Appalachian State 10, Western Carolina 0; Appalachian State 7, Maine 3
CONWAY, S.C. - Ashley Stubbs threw a no-hitter and added two hits and three RBI's as Appalachian State University softball beat Western Carolina 10-0 in the final game of the Kickin' Chicken Classic this weekend at Coastal Carolina.
Stubbs was dominant as she allowed just one runner to reach second base as she struck out six and walked just one. She worked around a walk in the first, a hit by pitch in the third and an error in the fourth and retired six batters in a row three times.
She was able to retire the side in order twice, including the last inning when she got a ground out, a fly out and struck out Danielle Reese to end the game.
The no-hitter is the first by an Appalachian pitcher since Jennifer Hurley threw one against Campbell in 2005.
After not getting a hit in the first two innings, the Appalachian (4-4) offense came to life in the third inning by scoring five runs, despite only getting one hit. With the help of two walks, a hit by pitch and three Catamount errors, and a timely two-run single by Stubbs, ASU was able to break the game open.
The Mountaineers struck again big the following inning as Katie Boyd struck for her fifth home run of the season, driving in Sarah Rappe and Megan Rembielak, who both singled to start the inning. Appalachian added another run when Stubbs restarted the inning with a single and scored on a double by Michelle Lighton.
Appalachian started the day with a 7-3 win over Maine. The Mountaineers (3-4) scored in the first inning for the third straight game and took advantage of four Maine miscues, while Kayla Richardson threw a complete game for the Mountaineers.
After each team traded a run in the first inning, Appalachian scored four runs in the second to break the game open. Brittany Gaston started the inning with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a Lindsay Whitlock walk, Ashley Gaston singled to score Brittany Gaston. Later in the inning Ashley Gaston scored on an RBI ground out by Megan Rembielak. With two runs already in, Boyd drove in two more with a double to give ASU a 5-1 lead.
That turned out to be all Richardson would need, as she scattered six hits while striking out a season-high nine batters. Despite allowing a career-high six walks, Richardson kept the Black Bears off balanced, allowing just one extra-base hit and stranding eight runners.
Appalachian tacked on insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Boyd drove in her third run of the game and in the fifth Ashley Gaston drove in the Mountaineers' seventh run with an RBI ground out.
Boyd continued her hot-hitting to start the season, going 2-for-4 with three RBI's, while Stubbs had a career-high three hits.
The Mountaineers went 3-1 over the weekend at the Kickin' Chicken Classic and moved back to .500 on the season. Appalachian will be back on the road next weekend when they travel to the Troy Invitational. They will open with SE Louisiana at 1 p.m. on Friday Feb. 27 and then play Louisville at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the Mountaineers will take on Troy at noon.
Elon 13, North Carolina A&T 1
ELON, N.C. - The Elon softball team defeated North Carolina A&T 13-1 in five innings in the final game of the Bojangles Invitational at East Field on Sunday afternoon.
Melanie Helterbran (1-1) earned the win after tossing 5.0 innings and giving up one run on six hits while striking out two. Aurora Baker (0-1) suffered the loss after throwing 2.1 innings and giving up seven runs (four earned) on four hits.
Patti Weber led the Elon offense, going 3-for-3 from the plate with one run scored and three RBI. Kaitlyn Piazzolla posted two hits on two at bats with two runs scored and one RBI. Helterbran tallied two hits and one RBI while Hannah Shelton, Ashlee Crewe, Jackie Gonzalez and Brandi Jones each tallied a hit. Crew and Gonzalez each posted two RBI.
For the Lady Aggies, Ashley Carter posted two hits while Ryanne Hill, Jessie Larson, Channing Statham and Bianca Alsobrook each tallied a hit.
In the bottom of the first inning, Jones and Gonzalez each earned a walk before Weber put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Jones crossed home plate on a passed ball and while the catcher tried to make the play at home Gonzalez took home to put Elon ahead 2-0.
Larson led off the top of the second with a single down the right field line before Britney Reddick walked. Statham then hit a hard ground ball to second which Gonzalez played to short stop Caitlin McGowan to get Reddick out at second and put runners on the corners. On a short pop up, Helterbran made a diving catch for the second out of the inning. Alsobrook then singled up the middle to send Larson home and cut the led to one, 2-1. Yahamma White then popped up to short stop to end the inning, leaving two runners on base.
In the bottom of the third inning, Weber reached on a single through the left side before Crewe blasted her first home run of the seasons to put the Phoenix on top 4-1. Piazzolla and McGowan each earned a walk before Helterbran singled through the left side to plate Piazzolla and put Elon ahead 5-1. Shelton then notched a single to send McGowan home, giving Elon a 6-1 lead. Jaimie Rao then earned a walk to load the bases before all runners advanced on a passed ball, allowing Helterbran to cross home. With the bases loaded, Weber singled through the left side to plate Rao and Jones, putting Elon up 9-1.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Piazzolla added to the Elon lead with a solo homer out of left centerfield giving Elon a 10-1 lead. With the bases load, Gonzalez doubled to right centerfield to send pinch runner Danielle Lafferty and Rao home. Weber then singled to score Jones and give Elon a 13-1 advantage.
Elon takes the field again on Thursday, Feb. 26 in a 2 p.m. match with Siena at East Field.
Georgia Southern 11, Oakland 8
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Georgia Southern softball rallied from a four-run deficit twice to defeat Oakland 11-8 in the final day of the Holiday Inn Eagle Classic.
