Georgia Southern 1, UNC Greensboro 0
Georgia Southern 4, UNC Greensboro 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The UNC Greensboro softball team dropped two games to Georgia Southern in Southern Conference softball action at UNCG Softball Stadium on Saturday. The Eagles took game one, 1-0 and claimed the sweep with a 4-1 win in the late game.
UNCG (14-24, 1-7 SoCon) recorded six hits on the afternoon including a home run from Lyndsay Mouse. The junior second baseman hit .500 for the day and was 3-of-6 from the plate. Freshman Katie Stripling was next for the Spartans and was 1-for-3 from the plate for a .333 batting average on the day.
Hannah Angel and Amber Harrell both pitched complete games. Angel fell to 6-10 on the season after giving up one run on five hits in the first game and Harrell dropped to 8-13 with a 4-1 loss in the nightcap.
A solo home run in the third inning from Georgia Southern’s Michelle Beasley proved to be the only score the Eagles would need to take game one although the Spartans had a chance in the seventh inning.
In the third bat of the inning Georgia Southern’s Melissa Lalibertie walked Whitney Sirois to give the Spartans a base runner. Laura Olenderski, who was pinch running for Sirois, moved to second base with a stolen base but a ground out ended the game.
UNCG kept things close early in the second game but it was the Eagles that got on the board first in the top of the third inning. Designated player Aubrey Thweatt hit a leadoff single to left field and advanced to second with a stolen base before moving to third base on a UNCG passed ball. She rounded the bases on a RBI single from Jenny Side to give the Eagles the early lead.
The Spartans were able to respond and used a solo home run from Lyndsay Mouse to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Eagles outhit the Spartans 3-0 but the Spartan defense kept them off the board until the seventh inning when found the game-winning run.
The Eagles had runners on first and third after a UNCG walk and an error while a wild pitch advanced both runners one base. An RBI single from Jenny Side brought Iduate home for the game winner and runs from Robyne Siliga and Side put the Eagles ahead, 4-1
UNCG used a double from Kristen Gable in the seventh inning to put a runner in scoring position but it simply wasn’t enough as the Spartans ended the game with a fly out and a ground out.
The teams will return to the diamond on Sunday to conclude the series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm at UNCG Softball Stadium.
Appalachian State 6, Furman 4 (8 inn.)
Appalachian State 2, Furman 1 (9 inn.)
Greenville, S.C. -- Freshman Katie Boyd went 5-of-8 with three extra base hits and five RBI to lead Appalachian State to a pair of extra-inning victories over Furman in Southern Conference softball action Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium. The Mountaineers took game one 6-4 before claiming the nightcap 2-1.
Appalachian State improved to 7-23 overall and 5-4 in league play while Furman slipped to 17-21 overall and 6-5 in the SoCon.
Trailing 4-0 entering the fifth inning of game one, Boyd led Appalachian’s rally. Natalie Willis opened the inning with a bunt single. After a sacrifice, Sarah Rappe reached on a single to give the Mountaineers runners at first and second. Boyd followed with a double to left-center to plate two runs and scored two batters later on Meagan Squartino’s groundout.
Leading off the top of the seventh, Boyd knotted the game at 4-4 hammering a Lana Mackey pitch over the left-center field fence to become ASU’s all-time home run leader. With a runner on second and two outs in the eighth, Andrea McIntyre reached on a single and Rappe followed with a single to drive in Tiffany Hensley. Boyd capped the scoring lining an RBI single to center after fouling a pitch off her face just moments before.
Junior Teri Fister (1-4) worked 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and surrendered just two hits to earn the victory. Boyd finished 4-for-4 with a double, homer and four RBI at the plate.
Mackey suffered the loss in the circle allowing six earned runs on 12 hits in eight innings. Katie Michaels went 3-for-4 at the plate while Stephanie Cushing batted in two runs.
