Furman 9, Elon 3
ELON, N.C.- The Elon softball team dropped a 9-3 decision to the Furman Paladins in the rubber game of a three-game series at East Field. The Paladins took the series after splitting a double-header Saturday.
Elon falls to 15-14 on the season, including a 3-2 mark in the Southern Conference. The Paladins improve their record to 13-16 and evens out their conference record at 3-3.
Elon struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Tracey Dahlen crossed the plate on a two-out RBI off the bat of Melanie Helterbran to give the Phoenix a 1-0 lead.
The lead would not last as Elon hurler Pam DelPizzo issued three walks to load the bases with no outs. Ansley Holdbrooks took advantage of a Phoenix error to reach first base and send Abby Robertson home to tie the game at one. The Paladins leave three stranded as Elon retired the final batter by way of a strikeout.
Elon answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to give the team a 3-1 lead. Jackie Gonzalez drew a walk and later scored on a triple by Dahlen. The third and ultimately final run of the game for the Phoenix came off the bat of Patti Weber who singled to drive Dahlen in from third.
The Paladins tied the game in third inning with three runs of their own. Stephanie Cushing walked and then advanced when Robertson singled up the middle. Bythe Blankenship cleared the bases with a one-out two-RBI double to tie the game at three. Furman took a 4-3 lead when Morgan Hughey recorded a sacrifice hit to score Blankenship.
Furman added to its lead in the fourth when Holdbrooks led off with a walk that was followed by a single by Katie Michaels. The team would load the bases when Meredith Mielke laid down a bunt. Cushing drove in the fifth run with a sacrifice fly. Helterbran struck out the final batter to end the inning with two left on base with Paladins leading 5-3.
Furman scored four in the sixth to seal the win. Holdbrooks was hit by a pitch and scored two batters later off a single by Cushing to make it a 7-3 game. Mielke tacked on another run when she scored on a wild pitch to give Furman an 8-3 advantage. The final run was scored when Hughey doubled to score Blankenship.
Elon’s bats were all but silenced over the final five innings, as the team would record just one hit, which game in the bottom of the seventh. Elon looked to narrow the Furman lead in the sixth when Allison Hartman was hit by a pitch. McGowan then drew a walk to put a runner in scoring position two outs. Gonzalez popped up to short to end the inning. Dahlen recorded the final hit of the game when she singled to reach. The final batters struck out to end the game.
Picking up the complete game win was Lana Mackey who is now 9-12 on the year. She allowed three runs on four hits while adding 13 strikeouts and four walks. Helterbran suffered the loss as she allowed seven runs on six hits in 3.1 innings pitched. DelPizzo also made an appearance, pitching 3.2 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out three.
Elon returns to the diamond April 3 when they host the Wolfpack of N.C. State. The first game of the scheduled double header is slated to start at 4 p.m. with the second game starting at approximately 6 p.m. Live stats and full coverage of both games will be available at www.ElonPhoenix.com .
Georgia Southern 4, College of Charleston 3
STATESBORO, Ga. --- A two-run homer by junior Amanda Hall (Haddock, Ga.) in the bottom of the sixth inning provided the final margin for Georgia Southern who defeated the College of Charleston 4-3 Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field.
GSU avoids a series sweep and evens its record at 21-21 overall and 3-3 in the Southern Conference. CofC suffers its first league loss and is 19-23 and 5-1.
“We knew that it was probably going to be an offensive battle,” said GSU head coach Natalie Poole. “We knew that Mel (Laliberte) was capable of throwing a good game and hoped that she did. But we felt like we would be seeing the ball and that if we made good adjustments we would be able to win.”
Hall’s round-tripper gave the Eagles the lead for the first time who rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits.
“It was pretty timely,” said Poole about Hall’s hit. “We definitely needed it. She had been battling trying to come up with something solid and stayed focused. It was nice to see that happen for her. I knew she would be aggressive.”
Junior Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) led off the inning with a single, her second of the afternoon. After a strikeout, Hall crushed a 1-1 pitch down the left-field line, just inside the foul pole.
Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) retired the side in order in the seventh. She allowed all three runs and six hits while striking out six and walking one to improve to 9-7.
“It was nice to know that what they scored off of her were legitimate hits,” said Poole. “The three runs they got were definitely earned. But I thought that she recovered well and I thought she did a good job of coming back right after giving up those home runs and keeping us in the game and giving us a chance.”
Charleston struck first with a two-run homer by Shannon Howard in the fourth. GSU sophomore Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.) and senior Aubrey Thweatt (Georgia, Vt.) evened it at 2-2 with run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
The Cougars briefly took the lead after Thweatt’s RBI in the sixth on a solo homer by Katie Nutaitas.
Thweatt and Siliga each went 2-for-3 at the plate while Charleston’s Brittany Small recorded a perfect 3-for-3 performance.
