College of Charleston 5, East Tennessee State 4
Gainesville, Fla. -- The College of Charleston softball team defeated East Tennessee State 5-4 after a hard-fought eight innings in its final game of the Cox Communications Classic early Sunday morning.
The Cougars (2-11) went 1-5 on the weekend and will take the week off before hosting the first of three home tournaments Friday, Feb. 22-24. The Lady Buccaneers’ record falls to 1-6 on the season.
Freshman Katie Nutaitis put the Cougars on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a Kristie Shifflett double to left centerfield, Nutaitis ripped a homer to the same spot. The right fielder’s two-run dinger was the teams first for the season.
With the score at 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Shifflett hit a single to centerto bring pitcher Shannon Howard to the plate. Howard hit Charleston’s second two-run homer to tie the score, sending the game into extra innings.
In the extra inning a sacrifice bunt by Alex Williams put Alexa Datko on third base. After a Christal Kotchman walk and a single to the shortstop by Tiffany Harmon, the bases were loaded. Freshman Kristi Woodall was hit by a pitch, bringing Datko in for the final run and the end of the game.
Charleston turned in a total of eight hits on 27 at-bats. Howard (2-4) gets credit for the win. The Carmichael, Calif., native face nine batter, striking out three with zero earned runs.
Shifflett went 4-for-4 on the day with two runs scored. Harmon, Howard, Nutaitis and Kotchman each added hits for the Cougars. Howard and Nutaitis both had two RBI on the day.
CofC will face Towson at 4:00 p.m. in its first game of the CofC Cougar Classic Friday, Feb. 22, at Patriots Point Field in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Georgia Southern 8, Drexel 1
Georgia Southern 3, Georgetown 2
STATESBORO, Ga. ? A single by sophomore Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) in the bottom of the eighth inning completed the second of two Georgia Southern victories in the final day of the GSU Softball Invitational Sunday at Eagle Field.
The Eagles won their opener 8-1 over Drexel (3-3) and defeated Georgetown (3-7) 3-2 in the finale. GSU evens its record at 6-6.
Georgia Southern 8, Drexel 1
The Eagles broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a seven-run outburst. Freshman Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) knocked in two runs with a single and junior Michelle Beasley (Metter, Ga.) cleared the bases with a three-run triple. GSU was helped by four Dragons errors which led to six unearned runs.
Senior Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) fanned eight and allowed four hits to get the win (2-1). Katrina Gaudier allowed seven runs (two earned) in 5.2 innings of work and took the loss.
Smith, sophomore Lindsey Hopkins (McDonough, Ga.), junior Amanda Hall (Haddock, Ga.) and senior Aubrey Thweatt (Georgia, Vt.) all had two hits apiece for the Eagles.
Georgia Southern 3, Georgetown 2
Russo’s game-winning hit came with runners on second and third and nobody out. With Hopkins on second to start the inning, sophomore Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) reached on an error and advanced to second. Russo’s hit went to left-center, allowing Hopkins to score the walk-off run.
Georgetown broke through first with a run on a fielder’s choice in the second but after loading the bases with one out, could not get another runner across.
Georgia Southern tied the game at 1-1 in the third on a RBI single by Hopkins and went up 2-1 in the fifth thanks to an error.
The Hoyas were able to answer in the sixth by scoring on an illegal pitch.
Smith (2-1) earned the win in relief, going seven innings and giving up four hits and two earned runs. She struck out six and walked four. Jennifer Connell took the loss. She K’d eight and walked none.
Georgia Southern returns to action Wednesday with a home clash against North Florida. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Nicholls State 15, Chattanooga 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Junior second base Danielle Clayton and senior first baseman Amy Thibodeaux combined to go 4-for-6 with four runs and seven RBIs as Nicholls State (2-6) defeated Chattanooga (5-4) 15-3 in the semi-finals of the LSU Easton Tiger Classic.
Nicholls State jumped out on top early as they took a 4-0 first inning lead behind three hits, including a three-run shot by Clayton, before tacking on a fifth run in the second inning.
Chattanooga got on the board in the bottom of the inning when senior outfielder Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.) doubled down the left field line to make it 5-1 the Lady Mocs pushed across a run on a throwing error and a one on a fly out by freshman pitcher Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) in the third inning to close to within 5-3.
Two runs by the Colonels in the fourth inning pushed their advantage to 7-3 until an eight run explosion in the fifth took it to the final margin of 15-3.
The Lady Mocs return to action on Wednesday, February 20 when they travel to Jacksonville State for a double-header beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Maryland 9, Elon 8
Coastal Carolina 7, Elon 6
CONWAY, S.C.- Despite a solid offensive effort, the Elon fell to Maryland 9-8 and Coastal Carolina 7-6 on the final day of a three-way double-header held on the campus of Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C.
With the losses, Elon drops to 5-3 overall. Maryland improved to 5-1, while Coastal Carolina owns a 3-7 record.
Maryland got an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after Kerry Hickey grounded out to third to score Niki Lau. Elon answered in the second inning when Brandi Jones doubled to left center to score Allison Hartman who reached on a double to right center. Melanie Helterbran followed with a two-run shot to centerfield, her second multi-run homerun of the season, to give the Phoenix a 3-1 lead.
The Terps narrowed the Elon’s to one at 3-2 in the second inning after Meghan Booth hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Brittany Bessho, who reached on a walk and advanced to third on an error and a sacrifice bunt. A Tracy Dahlen homerun in the third of the third gave Elon a two-run edge.
The Phoenix scored three, including a homerun by Jones, in the fourth to give the team a 7-2 advantage over Maryland. The second run came when Jaimie Rao singled to score Hannah Shelton who came in to pinch run for Helterbran. The final run was scored when Rao, who advanced to third on a passed ball, scored on a wild pitch.
