the third inning, with ASU (9-23, 2-3 SoCon) tacking on three to cut into CofC’s margin. The score remained 8-4 until the bottom of the seventh inning when Brittany Gaston scored on Kasey Motsinger’s single. The next batter, Kristyn Hurt, cleared the bases with a double to straight-away centerfield that bounced off the top rail of the fence and back into play to tie the score.
In the top of the eighth inning, CofC’s Jennifer Golden hit a single down the left field line that scored Izmena Cabrera from second base.
The Mountaineers loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but couldn’t find the big hit to tie the game.
Hurt and Natalie Willis both went 2-for-4 in the loss while CofC was led by Kristie Shifflett with four RBI.
Starting pitcher Yancy Moose suffered the loss for the Apps, while Terri Mesko picked up the win. Katie Sansouci earned the save.
The Apps appeared to have the second game under wraps as they took a 6-
2 lead through the first three innings. However, the Cougars clawed their way back into the game and eventually broke it open with home runs.
The two teams headed into the seventh inning knotted a 7-7 after two CofC home runs in the sixth inning, but 10 runs and six hits later, CofC assumed the final 17-7 margin. Izmena Cabrera and Shannon Howard each had two home runs in the win for CofC.
Moose again suffered the loss, this time in relief, while Shannon Howard earned the victory.
The two teams will finish their three-game series on Sunday at the ASU Softball Stadium. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
Helterbran, Jones Lead Elon Past Western Carolina
ELON, N.C. ? Elon took two games from Western Carolina in a Southern Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at East Field. Elon downed the Catamounts 1-0 in the first game and 3-2 in the second contest.
Elon moves to 21-15 on the season and remains undefeated in league play with a 5-0 record. Western Carolina falls to 14-22 and 1-4 in the SoCon.
Pitcher Melanie Helterbran tossed a four-hit shut out and also tallied Elon’s game-winning single to lead the Phoenix to a 1-0 win in the first game.
The game remained scoreless through six and a half innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Tracey Dahlen singled up the middle and advanced to second on the throw from the centerfielder. With two outs, Helterbran popped a ball up to shallow centerfield for a single that sent Dahlen home and gave Elon the 1-0 victory.
Helterbran hurled seven innings and gave up no runs on four hits while striking out two batters. Lauren Ross (6-6) suffered the loss for the Catamounts after tossing 6.2 innings and giving up one run on six hits and striking out one batter.
Dahlen, Helterbran, Paige Goss, Debbie Zeigler, Jaimie Rao and Jaymie Shanahan each tallied a hit for the Phoenix.
Ross, Stephanie Beatty, Mollie Fowler and Danielle Reese each posted a hit for the Catamounts.
Tied at 2-2 in the second game, Rao doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. Laurin Smith moved her to third with a sacrifice bunt before Brandi Jones doubled to right centerfield to send Rao home and give Elon the 3-2 lead.
The Catamounts tried to rally in the top of the seventh inning. Jamie Swank singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch. Reese then knocked a ball to the third baseman, but the throw sailed over the head of Smith, the first baseman. Smith collected the ball and threw it home to encounter Swank, who had rounded third base. Caught in a pickle between third base and home plate, Swant was tagged out by Rao, the catcher. Rao then threw the ball back to Zeigler at third base to get Reese out. Mendy McKenzie flied out to centerfield to end the game.
Western Carolina started the scoring in the second game and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Beatty earned a walk and Savannah Filley was hit by a pitch before Ross put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Fowler then singled to score Beatty and give the Catamounts a 1-0 edge. With the bases loaded, Kayla Kelley knocked a grounder to the short stop that allowed Filley to score to put WCU ahead 2-0.
Elon responded with a run in the bottom of the inning as Helterbran took a pitch over the left field wall to cut the lead to one, 2-1.
Elon tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Weber singled through the right side and Goss moved her to second on a sacrifice bunt. Zeigler then popped the ball up deep in the infield, but an error by the short stop put her on first and allowed Weber to score to tie the game 2-2.
Carol Lilley (9-7) picked up the win for Elon after hurling a complete game and giving up two runs on five hits while striking out two batters. McKenzie (6-12) suffered the loss for Western Carolina after throwing six innings and giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and retiring four batters.
Jones led Elon from the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI. Goss, Helterbran, Rao, Shanahan and Weber each posted a hit for the Phoenix.
