James Madison 2, Elon 1
Elon 5, Binghamton 1
ELON, N.C.- The Elon softball team split a pair of decisions to open the 2007 Bojangle’s Invitational. The Phoenix fell to James Madison 2-1, before defeating the Binghamton Bearcats 5-1.
Elon enters the second day of the four-team tournament with a 5-4 record. JMU is now 4-2 after also defeating Georgetown. Binghamton owns a 0-2 record after dropping games to Elon and JMU. Georgetown sits at 4-8 in 2008, after going 1-1 in the opening day of the tournament.
Game one saw JMU jump out to an early 1-0 lead after Shannon Moxey doubled to open the game. Moxey stole third and crossed the plate after a double by Amber Kirk.
Elon answered in the second inning when Patti Weber singled, stole second, and then advanced to third on a single by Pam DelPizzo. The run was scored on a error by Kirk.
Kaitlyn Wernsing scored JMU’s game-winning run off a hit by Katie Spitzer. The Dukes retired the final six Phoenix batters to end the game.
Elon defeated Binghamton 5-1 in the final game of day one. Sandy Meadows opened the game with a single that was followed by a single by Shannon McLeese that advanced Meadows to third. Meadows then scored the Bearcats lone run of the game after an error by the second basemen.
Elon scored two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead. Tracey Dahlen led off the inning with a single to left field and then advanced to second after Weber grounded out to third. Brandi Jones then singled to centerfield, advancing Dahlen to third, and then stole second. Dahlen and Jones scored following a single by Melanie Helterbran.
The Phoenix scored one run in each of the next three innings to extend its lead to 5-1. The first of the three runs was scored when DelPizzo singled through the left and the advanced to third following two groundouts. Dahlen recorded the RBI when singled through the left side.
Allison Hartman scored Elon’s fourth run after Helterbran doubled to center. DelPizzo singled to the shortstop to score Hartman and pick up an RBI. The final Phoenix run was scored in the fourth when Debbie Zeigler scored on a wild pitch. Zeigler started the inning with a leadoff walk and stole second. She advanced to third after Weber grounded out to the pitcher. The run was scored when Patty Egan, who came in to pitch for Jessica Whitaker in the third, threw a wild pitch.
The final day of the Bojangle’s Invitational begins Sunday, Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. when JMU faces Binghamton. Elon takes the field at 12:15 p.m. against Georgetown. Seeding for the final two games will be determined following the morning’s play. The start times for the seeded games will be at 2:30 and 4:45, respectively. Live stats and full coverage of the games will be available at www.ElonPhoenix.com .
Georgia Southern 10, Oakland 1
Georgia Southern 4, Jacksonville 1
Minnesota 8, Georgia Southern 0 (6 Inn.)
STATESBORO, Ga. ? The Georgia Southern softball team notched two wins and dropped one during the first day of the GSU Eagle Classic on Saturday at Eagle Field.
The Eagles (8-9) defeated Oakland University 10-1 in game one. GSU got things rolling in the third inning when Lindsey Hopkins (McDonough, Ga.) singled and advanced to second on a throwing error. A pick off attempt resulted in two errorsas Hopkins scored from second on the play, giving the Eagles the early 1-0 advantage.
Georgia Southern manufactured eight runs off of eight hits in the seventh inning. Junior Amanda Hall (Haddock, Ga.) went 3-for-4 from the plate in game one with a home run and two RBI. Melissa Laliberte (Ontario, Canada) picked up the win for GSU, while Jessica Granger earned the loss for Oakland.
GSU edged Jacksonville 4-1 in the second game. The Eagles took the early 2-0 lead in the third inning. Hall led off the inning with a single and advanced to second off of Aubrey Thweatt’s (Georgia, Vt.) bunt single. Hall and Thweatt both scored two batters later on a throwing error.
Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) struck out five in route to earning her third victory of the season. Jackie Samuels earned the loss falling to (3-4) on the season. Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) led the Eagles going 2-for-3 from the plate in the second game.
The Eagles lost game three 8-0 in six innings to the University of Minnesota. The win assured Minnesota the top spot heading into the second day of the GSU Eagle Classic. Minnesota manufactured six runs off of five hits in the sixth inning to upend Georgia Southern.
Russo went 2-for-3 from the plate against the Golden Gophers leading all GSU batters. Laliberte earned the loss falling to (3-2), while Briana Hassett used an eight strike out effort to pick up the win.
GSU returns to action tomorrow as they conclude the GSU Eagle Classic. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. against Jacksonville University.