Terri Mesko (8-12) gave up eight hits and four earned runs in six innings of work.
Georgia Southern returns to action next weekend, hosting Elon in a SoCon series that begins Saturday at 1 p.m.
Chattanooga 3, Western Carolina 1
Chattanooga 7, Western Carolina 4
Chattanooga 4, Western Carolina 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) picked up a win and save in relief and freshman outfielder Lauren Flores (Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as Chattanooga (24-14, 6-0) won their eighth straight game and swept their second consecutive Southern Conference series with 7-4 and 4-2 victories over Western Carolina (6-23, 0-9) Sunday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
Western Carolina took the early advantage in Game 1, putting together a pair of singles, a walk and capitalizing on an error to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from junior centerfielder Jamie Swank.
After being held scoreless for the first two innings, Chattanooga woke up offensively in the third inning as redshirt-freshman infielder Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.) led off with a single to center and freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) walked to put runners on first and second. Senior outfielder Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.) then singled home Baker to tie the game at 1-1.
Lauren Flores and freshman first baseman Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) then followed with RBI singles of their own to push the lead to 3-1. UTC added another run the following inning as junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on another RBI single, this one by freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.), to make it 4-1.
The Catamounts answered right back in the top of the fifth inning as a pair of singles and a passed ball put runners on first and third for redshirt-sophomore Mollie Fowler, who then pounded her first home run of the year over the centerfield fence to tie the score at 4-4.
The score would stay that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when Baker once again led off the inning with a single up the middle. Stiles followed with a single to put runners on first and second and, following the first out of the inning, senior shortstop Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) doubled home the go-ahead run with a shot to right field, making it 5-4. After a pitching change, Flores beat out a bunt for an RBI single and Fuzzard lofted a deep fly ball to bring home the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly and push the lead to 7-4.
Brooke Loudermilk, who had entered in relief in the sixth inning, then set down Western Carolina in order in the top of the seventh inning to lock up the Lady Mocs seventh straight win, 7-4 and improve to 11-6 on the season. Freshman pitcher Lily McDonagh took the loss in relief as she pitched one inning and gave up three runs to fall to 1-7.
For Chattanooga, Lauren Flores swiped her third base of the year and went 2-for-4, tying her career-high for hits, and drove in two runs while Michelle Fuzzard finished at 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Tara Tembey went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI and Tiffany Baker and Lyndsey Stiles each produced 2-for-2 days with two runs scored. Stiles added an RBI. Ashlan Clarkson accounted for the other RBI and scored a run while going 1-for-3.
It was a pitching duel for most of the series finale as Chattanooga managed only two hits and a pair of unearned runs through the first four innings to take a 2-0 lead. Over the that same time, Michelle Fuzzard allowed only two hits and struck out four batters to limit the Catamounts. She would continue to befuddle Western Carolina until the top of the sixth inning.
A lead-off walk and a sac bunt by WCU moved a runner into scoring position before freshman infielder Amber Hawkins singled down the right field line to get the Catamounts on the board and make the score 2-1. After getting out of that inning, Chattanooga tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as an Upchurch sac fly and a Baker double stretched the lead 4-1.
A long home run by Mollie Fowler to lead off the seventh signaled the end of Fuzzard's day, but that did not mean it would not get any better for Western Carolina. Brooke Loudermilk, making her fourth appearance in five games this week, entered the game in relief and proceeded to strike out the final three batters to secure the 4-2 victory and her third save of the season.
Fuzzard finished the day for the Lady Mocs with six strikeouts and two earned runs over six innings to collect the win and move to 3-2 on the season while junior Lauren Ross suffered her second defeat of the series to fall to 1-12 in 2008. Loudermilk's save is her third of the season and sets a career high.
At the plate, Toni Hutchison went 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Clarkson finished the day a perfect 2-for-2. Baker and Upchurch accounted for both Chattanooga RBIs with a double and sacrifice fly, respectively.
The Lady Mocs will be back in action when they host the University of Alabama-Birmingham in a double-header at Jim Frost Stadium on Wednesday, April 2. It will be Breast Cancer Awareness night at the ball park and the double-header will feature a number of special events, including a special guest for the ceremonial first pitch and both teams wearing pink shoelaces and wristbands. First pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m.
Appalachian State/UNC Greensboro Rained Out Again
BOONE, N.C. - For the second consecutive day, games at the ASU Softball Stadium have fell victim to nature's fury. Heavy rains overnight forced officials to cancel today's doubleheader against UNC Greensboro, slated to start at Noon. The games will not be rescheduled due to SoCon rules.
Appalachian will face Radford next. On Thursday, April 3, the Mountaineers will face the Highlanders on the road. The doubleheader begins at 4 p.m.