In game two, Appalachian State broke open a scoreless game with two runs in the top of the ninth and held off a Paladin rally in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 victory.
Kayla Richardson (4-11) limited Furman to one run on six hits in nine innings while walking five batters and fanning two. The Mountaineers finally broke through in the ninth as Rappe opened the frame with a base on balls and scored on Boyd’s triple to center field. Stephanie Long delivered a two-out single to right field to plate pinch runner Kristen Fister and extend the lead to 2-0.
Furman’s Morgan Hughey opened the bottom of the ninth with a double to left and moved to third when Mackey reached first on an error. Kate Termini, the third Paladin batter of the inning, was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Bethany Ullrich followed with a sacrifice fly to score Hughey and put the Paladins on the board and Michaels reached on a bunt single to load the bases. Meredith Mielke sent a fly ball to center, but Mackey had drifted too far away from the third base bag to attempt to tag up and score. With Cushing at the plate, Richardson unleashed a wild pitch to the backstop but Mackey was called out on a controversial play at the plate to end the game.
Mackey (12-17) suffered her second loss of the day allowing two runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Ullrich, the Furman starter, worked 7 1/3 scoreless innings receiving no decision. Michaels collected three hits for the second straight game to lead Furman’s offense. Long went
3-for-4 to pace ASU.
Sunday’s series finale is set for 1 p.m. at Pepsi Stadium. The Paladins will welcome a group of girls from Big Brothers Big Sisters in Spartanburg and Greenville who will take the field with the team prior to the start of the series finale. The Paladin players conducted a clinic for the group last season.
Chattanooga 8, Elon 2
Elon 5, Chattanoooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Freshman pitcher Kaitlin Holloway (Chickamauga, Ga.) threw 11.1 innings of relief, allowing only four hits and one run while striking out six as Chattanooga (30-15, 8-1) split the first two games of their series with Elon (17-17, 6-5) Saturday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium. The Lady Mocs extended their win streak to 14 games with an 8-2 victory in the opener before falling 5-1 in the night cap.
The Phoenix opened the series with a quick two runs in the first inning with a two-out, two-run home run by junior designated hitter Melanie Helterbran before Chattanooga answered back with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-2 lead. Among those hits was an RBI single from freshman catcher Katie Blevins (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) and a three-run home run by junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) down the right field line.
The Lady Mocs continued the offensive attack into the next inning with an RBI single by freshman pitcher Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to push the lead to 5-2. A pair of RBI singles by seniors Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.) and Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) and a run scoring error in centerfield added another three runs in the third inning to make it 8-2.
That would be all UTC would need as Kaitlin Holloway, who entered the game with one out in the third inning, pitched 4.2 scoreless, one-hit innings to collect her fourth win in as many outings, all in relief, and improve her record to 6-1 on the season. Senior Carol Lilley allowed all eight runs, seven earned, to take the loss for Elon and fell to 5-4 on the season.
Offensively, Katie Blevins surpassed her career-high for hits, going 3-for-3 with three singles, two runs and an RBI while Laci Upchurch went 3-for-4 with a run, three RBIs and her fourth home run of the year. That blast is the 19th of her career, which ties her for fifth all-time at UTC. Freshman outfielder Lauren Flores (Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.) finished 2-for-3 with a run while Michelle Fuzzard went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
In the nightcap, the Phoenix jumped out ahead early as they took advantage of two errors in first inning and scored four runs on one-hit. A fielder's choice, error and passed ball accounted for three of the runs while junior outfielder Brandi Jones singled home the other run to make it 4-0. Kaitlin Holloway then entered the game with one out and worked out of the jam with a pair of fly outs.
Chattanooga got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore shortstop Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) walked to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a walk and scored on a fielding error by first base to close the gap to 4-1. That would be as close as they would get, however, as freshman Pam DelPizzo allowed only four more hits over the next four innings to maintain the three run lead.
