Georgia Completes Doubleheader Sweep Of Furman, 8-0
Athens, Ga. ? Christie Hamilton pitched five shutout innings and belted a three-run homer to lead Georgia to an 8-0 victory and doubleheader sweep of Furman Wednesday evening at the UGA Softball Complex.
Georgia downed Furman 9-1 in five innings in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Georgia (35-22) got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning.
Kristin Schnake reached on a one-out single, stole second and moved to third on Charvi Greer’s infield single. On Greer’s attempt to steal third, Megan Jaudon threw wild allowing Schnake to score and Greer to advance to third. After striking out Kellie Middleton and issuing a walk to Melissa Wood, Furman pitcher Blake Murray (6-13) allowed a RBI double down the left field line off of the bat of Megan McAllister and single to center by Christie Hamilton to up the lead to 4-0.
Hamilton helped herself in the bottom of the fifth and increased the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-0 with a three-run homer down the left field line.
Wood opened the frame with a double down the line and McAllister followed with a single to right before Hamilton belted her first homer of the season. Jennifer Gardner capped the game and forced the eight-run mercy rule with a RBI single to center.
Murray suffered the loss allowing seven runs on eight hits in four-plus innings in the circle. The junior recorded four strikeouts and walked three. Abby Robertson paced Furman at the plate collecting two hits.
Hamilton allowed just two hits and fanned four to improve to 13-11.
Hamilton went 2-for-3 with five RBI to lead the Bulldog offense.
Furman (14-26-1) returns to action Saturday and Sunday with a three-game Southern Conference series at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader is slated for 1:00 p.m.
Western Carolina Splits Doubleheader with Georgia State
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? A stellar performance, on the mound, by Mendy McKenzie highlighted a doubleheader split between Western Carolina softball (21-27) and Georgia State (26-23) Wednesday at the Catamount Complex. The Catamounts won the first game 5-4 and lost the second game 12-4.
Mendy McKenzie pitched a masterful game in the Catamounts’ first contest against Georgia State. The sophomore hurler tied her career-high with 11 strikeouts, allowing three earned runs on seven hits. She improves to 9-14 on the season.
Western Carolina got some clutch hitting in the game as the Catamounts scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take game one in extra innings. Down 4-2, and working with the international tie-breaker rule, sophomore Stephanie Beatty was placed on second to start the eighth. Savannah Filley tied the game with one swing hitting a booming homerun over the centerfield wall. With two outs, Jamie Swank notched her first hit of the game to put the winning run on first base. It was a perfect setting for Heather Pritchard who hit a double to centerfield to score Swank and win the game.
McKenzie’s only serious miscue, to take a bit of shine off her performance, was a walk-off homerun she gave up to Jessica Gowin in the fifth inning. It broke a scoreless tie between the two clubs.
The Catamounts took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nikki Bost and Beatty had back-to-back singles to place runners on first and second. Filley laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to place runners on second and third. With one out, Mollie Fowler hit a ball to the Panther’s second baseman and it went through her legs and dribbled to the outfield. The Georgia State miscue allowed Bost and Beatty to score and give Western Carolina the lead.
Western Carolina looked to have the game sewn up in the top of the seventh inning after McKenzie forced Allison Bradford to ground out and struck out Gowin for the two quick outs. Holly Willis kept Georgia State alive when she hit a single to the right side. Georgia State tied the game on two Western Carolina errors. Willis stole second and the throw down to second by Catamount catcher Danielle Reese was wide and went into the outfield. Willis moved to third and then went home to tie the game on Western Carolina’s second error on the play.
Georgia State had the momentum in the top of the eighth inning. Lauren Fetters was placed on second, Danielle Roddy drew a walk and Mary Kathryn Branan singled to load the bases. McKenzie gave up a walk to Nichole Griffin to walk in a run, scoring Fetters. The Panthers added a second run with an RBI single by Rachel Cunnigham.
Homeruns assured a Georgia State victory in the second game. After two consecutive errors by Western Carolina to start the second game, Griffin hit a three RBI homerun to give the Panthers the early lead.
McKenzie opened the bottom of the first inning with a lead-off double. With one out, Beatty hit an RBI double to score McKenzie.
