USC Upstate 10, Furman 1 (5 inn.)
Furman 8, USC Upstate 5 (8 inn.)
Greenville, S.C. - Morgan Hughey belted a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Furman to an 8-5 victory and doubleheader split with USC Upstate in the 2008 home finale for the Paladins on Wednesday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium. USC Upstate (31-14) claimed game one, 10-1.
The Paladins twice rallied from two-run deficits to score the game two victory in their final non-conference contest of the season. After Upstate plated two runs in the top of the eighth to take a 5-3 lead, Kate Termini was placed on second base according to the international tiebreaker rule.
Senior Colleen Harrison opened the inning with a single to right and Bethany Ullrich followed with her third hit of the day to drive home Termini and trim the lead to 5-4. Katie Michaels lined a single back up the middle to load the bases before Hughey blasted the game-winning grand slam over the right-center field fence for her third homer of the year.
Furman took the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on Stephanie Cushing's sacrifice fly. USC Upstate responded with a three-run top of the fifth. Ana Mitchell doubled and Kim Brasil followed with a triple to right center. The leftfielder scored on Amber Patterson's squeeze bunt and Heidi Gibbs capped the frame driving in Patterson with a single to center.
Michaels opened the bottom of the inning with a single to chase starter Brittany Rice. Hughey and Cushing greeted reliever Morgan Childers with back-to-back singles to load the bases with no one out. After Michaels was cut down at the plate and Brythe Blankenship struck out, Lana Mackey and Termini drew consecutive bases loaded walks to tie the game at 3-3.
Gibbs and Courtney Feldon delivered RBI singles to put the Spartans ahead in the top of the eighth before Furman rallied for the win.
Mackey (15-20) took the victory allowing four earned runs on 12 hits while fanning four batters. Hughey went 3-for-4 with four RBI while Michaels and Ullrich each collected three hits to pace Furman's 14-hit effort.
Rice (6-8) suffered the loss for Upstate. She gave up seven runs on 10 hits in four-plus innings of work. Childers allowed one run on four hits in three innings of relief. Gibbs led the Spartans attack going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
In game one, the Spartans used a six-run fourth inning to rout Furman, 10-1.
Shay Slater went 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs while Gibbs and Feldon each drove in two runs to lead USC Upstate. Abby Robertson plated Furman's only run of the game scoring Cushing on a first-inning single.
Mackey suffered the loss allowing four runs on five hits in five innings. Childers (24-5) limited Furman to a run on three hits to earn the victory.
Furman (20-26, 7-8 SoCon) turns its attention back to Southern Conference play when it travels to Western Carolina for a three-game series this weekend. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's series finale are both set to begin at 1 p.m.
East Tennessee State 5, Western Carolina 1
East Tennessee State 5, Western Carolina 3
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Western Carolina softball (15-33) was swept 5-1, 5-3 by East Tennessee State (26-29) Wednesday at Kiwanis Park.
Western Carolina had a promising start to game one getting back-to-back hits from Jamie Swank and Danielle Reese, but freshman Amber Hawkins lined into a double play and Beth Hauser lined out to centerfield to end the inning.
East Tennessee didn't waste its lead-off hit, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning. The Lady Bucs scored a single run in the second and third to build a 3-0 lead.
The Catamounts couldn't manage to get a lead-off hitter for the next five innings. The club got a two out hit from Lauren Ross in the second and from Stephanie Beatty and Mollie Fowler in the fourth, but the team couldn't do anything with runners on in either inning. Hawkins hit a one out double in the sixth inning but was stranded in scoring position.
Ross started the game and lasted three innings giving up three runs, falling to 7-16 on the season. Michelle Tating came into the game in the bottom of the fourth and sat down six straight batters before the Lady Bucs hung two runs on her to pull to a five-run lead.
In the top of the seventh inning, Ross made sure starting Lady Buc pitcher Ashley Boyd didn't earn a shutout as she took her one-out offering over the left centerfield wall. It was Ross' third homerun of the year, and 24th of her career.
Western Carolina scored first in the second inning of the second game. Back-to-back singles by Beatty and Fowler coupled with a Lady Bucs miscue, that allowed Ross to reach first, loaded the bases with no outs for the Catamounts. The club could only muster one run as Tating got the first out by grounding into a fielder's choice that forced Beatty out at home. After Nicole Shook struck out, Swank hit a two-out single to right field to score Fowler and plate a run for WCU.
ETSU quickly answered with a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game. The Lady Bucs rallied with three singles with two outs to score a run and knot the game. East Tennessee State exploded for three runs in the bottom of the third to knock starting pitcher Tating out of the game. With one out, Lilly McDonagh came into the game and forced two ground outs to end the inning.
After sitting down five straight batters, McDonagh gave up a homerun to Trisha Massenzo in the fifth inning, for the Lady Bucs fifth run of the game.
Western Carolina attempted a rally in the top of the seventh inning. Swank led off the inning with a single and after Reese flew out to center field, Hawkins drilled a double to left to put runners at second and third. Back-to-back RBI singles by Beth Hauser and Beatty plated two runs for the Catamounts and pulled the club within two runs of tying the game. Fowler's fielder's choice forced Hauser out at third for the second out and a single by Ross to right field loaded the bases. McDonagh had a chance to help her cause but ended the rally with a strikeout.
Tating takes the loss in the second game and falls to 7-8 on the season. McDonagh had a good outing going 3.2 innings in releif allowing one run on three hits.
The Catamounts host Furman in their final Southern Conference home series this weekend. The doubleheader is slated to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday with the single game set for 1 p.m.
Lauren Ross NOTE AT NCAA DOUBLE-A ZONE'S MORNING COFFEE: We can't go too long without some sort of Lauren Ross note. The Western Carolina softball standout has launched a Web site featuring her vocal stylings. Lauren and band mate Casey Melvin have been singing together for about a year and a half. Word out of Cullowhee is that Lauren will be submitting a guest blog soon.