Georgia Southern 3, UNC Greensboro 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The UNC Greensboro softball team fell to Georgia Southern, 3-2 in Southern Conference softball action at UNCG Softball Stadium on Sunday afternoon. With the win the Eagles earned a series sweep of the Spartans, after taking both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader.
UNCG (14-25, 1-8 SoCon) was led by Brittany Ausley who was 2-of-3 from the plate with one run scored. The Wake Forest, NC native recorded her fourth home run of the season to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead. Lyndsay Mouse was 1-of-3 from the plate and scored UNCG’s other run of the afternoon.
Hannah Angel, playing her second complete game of the weekend, twirled seven innings of work and allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five.
Nina Iduate and Amanda Hall led Georgia Southern with a pair of hits apiece while Melissa Laliberte improved to 14-7 on the season after pitching a complete game.
The Spartans put the first run on the board in the first inning. Mary Greenway hit a leadoff single and Mouse followed with a single to right field that advanced Greenway to second base. Mouse, who moved to third on a wild pitch, was plated with a RBI single from Whitney Miller up the middle.
UNCG held onto the 1-0 lead until the top of the fourth inning. Jenny Side hit a single to the shortstop and moved to second base on a wild pitch and was plated with an RBI double from Amanda Hall to tie the game at 1-1.
With the Spartan leading 2-1, thanks to a home run from Ausley in the fourth the Eagles used a home run from Hall in the top of the sixth to take their first lead of the afternoon. Hannah Angel was able to keep the Eagles off the board in the seventh but the Spartans couldn’t get anyone around the bases dropping their third straight conference game.
UNCG continues home stretch with a non-conference doubleheader against East Carolina on Wednesday before hitting the road to face SoCon rival, College of Charleston April 19-20. Georgia Southern hosts Georgia Tech in a doubleheader Wednesday, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Furman 5, Appalachian State 1
Greenville, S.C. -- Lana Mackey tossed a complete game and drove in three runs to help Furman down Appalachian State 5-1 in the finale of a three-game Southern Conference softball series Sunday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
Furman improves to 18-21 overall and 7-5 in the SoCon while Appalachian State drops to 7-24 overall and 5-5 in the league.
Furman jumped on top with two runs in the bottom of the first. Katie Michaels reached on an error to start the frame and stole second and third base before scoring on Stephanie Cushing’s RBI double into the gap in right-center. Abby Robertson followed with a base hit to right field to plate Cushing and give Furman a 2-0 lead.
Appalachian State got on the board in the fifth to trim the lead to 2-1. Sarah Rappe singled and stole second ahead of Brittany Gaston’s two-out single to left-center. Robertson started another Furman rally with a one-out single in the sixth and moved to second on Brythe Blankenship’s single to right-center. Morgan Hughey collected Furman’s third consecutive hit with a single up the middle to load the bases and chase reliever Teri Fister. Mackey greeted pitcher Kayla Richardson by lining a bases clearing double to the wall in left-center to up the Paladin advantage to 5-1.
Mackey scattered five hits and allowed just one run. She issued four walks and fanned seven batters while improving to 13-17 in the circle. Appalachian State starter Yancy Moose (2-9) suffered the loss allowing two runs in two innings of work.
Gaston went 3-for-3 with an RBI for ASU. Robertson, Blankenship and Hughey each collected a pair of hits for Furman.
Furman returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Georgia State in a 3 p.m. doubleheader. Appalachian State hosts Gardner-Webb for a twinbill on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Chattanooga 4, Elon 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Freshman outfielder Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) went 2-for-3 with a triple and steal of home while freshman pitcher Kaitlin Holloway (Chickamauga, Ga.) pitched three scoreless innings of relief as Chattanooga (31-15, 9-1) notched a 4-2 victory over Elon (17-18, 6-6) Sunday afternoon at Jim Frost Stadium.