Elon scored its final run of the game in the top of the fifth when Dahlen singled to centerfield, scoring Caitlin McGowen. Maryland cut the Elon lead to 8-3 in the fifth after Bessho singled to score Breanna Shaw who reached on a single.
Maryland used a five run seventh inning to tie the game at eight and send it into extra innings. Lau used a single to third to jumpstart the Terp surge. Lau later scored after Hickey singled to left, advancing Shaw to third. Shaw scored after Bessho singled to left. Booth tripled down the left field line to score the final three runs of the inning.
Elon looked to take the lead, and the game, in the eighth when Pam DelPizzo advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt by Jones. DelPizzo would be left on base as the next two batters were unable to come up with a hit.
Jenny Belak earned the game-winning run for Maryland in the bottom of the eighth after advancing to third on a fielding error and scoring on the throw.
Helterbran (2-1) picked up the loss after giving up six runs off of four hits in 2.0 innings of work. Sarah Dooley (3-1) earned the win, giving up just one hit in 4.0 innings.
Game two saw Elon jump out to a 4-0 lead off of four hits in the top of the second inning. Jones hit a two-run homerun, her second round-tripper of the day, for the first runs of the day. Rao singled up the middle and scored on the next play, as Patti Weber doubled to center. The final run of the inning was scored when Debbie Zeigler doubled to score Weber from first.
Elon extended its lead to 6-0 in the top of the third after Dahlen singled and eventually scored off a sacrifice fly by DelPizzo. Jones reached on a fielding error by the third baseman and scored on a single by Weber.
Coastal Carolina answered by scoring five runs off of four hits in the third to make it a 6-5 game. The Chanticleers tied the game at six in the bottom of the fourth when Ashley Pederson scored off a single from Macaela Ballard. CCU won the game in dramatic fashion as Pederson blasted a lead-off walk-off homerun to left field.
DelPizzo (1-2) took the loss for Elon, giving up two runs off of three hits and facing 13 batters in 3.0 innings of work. Pederson (1-0) picked up the win for the Chanticleers, pitching 4.0 innings.
Elon returns to action to Thursday, Feb. 21 in a double-header against N.C. State at East Field. The first game slated to begin at 3 p.m., with the second game starting at 5 p.m. Live stats will be available for both games at www.ElonPhoenix.com.
UNC Greensboro 3, UMBC 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The UNC Greensboro softball team concluded the UNCG Spartan Classic with a 2-2 record after defeating Maryland-Baltimore County, 3-0 in final day action.
The Spartans were led by Mary Greenway and Whitney Sirois who were both 2-for-3 from the plate. Greenway scored a run and had one stolen base on the afternoon. Amber Harrell was credited with the win after throwing 5.0 innings of work. She allowed no runs on two hits while striking out a season-high 10 batters. She moves to 2-3 on the season.
The Spartans started the scoring in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff single from Greenway, the Roanoke, VA native moved to second on a wild pitch before stealing second and scoring on an error by UMBC’s catcher Kali Shirk.
The Spartans would add another run in the second inning. Mary Catherine Vercoe tallied her first double of the season followed by a single from second baseman Lyndsay Mouse, which moved Vercoe to third base. She was plated on an RBI single from Greenway. UNCG added an insurance run in the fourth when Mouse was plated on an RBI single from third baseman Emily Akiyama.
The Spartans are next in action Friday when they head to Wilmington, N.C. for the UNC Wilmington Seahawk Classic.
Auburn 5, Furman 0
Auburn, Ala. -- Auburn used a three-run third inning and a complete-game shutout by pitcher Angel Bunner to down Furman 5-0 Sunday at the Auburn Tiger Invitational at Jane B. Moore Field.
Bunner allowed just two hits and struck out three to secure her first victory of the season and help Auburn improve to 5-0 on the season. The loss dropped Furman to 1-6.
With two outs in the bottom of the third, Tatiana Fernandez was hit by a pitch and Myesha Finney drew a base on balls. Alicia Hunolt followed with a double to center field to plate both runners and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Rightfielder Taryn Gray upped the lead to 3-0 driving in Hunolt with a two-out single.
Auburn added two more runs in the sixth. Katie Colton collected an RBI with a sacrifice fly and Jessica Martin drove in a run on a groundout.
Gray and Starr Dorsey each collected two hits to pace the Tigers’ nine-hit attack. Stephanie Cushing and Lana Mackey tallied the only base-hits for the Paladins.
Bethany Ullrich suffered the loss for Furman to fall to 0-4 on the season.
The freshman allowed five runs on nine hits in six innings while fanning six batters.
Furman returns home on Wednesday to host new NCAA Division I member Presbyterian in a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Pepsi Stadium.
Georgia State 21, Western Carolina 0
Georgia State 8, Western Carolina 0
PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. ? Western Carolina softball (0-3) was shutout in both games of its doubleheader with Georgia State (8-0) Sunday at Bob Heck Field. The Catamounts fell 21-0 in the opening game and 8-0 in the second game.
The Catamounts couldn’t muster a hit in the first game, as Georgia State pitcher Alicia Mills tossed a no-hitter to help the Panthers to a 21-0 victory. Western Carolina junior Lauren Ross started the game on the mound lasting just one inning before being replaced by freshman Lilly McDonagh. Ross fell to 0-1 on the season.
In the second game, McDonagh got her first start on the mound as a Catamount and took the loss falling to 0-1. The Catamounts did get three hits in the game. Juniors Heather Pritchard and Lauren Ross as well as freshman Casey Camp picked up hits in the game.
Western Carolina returns to action on Friday at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament in Fort Myers, Fla.. The Catamounts face Niagra in the opening game of the tournament.