Chattanooga 4, Bowling Green 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? After a difficult beginning to the season, sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) regained the form that made her the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2007 as she struck out a program record 15 batters to lead Chattanooga (7-7) to a 4-1 victory over Bowling Green (0-3) Saturday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
After a scoreless first inning, the Lady Mocs got on the board in the bottom of the second when redshirt-freshman infielder Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.) came to the plate with runners on second and third and lofted a long fly ball to right that was misplayed, resulting in a 2-0 UTC lead. Chattanooga allowed a homerun by senior infielder Allison Vallas in the third inning before adding a third run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.), making it 3-1.
Freshman catcher Katie Blevins (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning as she ripped a line drive shot down the left field line for her fourth homerun of the season and upped her RBI total to 11 on the year.
That would be all Chattanooga would need as Loudermilk was dominant, retiring nine of the eleven batters she faced at one point. She struck out the final four batters of the game to improve her record to 2-4 on the season and collect her record breaking 15th strikeout of the game.
The 15 strikeouts breaks her own Chattanooga record of 14 K's set against St. Francis on February 23 of last year and again against Austin Peay seven days later on March 2. It is her 13th career double-digit strikeout performance of her career and is her second this season. She recorded 10 against Wichita State on February 10.
Offensively, Blevins led the way with a 2-for-3 performance with two runs scored and one RBI on her homerun. Senior outfielder Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) finished the night 2-for-3 while Hutchison was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
The Lady Mocs wrap up play in the 2008 Chattanooga Challenge tomorrow afternoon when they face Akron at 2:15 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 1, Mount St. Mary’s 0
UNC Greensboro 11, Delaware State 9
WILMINGTON, N.C. ? The UNC Greensboro softball team picked up two wins over Mt. St. Mary’s (MD) and Delaware State in first day action at the UNC Wilmington Seahawk Classic on Saturday. UNCG defeated Mt. St. Mary’s 1-0 and Delaware State, 11-9
Mary Catherine Vercoe led the way for the Spartans on Saturday with a .571 batting average and was also 4-of-7 from the plate. Kaitlin Merkt also hit two roundtrippers and had four RBI on the day.
In the late game the Spartans got things going in the first inning with three early runs to take a 3-0 lead but Delaware State battled back and used six runs in the top of the second to pull ahead 6-3.
UNCG was able to get back in the game in the next inning and tacked on two runs in the bottom of the third with scores from Whitney Miller and Brittany Ausley. Ausley hit a double to advance Miller who walked and both were sent around the bases with a RBI single from Merkt.
The Spartans took a 6-8 lead with two more runs in the bottom of the third but weren’t able to put the game out of reach until the bottom of the sixth inning. With Delaware State leading, 6-8 UNCG used four runs in the bottom of the inning to steal the win.
Merkt had a leadoff home run, her second of the day and Kayla Hensley and Lyndsay Mouse walked, while a single from Mary Greenway loaded the bases. An error scored Hensley and both Mouse and Greenway also came home on the error. Delaware State tacked on a home run in the top of the seventh but ended the game with two strikeouts.
Amber Harell picks up the win and moves to 3-3 on the season. She threw 6.1 innings of work and allowed three runs on four hits while striking out 10. Mary Catherine Vercoe pitched 0.2 innings of relief and allowed six runs on four hits.
In the first game of the afternoon, UNCG used a run in the top of the second inning which proved to be all it would need to post a, 1-0 win over Mt. St. Mary’s (MD).
UNCG used a home run to centerfield from shortstop Kaitlin Merkt to get on the board early. In the top of the second inning with nobody on base and one out the Irvine, CA native slammed her first career home run over the centerfield wall.
The Spartans had another scoring opportunity in the fourth inning. Whitney Miller posted a leadoff single to put one runner on base and despite Kristen Gabel, who was pinch running for Miller, getting caught stealing second base, the Spartans put another runner on with a single from Brittany Ausley.
Whitney Sirois was able to get on base on the fielders choice but the Spartans couldn’t advance either one home as Ausley was picked off at second base and Merkt flied out to centerfield to close the inning.
Hannah Angel (3-2) had a no-hitter going until the bottom of the seventh inning when Mt. St. Mary’s Kristin Fusco hit a single to third base. Angel went the distance and allowed no runs on one hit. The Eastbend, NC native allowed no walks and struck out a season-high 11 batters.
Mary Catherine Vercoe led UNCG from the plate going 2-for-3 with a double. Miller was 1-for-2 from the plate while Mary Greenway and Merkt were 1-for-3 for the game.
