Elon 4, Furman 2
Furman 10, Elon 5
ELON, N.C.- The Phoenix split a softball double header with Furman in the first home conference series of the season. Elon rallied for a 4-2 victory in game one before falling 10-5 in game two.
Elon is now 15-11 on the season, including a 4-1 mark in league play. Furman improved to 2-3 in the Southern Conference and 12-16 overall on the season.
Game one saw a first inning two-out homerun by Stephanie Cushing put the Paladins on top early. Furman added to that lead in the top of the fourth when Morgan Hughey singled to centerfield. Lana Mackey followed Hughey with a walk. Ansley Holdbrooks then singled to score Hughey from second to make it a 2-0 lead. The Paladins could do no more damage as the final batter was retired with two left on base.
Elon looked to answer in the bottom of the fourth when Tracey Dahlen took the first pitch through the middle for a single. Patti Weber then reached on an error. Both runners advanced into scoring position when Debbie Zeigler laid down a sacrifice bunt with no outs. Both would be left stranded as Furman’s Mackey forced Helterbran and Hartman to strike out swinging.
Pam DelPizzo led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk. Hannah Shelton, who came in to pinch run for DelPizzo, advanced to second after a groundout by Jackie Gonzalez. Brandi Jones drove in Elon’s first run of the game with a single to shallow left-centerfield that scored Shelton from second to make it a 2-1 game. Dahlen then drew a walk. Weber cleared the bases with a two-RBI double to center to give the Phoenix a 3-2 lead with two outs. Zeigler recorded the final Phoenix run of the inning with a double that scored Weber from second that extended the Elon lead, 4-2.
Furman would not give up as Brythe Blankenship took a 2-2 pitch to left field for a single. Hughey followed with a single that moved Blankenship into scoring position. Mackey loaded the bases with a walk with no one out. Kate Termini recorded the first out with a strikeout. The final two outs of the inning were recorded when Holdbrooks lined into a double play. Gonzalez caught the line-drive then threw to first for the final out before Furman could plate a run.
Elon retired Furman in the top of the seventh, allowing no runs off of one hit while stranding one.
Picking up the game one win was Carol Lilley who improves to 4-3 on the season. She allowed no runs with just three hits while striking out one. Mackey suffered the loss and fell to 7-12 on the year. She allowed four runs on five hits but tallied 11 strikeouts in the loss.
Furman took another early lead in game two but held on for the win despite a sixth inning two-out rally by the Phoenix. The Paladins used a two-run shot off the bat of Blankenship and an RBI-single from Michaels to get on the board 2-0 in the top of the second-inning.
Furman made it a 4-0 game in the top of the third inning when Cushing led off with a single then later scored on a single by Termini. Blankenship looked to add another run on the play but was gunned down by Rebecca Rijavec at home for the final out of the inning.
Elon got on the board in the bottom of the third inning when the first three batters recorded bunt singles to load the bases. Gonzalez crossed the plate for Elon’s first run on a passed ball that moved Jones and Dahlen to second and third. Weber used a RBI-single to cut the Paladin lead in half at 4-2, when Jones crossed the plate. The final two Elon hitters were retired to end the inning.
Furman scored six in the sixth to take a 10-2 lead. A single by Michaels who then stole second followed a homerun by Holdbrooks. Mielke drew a walk to reach first. Cushing then singled to load the bases. Robertson gave Furman a 6-2 lead when she singled to score Michaels. Blankenship hit a two-RBI double to right center to add to lead, making the score 8-2. The final two runs were scored when Hughey belted a two-run homerun over the leftfield wall, giving Furman a 10-2 lead entering the bottom of the sixth.
Elon plated three runs off of one hit but left two on in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Furman lead to 10-5. Hartman and Rijavec drew two out walks before DelPizzo doubled to center to score the runners. Elon used three consecutive walks to score the final run of the game when Brittany Waters, who pinch ran for DelPizzo, crossed homeplate. Elon would leave two on as Weber struck out swinging.
Lilley took the loss in game two, dropping to 4-4 on the year. She allowed six runs on eight hits in three innings pitched. Mackey picked up the win, improving her record to 8-12, by allowing three runs on three hits while striking out six.
The rubber game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, March 30. Live stats and full coverage of the game will be available at www.ElonPhoenix.com .
College of Charleston 3, Georgia Southern 2 (10 inn.)
College of Charleston 6, Georgia Southern 3
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Georgia Southern left a combined 25 runners on base as the College of Charleston swept the Eagles in Southern Conference softball action Saturday at Eagle Field.
The Cougars took the first game 3-2 in 10 innings and the second 6-3 to improve to 19-22 overall and 5-0 in the SoCon. The Eagles fall to 20-21 and 2-3.
The opener was a game of missed opportunities for Georgia Southern who had 13 hits but could not take advantage of four Charleston errors.
“We left a ton of runners on (base),” said Poole. “We’re not having trouble getting on, we’re just having trouble getting them around. The first game we had nine out of 11 strikeouts with runners in scoring position. I don’t know if we’re pressing or what we’re doing, but we’re not settling in and making adjustments.”
The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the third on a two-run homer by sophomore Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.) but the Cougars answered with two in their next at bat.
The two teams were scoreless until the 10th when pinch-runner Samantha Kubinski scored on a wild pitch. GSU put runners on second and third with one out but a pop-up and fly out ended the game.
“Eight of our last 12 outs were balls in the air,” Poole added. “We’re hitting the ball in the air a lot in key spots and we’re not able to score the runs that we should.”
Terri Mesko (8-11) earned the win for CofC while senior Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) went the distance for GSU and took the loss (8-7).
Sophomore Lindsey Hopkins (McDonough, Ga.) tallied three hits for the Eagles and three other players had two hits apiece.
“I felt like we made good, strong contact but again, we get people on and start to build some momentum and whoever steps in to drive them in isn’t doing it,” said Poole. “We’re just missing timely hits.”
The Eagles scored the first run of the contest in game two but the Cougars scored four unanswered and never trailed again. Katie Nutaitis came through with a two-run single in the third inning.
GSU went down in order just twice all afternoon, both in the second game, and left the bases loaded twice.
Sophomore Kristan Glover (Evans, Ga.) started for the Eagles and took the loss (2-6), allowing four runs and four hits in two innings. CofC’s Shannon Howard (10-9) gave up 10 hits but only three runs for the complete-game victory.
The three-game series concludes on Sunday with a game at 1 p.m.
Chattanooga 3, Western Carolina 1 (Suspended in 7th inning)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? With two outs and the Lady Mocs leading 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning, the first game between Western Carolina and Chattanooga has been suspended due to severe weather sweeping through the southern portion of the country.
The Catamounts took an early 1-0 lead on a solo home run by junior third baseman Stephanie Beatty in the second inning before Chattanooga mustered three consecutive one run innings over the last three frames to take a 3-1 advantage into the seventh.
Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) currently has 11 strikeouts on the game while freshman Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.), junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) and junior right fielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) have accounted for the UTC RBIs.
The game will resume at 12:00 p.m. on tomorrow and will be followed directly by the scheduled double-header between the two teams.
ASU/UNCG Doubleheader Postponed Due To Fog
Boone, N.C. - After four hours of hard work by the coaching staff to prepare the field, heavy fog doomed Saturday's doubleheader. At 3:06 p.m. the coaches exchanged lineups. Immediately afterward, the umpires called off the game, pushing it back to a Noon start on Sunday.
The Mountaineers and Spartans will now play a Sunday doubleheader starting at high Noon at the ASU Softball Stadium.