In the third inning, Georgia State added two more runs again thanks to a homerun. Fetters hit a two-run homer to add to the Panthers lead. Lily Skelton hit the Panthers third homerun of the game, a solo shot in the fifth inning.
Western Carolina pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Catamounts had bases loaded and one out but could only produce one run. Beatty hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Pritchard who led off the inning with a single.
Georgia State blew the game open with five runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Facing a shortened game, with Georgia State leading by nine runs, Lauren Ross hit a towering homerun over the center field wall. Ross now leads Western Carolina with eight homeruns this season. Fowler followed with a double and then moved to third on a ground out by Jamie Swank. Pritchard beat out a bunt to place runners on first and third to extend the inning. An RBI single to centerfield by Reese scored Fowler for the second run of the inning.
The Panthers tacked on an additional run in the seventh inning.
Filley started the second game and took the loss. She fell to 4-6 on the season pitching five innings. Ross came in to toss the sixth inning and McKenzie pitched the seventh inning.
Western Carolina travels to Charleston, S.C. this weekend to take on Southern Conference foe College of Charleston. The doubleheader on Saturday begins at 1 p.m. and the single game is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
CofC Hammers Charleston Southern
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The College of Charleston pounded out a combined 23 hits en route to its doubleheader win over Charleston Southern at Buccaneer Field on Wednesday afternoon in North Charleston, S.C. The Cougars won 6-1 and 8-0.
The College of Charleston, which won its 13th straight, improved to 27-17, while the Buccaneers fell to 13-36. Since 2001, the Cougars have taken 12 straight from Charleston Southern.
Jennifer Golden’s RBI-single scored Izmena Cabrera, and Shannon Howard’s RBI-single plated Amber Shifflett for the College of Charleston in the top of the first for the 2-0 lead.
Howard’s two-shot homer, her seventh of the season, would extend the Cougars’ lead to 4-0. The College of Charleston added another run in the fifth on Kristie Shifflett’s RBI-single through the right side to score Kolby Schooley.
Terri Mesko (14-7), who gave up six hits, issued two walks and struck out five, yielded her lone run of the game in the bottom of fifth Jillian LaFrance hit an RBI-single up the middle to score Jill Shondel.
A. Shifflett’s singled down the right field line to score Darla Roberson for the College of Charleston’s final run of the game.
LaFrance had two hits for the Lady Bucs. Amanda Noble (5-7) took the loss as she scattered 10 hits and gave up five runs. She struck out two and walked one.
Katie Sansouci (8-3) led the defense in the nightcap in the six-hit shutout ? her second of the season. She issued one walk in five-inning affair.
The Cougars exploded for seven runs in the third, beginning with Golden’s two-RBI single up the middle, followed by Howard’s RBI-single down the left field line. Katie Pesature doubled down the right field line to score Golden, and Mesko followed with a two-RBI double to left center. Schooley grounded out to the shortstop to drive in Mesko.
Golden grounded out to third to score A. Shifflett for the final run of the game.
LaFrance (6-11) took the loss in Game 2 as she gave up seven hits, yielded seven runs, issued two walks and struck out two. Amy Trekamp and Candace Rowell had two hits apiece to pace Charleston Southern.
On the day, A. Shifflett led the Cougar offense with five hits, followed by Golden and Howard who had four hits each. K. Shifflett had three. Pesature and Mesko added two hits apiece, and Schooley and Brittany Small each had a hit.
The College of Charleston, which is tied for first with Chattanooga in Southern Conference action, will resume league play this weekend when it hosts Western Carolina for a three-game series at Patriots Point.
Charlotte Takes Two From ASU
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball dropped a pair of games to visiting Charlotte in a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday afternoon.
Charlotte (25-20) pounded out a combined 20 hits to earn a 3-2 victory in the first game, followed by a 6-0 win over ASU (16-30) in the nightcap.
ASU was led by Danielle Peters who finished the afternoon 3-for-7 with a run and an RBI. Charlotte’s Sarah Malene was 5-for-6 with three RBI, four runs, a triple and two home runs.
The 49ers opened the first game with two runs in the top of the third inning off an RBI double from Cee Brooks followed by an RBI single off Emily Forbes’ bat. ASU answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning when Peters scored from third on a sacrifice fly from Diana Cook.