Boston College 6, Western Carolina 3
Florida Gulf Coast 5, Western Carolina 2
FORT MYERS, Fla. ? Western Carolina softball (1-6) dropped a pair of games at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament Saturday. The Catamounts dropped a heartbreaker 6-3 to Boston College on a walk-off three-run blast and fell to host Florida Gulf Coast University (9-5) 5-2.
It was a tie ball game, 3-3, heading into the bottom of the seventh inning between Western Carolina and Boston College. Transfer Michelle Tating went six innings on the mound before she was replaced by freshman Lilly McDonagh.
McDonagh got into an early jam with back to back-singles to put runners at first and second. It looked like it might go into extra innings when McDonagh forced Boston College to pop the ball up twice for the first two outs of the inning. Renee Ramos ended that train of thought when she jacked a three-run homer over the right field wall to give the Eagles the win.
Boston College got on the board early posting two runs in the top of the first inning. Amy Tunstall hit a two RBI double to give the Eagles the early lead.
Western Carolina capitalized on Boston College miscues in the fifth inning. After pinch hitter Ashley Steinel drew a walk, freshman Rachel Drawdy re-entered the game and moved to second and then third on a passed ball and wild pitch. Lauren Ross drew the second walk of the inning to place runners at first and third. Freshman Casey Camp’s ground out to third scoring Drawdy giving Camp an RBI. Nicole Shook pinch ran for Ross and after she moved to third on a ground out by Heather Pritchard she scored off a Boston College passed ball.
Tied at two, Boston College added a run in the bottom half of the fifth to re-take the lead.
Western Carolina battled back in the top of the seventh to tie the game for the second time in the game. Junior Beth Hauser opened the inning with a single through the right side. Hauser moved to second on a sacrifice hit and advanced to third thanks to a single by Ross. Camp came through again grounding out to second but allowing Hauser to score for her second RBI of the game.
Tating tossed six innings allowing three runs on five hits and six strikeouts. McDonagh takes the loss and falls to 0-3 on the season.
Ross got the call to the mound in the second game of the day and tossed four scoreless innings before Florida Gulf Coast got on the board in the fifth inning. FGCU scored one run in the fifth inning and added three in the sixth inning. Ross went 4.1 innings allowing four runs on six hits and had six strikeouts and falls to 0-2 on the season. Tating closed out the game allowing one run on one hit.
Western Carolina attempted a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mollie Fowler reached first to open the inning thanks to a Florida Gulf Coast error. With one out, junior Stephanie Beatty singled up the middle to place runners at first and second. With two outs Ross hit a two RBI double plating Fowler and Beatty.
The Catamounts had just three hits in the game credited to Beatty, Ross and Jamie Swank. Ross has gotten a hit in the last three games and has hit a double in two of her last three games.
Western Carolina closes out the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament Sunday with a rematch against St. Bonaventure whom it lost to 6-1 Friday.
Appalachian State 7, Syracuse 2
Penn State 8, Appalachian State 0
GREENVILLE, N.C. ? It was career win number one for new head coach Amy Herrington as the Appalachian State softball team defeated Syracuse in the morning game, 7-2, before falling in the afternoon tie to Penn State, 8-0 in five innings. The Mountaineer bats came alive in the first game, but were silenced against Penn State. Appalachian improves to 1-7 with the win and loss. The victory over Syracuse is ASU’s first win over the school and the Mountaineers second win against a Big East team.
After two scoreless innings, the Mountaineers got on the board in the bottom of the third. Freshman Sarah Rappe opened the inning by singling to left, then stealing second base in short order. She then scored off a double by freshman sensation Katie Boyd, who hit 2-for-3 on the day. Sophomore designated player Meagan Squartino was given a free pass on the next at bat, putting runners on first and second for junior Ashley Gaston. The Roswell, Ga. native reached on an error, loading the bases full of Mountaineers. Junior Stephanie Long singled, scoring both Boyd and Squartino.
Junior Andrea McIntyre, then singled, scoring Gaston and Long, and reaching third base thanks to an error by the centerfielder. Senior Natalie Willis reached on a fielder’s choice, but McIntyre was cut down at the plate for the first out of the inning. Junior leadoff hitter Brittany Gaston stepped after a strikeout by Tiffany Hensley, and hit a ball to center which was misplayed by the centerfielder, allowing Gaston to reach second base and Willis to score. But that was all for the Apps in the third as Rappe ground out to short to end the inning. ASU batted around, scoring six runs off four hits and three Orange errors.
ASU’s junior starting pitcher, Kayla Richardson held the Orange scoreless in the bottom on the inning when the Mountaineers would strike again. Boyd led off the frame with a single down the left field line. She then stole second and was advanced to third by Ashley Gaston’s bunt. Long reached on an error by the shortstop, scoring Boyd and giving ASU a 7-0 lead.