Elon added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when senior shortstop Tracey Dahlen lead off the inning with a walk and swiped back-to-back bases before scoring on a ground out by senior catcher Debbie Zeigler to push the lead to 5-1.
Melanie Helterbran then pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh to secure the four run win and knock the Lady Mocs from the ranks of the unbeaten in the Southern Conference.
Holloway pitched 6.2 innings in relief and allowed only three hits and the one run while striking out three batters and DelPizzo scattered five hits and allowed the one unearned run over six innings to improve to 5-6 on the season for the Phoenix.
Michelle Fuzzard paced Chattanooga offensively with a 2-for-4 performance while Tembey, Flores and junior third baseman Toni Hutchison (Madison, Tenn.) each added a single. Upchurch added her third double of the season.
While the loss snaps the Lady Mocs season-high 14-game winning streak, they remain firmly entrenched atop the Southern Conference standings with an 8-1 record. Second-place Furman (17-21, 6-5) dropped the first two games in their series against Appalachian State, 6-4 and 2-1 while the College of Charleston (24-27, 6-5) split their first two games against Western Carolina. Georgia Southern swept the first two games of their series against UNC Greensboro to improve to 7-4 in conference.
The Lady Mocs will host Elon in the rubber game of the series tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Jim Frost Stadium.
Western Carolina 8, College of Charleston 0 (5 inn.)
College of Charleston 9, Western Carolina 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (9-29, 3-11 SoCon) junior pitcher Lauren Ross celebrated her 21st birthday in grand fashion by tossing a no-hitter in the first game against College of Charleston (24-27, 6-5 SoCon) Saturday at Catamount Sports Complex. The Catamounts won the first game against the Cougars, 8-0, and dropped the second game 9-2.
The no-no for Ross was one error and two walks short of a perfect game. The Cougars opened the contest with Tiffany Harmon drawing a walk, and Ross proceeded to sit down nine consecutive batters before College of Charleston could place another base-runner on. A Catamount error put Kristi Woodall on base in the fourth inning and a walk to Kristie Shifflett had something cooking for the Cougars with one out. But Ross would have nothing of that, striking out the next two batters to end the inning.
Ross's no-hitter was accompanied by a solid offensive output by Western Carolina. Jamie Swank led off the Catamount's half of the first inning with a double to left field. With two outs, junior Beth Hauser hit her first homerun of the season, a two-run shot over the right centerfield wall.
Western Carolina unleashed for five runs in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, freshman Amber Hawkins reached first on a throwing error by the Cougars and moved to second on a single by Hauser. Junior Stephanie Beatty followed with a walk to load the bases. Mollie Fowler capitalized on the bases loaded with a grand-slam to right field, her fifth homerun of the season, and the second grand-slam by the Catamounts in a week.
Hauser picked up her third hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Her RBI single scored Danielle Reese who singled up the middle to start the inning.
Ross tossed five innings, thanks to the shortened game, striking out seven and walking two. She improves to 4-14 on the season.
The second game was all College of Charleston. The Cougars exploited Catamount freshman starting pitcher Lilly McDonagh for four runs on five hits in just 2.1 innings pitched. McDonagh was replaced by Michelle Tating who went two innings allowing three runs on four hits. Ross came into the game for 2.2 innings allowing four hits and two runs, however both the runs were unearned. McDonagh took the loss and falls to 1-9 on the season.
College of Charleston scored nine runs on 13 hits in the second game.
Western Carolina was able to push across a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Back-to-back College of Charleston errors put Swank and Reese on first and second to open the third. After Hawkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Cougar pitcher Terri Mesko walked Beth Hauser to send Swank home for the first Catamount run. A sacrifice fly by Beatty allowed Reese to score the second.
The win in game one, over College of Charleston, was the first home victory for Western Carolina this season. The Catamounts will play the rubber match with College of Charleston at 1 p.m. Sunday and try to pick up its second consecutive Southern Conference series.