In the next inning, Charlotte’s Jenny Rumbles scored the game-winning run on a throwing error on a force play at the plate. The Mountaineers scored in the bottom half of the frame off Peters’ RBI single that scored Keri Blackwelder. The next three innings were played scoreless as the ASU lineup couldn’t get a crucial hit to tie the ballgame.
Kristen Bowen got the complete-game win for Charlotte, scattering seven hits and striking out two. Teri Fister suffered the loss for ASU in 0.2 innings of relief with the lone run scoring on an error.
ASU’s offense couldn’t get in gear in the second game as Charlotte’s Christy Murray and Gina Allen combined to throw a six-hit shutout.
Malene devastated the Apps in the game, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI and six runs scored.
The 49ers scored two runs in the first inning off a Brooks single and Forbes groundout. They added another run in the next frame with Malene crossing the plate on a wild pitch after a triple. Malene blasted a two-run homer off the scoreboard in the fourth inning to make the score 5-0 and added a solo shot in the sixth for the final tally.
The Mountaineers will remain in Boone for their final home SoCon series of the season this weekend with Furman visiting the High Country for a three-game set. The Apps and Paladins will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. followed by a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
UNCG Softball Splits Doubleheader With Liberty
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro used a home run from Brandi Schnute and four runs in the third inning to claim a 10-7 win over visiting Liberty in non-conference action at UNCG Softball Stadium Wednesday afternoon. The Flames took a 4-2 win in eight innings to claim the series split.
Liberty got on the board early in the second game. Dawn Jeffers hit a leadoff single and was plated two plays later when Jessica Moore hit a two-run home run to give the Flames the early 2-0 advantage. The Spartans tried to respond in the bottom of the inning and had a runner on base but couldn’t get anything going from the plate and left the runner stranded to end the inning.
UNCG got on the board in the second inning with a home run from Schnute which cut the Liberty lead to 2-1 and tallied four runs in the third to take a commanding 5-2 lead. Lyndsay Mouse hit a leadoff single and advanced to second base on an error by the leftfielder. Mary Greenway hit a single, which advanced Mouse to third base. Greenway then stole second base and moved to third on a passed ball which sent Mouse across home plate.
UNCG recorded back-to-back hits which scored Greenway and Adriane Audley cutting the lead to 4-2 and Brittany Ausley recorded the last run of the inning on an RBI single from Kara Clouser extending the lead to 5-2.
The Spartans struck again in the fourth inning with a leadoff single from Mouse. The second baseman moved to second base on a stolen base. UNCG added another base runner when Ausley reached on an error. All three runners crossed home plate when catcher Leslie Furness hit her sixth homerun of the season which gave UNCG an 8-2 lead.
Liberty responded with a home run from J’nae Jefferson to cut the lead to 8-3. The Flames added four runs in the top of the seventh inning but two insurance runs from the Spartans in the fifth inning sealed the 10-7 win.
Amber Harrell (9-12) picked up the win after allowing seven runs on five hits in 7.0 innings of work. She issued six walks and fanned seven.
The Spartans took a 1-0 advantage in the second inning in game one. Jennifer Bonilla hit a leadoff double and was plated when Mouse hit an RBI single. Liberty responded with a score in the top of the fourth inning. Jessica Moore hit a leadoff double to right center and crossed the bases with an RBI double from Beth Bennett to tie the game at 1-1.
Liberty took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning. Moore hit a single through right field, followed by a double from Ashley Williams which put Moore on third base. She was plated when teammate Beth Bennett flied out to left field.
Schnute tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a home run and the score remained after the seventh inning but it was all Liberty in the extra inning. Jeffers hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice and moved to third on a passed ball. UNCG intentionally walked Moore, who advanced to second with a stolen base, and both runners were plated on a RBI double from Ashley Williams to take a 4-2 lead.
The Spartans tried to respond and were able to get two runners on base but couldn’t find a hit to drive anyone home. Vanessa Oakes (9-9) suffered the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits in 8.0 innings of work. She issued one walk and fanned seven batters. Schnute lead the way for the Spartans at the plate by going 1-for-2 with one run scored.
The Spartans are next in action April 21-22 when they head to Statesboro, GA for a Southern Conference series against Georgia Southern.