Both reams were retired quietly in the fifth before the skies opened up and halted the game for over 30 minutes.
With ASU up 7-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Syracuse was able to rally for a pair of runs with two outs. McIntyre recorded the final out at second base to preserve ASU’s 7-2 victory.
Richardson received the win in her first complete game of the season, improving to 1-2 on the season. The West Jefferson, N.C. native allowed two runs on nine hits.
Appalachian was outhit 9-8, but took advantage of five Orange errors to score the win.
In the second game of the day, Appalachian faced Big Ten foe Penn State. The Nittany Lions pounced to a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a fielding error, followed by a double up the middle. An inning later, Penn State posted four more runs on ASU starter Teri Fister. She left the game after one and a third innings pitched, allowing five runs, four earned, on two hits. The ASU junior struck out one and walked three in the appearance.
Fister was replaced by junior Yancy Moose who recorded the final two outs of the second inning. In the third, Penn State touched Moose up for three runs off two hits. The ASU reliever worked one and two-thirds of an inning, striking out three while walking two.
Richardson was called upon again in the fourth with the Apps trailing 8-0. ASU’s starter retired the side thanks to the pitcher’s best friend, a 5-3 double play.
The Mountaineers were stymied by Penn State starting pitcher Ashley Esperaza who pitched a shutout, three-hitter. McIntyre, Ashley Gaston and Boyd accounted for ASU’s hits in the loss.
Fister was awarded the loss, her third of the season.
The Mountaineers will conclude the 2008 Pirate Classic on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game against Purdue. After a short break, the Apps will return to the diamond at 5 p.m. against host East Carolina.
Tennessee Tech 7, College of Charleston 6
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. -- Despite registering nine hits, the College of Charleston softball team fell to Tennessee Tech, 7-6 at the CofC Cougar Classic from Patriots Point Field Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars fell to 2-12 on the season after playing their first game of the tournament. The Golden Eagles improved to 5-8. They are unbeaten on the weekend.
CofC opened the scoring in the top of the first inning. Freshman Kristi Woodall singled to left field and recorded the team’s first hit. The Huntersville, N.C., native went on to finishe 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. After Woodall advanced to second base on a passed ball, Shannon Howard hit a triple to left center field to bring Woodall home.
The Golden Eagles responded in the second inning with two runs of their own. After Stephanie Fischer singled to left, shortstop Beth Boden smacked a homerun to put TTU atop CofC, 2-1.
TTU went on to score three in the fourth and the winning run in the fifth inning.
The Cougars had their most successful inning in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs. First baseman Linzi Bereitschaft started the inning off with a double to left field. Junior Tiffany Harmon stepped to the plate to sent a trip to the opposite field and recorded her only RBI of the game. The Lynn Haven, Fla., native would finish 1-for-4 with one fun scored and one RBI.
In the sixth inning, Charleston looked to surge back. Catcher Brittany Small started the inning off with a solo homer. The run wouldn’t be enough as three of the next four Cougar batters were put out to finish the game. Small went 1-for-3 in the effort. The Chesapeake,Va., scored one run and registered one RBI.
Shifflett and Howard both went 1-for-4. Shifflett scored once and batted in two runs, while Howard record one RBI of her own.
North Carolina State 5, College of Charleston 2
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. -- N.C. State’s 11 hits helped pushed them over the College of Charleston softball team 5-2 in the Cougars’ second contest in the CofC Cougar Classic from Patriots Point Saturday evening.
Charleston’s record fall to 3-11 on the season, while the Wolfpack improves to 5-7.
NCSU got on the board with its first at-bat. Shanna Smith, Ashleigh Davis and Alyssa Allbritten each scored runs to put the Pack ahead 3-0.
After innings with no score, the Cougars got on the board with two runs in the third inning. Linzi Bereitschaft was hit by a pitch and Alexa Datko walked to bring shortstop Christal Kotchman to the plate. The Seminole, Fla., native hit a single bring Bereitschaft and Datko in to set the score at 3-2.
Outfielder Tiffany Harmon went 1-for-4. Shannon Howard and Katie Nutaitis added two more hits to bring the Cougar total to four for the night.
Terri Mesko pitched through seven innings for Charleston. The McDonough, Ga., native struck out eight batters and finished with three earned runs.
Mendy McKenzie (3-2) stuck out six Cougars through 23 at-bats with one earned run.
Charleston returns to action Sunday, Feb. 24, when they face Towson at noon. N.C. State takes on Liberty immediate following.