Having been held to just one run in the nightcap of the previous day's double-header with the Phoenix, Chattanooga wasted no time getting on the board in the series finale. After a scoreless first inning, junior outfielder Laci Upchurch (Madison, Tenn.) slammed the first pitch she saw into the leftfield foul pole for her fifth home run of the season and a 1-0 UTC lead.
Senior outfielder Ashlan Clarkson (Chickamauga, Ga.) then followed with a walk before scoring on a triple into the right field corner by Lyndsey Stiles to make it 2-0 before she stole home for her eighth steal of the year and a 3-0 advantage.
Elon responded in the top of the third inning with back-to-back singles, a run on a passed ball and an RBI double by junior designated hitter Melanie Helterbran to close to within 3-2. Sophomore pitcher Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) entered the game following the second run and recorded two strikeouts around a walk.
After an uneventful fourth inning and a walk to lead off the fifth, Kaitlin Holloway made her fifth appearance in Chattanooga's last six games. Following an error that put runners on second and third with no one out, Holloway then retired the next three batters, the final two by strikeout, to get out of the jam.
The score would stay at 3-2 until the bottom of the sixth inning when sophomore catcher Brittany Eason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) pinch hit and drew a two-out walk for the Lady Mocs and Stiles singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. Senior shortstop Tara Tembey (Folsom, Calif.) then lined a single to right field to add an insurance run and make it 4-2 heading into the top of the seventh.
Holloway allowed a leadoff single before striking out Helterbran and inducing a pair of pop-ups to collect her fifth victory in her last six appearances and improve to 7-1 on the season, all in relief. Senior Carol Lilley went only 1.2 innings and allowed three runs to take the loss for Elon and fall to 5-5 on the year.
Stiles led the way offensively for Chattanooga with a 2-for-3 performance that included her second triple of the year, her eighth steal and a run and RBI. With her steal of home, the Hixson, Tenn. native has now swiped a base in each of her last four games and is 8-for-8 on the season. Upchurch added her fifth home run of the season, moving her into fifth place all-time on the Lady Mocs career home run list with 20 while Tara Tembey accounted for UTC's other RBI.
The Lady Mocs will resume their Southern Conference schedule next weekend when they travel to Greenville, South Carolina to take on the Furman Paladins. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 1:00 p.m. on April 19 and the series finale will wrap up on April 20 at 1:00 p.m. Elon visits North Carolina A&T Tuesday for a twinbill, starting at 2:00 p.m.
College of Charleston 9, Western Carolina 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (9-30, 3-12 SoCon) dropped the rubber match with College of Charleston (25-27, 7-5 SoCon) 9-2 Sunday at the Catamount Softball Complex. The Cougars take the Southern Conference series over the Catamounts.
College of Charleston scored in five of the seven innings and rocked Western Carolina's pitchers for nine runs on 11 hits. Lauren Ross, who had a brilliant performance on the mound Saturday throwing a no-hitter, hit a rough patch against the Cougars in her start on Sunday.
Ross lasted 2.2 innings allowing seven runs, four earned, on seven hits and walked three, and was replaced by Michelle Tating who went 4.1 innings giving up two runs on four hits and striking out one and walking one. Ross took the loss and falls to 4-15 on the season.
Starting Cougar pitcher Shannon Howard tossed five scoreless innings and was working on a no-hitter before Stephanie Beatty and Mollie Fowler ended her strive for perfection. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Beatty took Howard's offering over the left field wall for the Catamounts first run and hit of the game. Fowler quickly followed with a rocket over the right centerfield wall for her second homerun of the series and sixth homerun of the year.
Kristie Shifflet’s fourth homer of the season for the Cougars was one of her game-high four hits on the afternoon. Shifflet added two RBI and two runs scored, as did CofC’s Kristi Woodall.
Western Carolina returns home on Tuesday hosting Presbyterian College. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at the Catamount Softball Complex. College of Charleston visits Charleston Southern in a midweek double-dip, beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.