Beatty, Ross, Fowler, Swank and Reese collected hits for the Catamounts while Fowler and Kelley each posted an RBI.
Elon and Western Carolina conclude the three-game series on Sunday, April 1 in a 1 p.m. contest at East Field.
LADY MOCS SWEEP UNC GREENSBORO IN DAY ONE
Greensboro, N.C. ? The Lady Mocs swept UNC Greensboro Saturday afternoon with all-around solid play in game two with Chattanooga winning 3-0.
Freshman pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.), in her first conference appearance, picked up the win and the shutout, sixth of the season, to improve her record to 12-8.
She moved up another spot in the record books into the No. 8 spot in the career record books with 174 strikeouts. And in the single season record books, she moved up to the No. 8 spot.
After two scoreless innings, Loudermilk went three up, three down, with two strikeouts, to hold the Spartans at zero going into the third inning.
Junior right fielder Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) walked to lead off the third inning before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Whittier. Upchurch walked to put runners on first and second. Senior left fielder Jeannie Cochran (Maryville, Tenn.) picked up a single, the first hit of the game, to the left side to load the bases with one out.
But the Lady Mocs left all three runners on with back-to-back strikeouts to leave the game scoreless in the middle of the third.
Upchurch hit her seventh home run of the season on the first pitch seen with two outs to put the Lady Mocs up 1-0 in the middle of the fifth.
Freshman shortstop Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) picked up the team’s third hit of the day and her second double of the day in the top of the sixth with one out before advancing to third on a passed ball.
Senior second baseman Alyssa Edwards (Geneva, N.Y.) picked up her fourth home run of the season over center field to score two more runs for Chattanooga making the score 3-0 in the middle of the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, senior Brittney Whittier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) picked up a one-out single to start things off for Chattanooga.
The Lady Mocs close out the three-game conference series against UNC Greensboro on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
SOFTBALL LIFTED BY HOME RUNS OVER UNC GREENSBORO 7-0
Greensboro, N.C. ? Home runs by sophomore center fielder Ashley Cuticchia (Rising Fawn, Ga.) and sophomore third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) lifted the Lady Mocs over the UNC Greensboro Spartans in game one on Saturday afternoon 7-0.
Cuticchia picked up her first home run in the season, and Hutchison picked up her second three-run homer in the top of the five-run seventh inning.
Senior pitcher Ashley Frizzell (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) threw five strikeouts in her fourth shut out of the season, second conference shut out, to improve her record to 9-8, 3-0 SoCon. Frizzell only allowed two hits and two walks.
Senior second baseman Brittney Whittier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) picked up the first hit of the game with a double down the left field line before Upchurch ripped another double down the same line scoring Whittier and taking an early lead in the top of the third, 1-0.
Freshman shortstop Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) continued the offensive strike in the top of the fourth hitting a lead-off double to center field on the first pitch she saw, only her third double of the season. Freshman catcher Brittany Eason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) drove Blosser home with her one-out single to the right side making the score 2-0 in the middle of the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, Whittier led off reaching on an error by the shortstop before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Junior Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.), pinch hitting for senior left fielder Jeannie Cochran (Maryville, Tenn.), lobbed a hit over the third baseman to put runners on first and second. Cuticchia walked to load the bases but Blosser’s line drive to the second baseman turned into a double play closing out the inning with the score still 2-0.
Senior first baseman Alyssa Edwards (Geneva, N.Y.) picked up her first hit of the day on a lead-off single in the top of the sixth before freshman Nicole D’Apice (Knoxville, Tenn.) came in to pinch run. Eason dropped one in short left field to advance D’Apice and to pick up the team’s seventh hit of the day.
Hutchison laid down a solid bunt to advance both runners into scoring position but both were left on as the inning retired with the score still 2-0.
Cuticchia belted a two-out home run over the right field fence off of relief pitcher Hannah Angel, to put the Lady Mocs up 3-0 in the top of the seventh. Blosser followed with her second hit of the day, a single up the left side before advancing to second on a passed ball. Edwards walked to put runners on first and second.
Blosser scored on Eason’s single up the middle, while Edwards advanced to third. Hutchison hit her home run to score Edwards and Eason and to make the score 7-0. Junior Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) hit a fly ball out to right field reaching first on the error and advancing to third but was left as the inning closed.
The Spartans were led by Lyndsay Mouse and Jennifer Bonilla’s singles.
The Lady Mocs begin game two of the doubleheader at approximately 3:15 p.m. today.