“We were able to answer them both times they scored four runs,” said head coach Maggie Johnson. “That was big for us.”
Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) had another outstanding relief appearance. Streetmon shut down the Grizzlies allowing no runs or hits in the three-plus innings she pitched.
“Bri has been outstanding this weekend. She has handled the pressure situations and shut teams down,” said Johnson. “She is pitching great, and we are going to keep putting her out there.”
Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) and Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) combined for six hits, five runs, and four RBIs as they did an outstanding job at the top of the order.
“I like them at the top of the lineup,” said Johnson. “Hanna is great about getting on base and when Iduate is on, we use Hanna to move her around. She is a tough one to get out.”
Oakland scored first in the top of the third when Julie Owen cleared the bases with a grand slam giving the Grizzlies a 4-0 lead.
Iduate and Ennis sparked a four-run rally to tie the game in the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles. Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) drew a full count walk to load the bases. Amanda Hall (Haddock, Ga.) drove in two runs with a single to left field. Hall went three for four with three RBIs batting in the cleanup spot. Amanda Glover (Evans, Ga.) drove in two more runs tying the game with a two RBI double.
“Both of them (Hall and Glover) have stepped up and are putting the ball in play,” said Johnson.
Oakland took another four-run lead in the fourth inning after they led off with four straight base hits.
Georgia Southern responded again to tie the ball game at eight runs each. Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) led off the inning with a base hit. Iduate and Ennis drove in a run each with back-to-back singles for the second straight inning. Hall drove in the third run of the inning with her second base hit of the game. Amanda Glover tied the game for the second time in two innings with a sacrifice fly.
Jordyn Nail (Swainsboro, Ga.) helped spark the four-run rally in the fourth inning. Nail showed great heart and determination after being knocked to the ground when she fouled a pitch off her face. Nail returned to the batter’s box only to be hit by the first pitch thrown to her and came around to score on Ennis’s single.
“The turning point in the game was the heart that Jordyn showed when she got hit in the face, ribs and got an obstruction call going to third; and if that doesn’t fire a team up, I don’t know what will,” said Johnson.
Russo led off the fifth like she did the fourth with her second base knock of the game. Iduate gave the Eagles the lead with a RBI double down the left field line. Ennis followed Iduate’s hit for the third straight inning with a base hit of her own. She drove in Iduate giving Georgia Southern a 10-8 lead.
The Eagles added an eleventh run in the sixth after Hall doubled and later scored on Jenny Side’s (Loganville, Ga.) second single of the ball game.
Streetmon took care of the Grizzlies in the seventh inning with a pair of ground balls and a strikeout.
Softball hits the road Wednesday to face Georgia State in a doubleheader in Atlanta, Ga.
Elon 6, San Jose State 1; UTEP 3, Elon 1
EL PASO, Tex. ---- The Samford softball team rounded out play in the UTEP Invitational Sunday with a win over San Jose State and a loss to host team UTEP. The Bulldogs defeated San Jose State, 6-1, before falling to UTEP by a score of 3-1.
Against San Jose State (3-7), Samford (5-5) had two Bulldogs crack off two homeruns to bring in a total of five RBI and give Samford a 6-0 lead by the fifth inning. Samford hurler Stephanie Royall pitched five full innings against the Spartans striking out five batters in 20 faced and giving up only one unearned run. Sophomore Kayla Burris finished out the rest of the game striking out three batters and giving up only one run on three hits.
Samford scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning as Aaren Fisher scored on an error by the Spartans’ first baseman. In the next inning, Kristy Lawrence homered to left field bringing in Jessica Owens and Amy Gonzalez and giving the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead.
At the top of the fifth, with two outs on the board and a runner on first base, Fisher hit a homerun to left field to bring in Amanda Barrs and Samford was then ahead, 6-0. San Jose State was able to score a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Bulldogs played great defense in the bottom of the seventh to take away the 6-1 win.
Against UTEP (11-6), Samford came out of the gate and struck the first blow. With two outs, Lawrence came to the plate and rattled off her second homerun off the day. It would be the only run for the Bulldogs against the Miners but it would give Lawrence her fourth RBI of the weekend.
Barrs pitched a full six innings for the Bulldogs against the Miners striking out three batters and walking only two. Katie England and Whitney Terry each were credited with a stolen base while Kristy Lawrence had six putouts at first base and Amanda Jordan had four at short stop.
The Bulldogs will take the field again on Wednesday when the host in-state rival Troy University at Bulldog Field at 4 p.m. Samford will then co-host the Magic City Classic with UAB this weekend. The three-day event will begin on Friday, Feb. 27, and end on Sunday, March 1.
Western Carolina 10, Coastal Carolina 9; Appalachian State 10, Western Carolina 0
CONWAY, S.C. ? Western Carolina softball (3-6) drew a split in the final day of the Coastal Carolina Kickin’ Chicken Classic Sunday. The Catamounts defeated host Coastal Carolina 10-9 and then dropped its last game of the day 10-0 to Southern Conference rival Appalachian State in five innings.
It was an offensive battle for Western Carolina and Coastal Carolina in the first game of the day, as the two teams combined for 23 hits and 19 runs. The Lady Catamounts came out on top after scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Down by two runs heading into the final frame of the game, freshman Chelsea Schaffer got the Catamounts started with a one out single. With two outs junior catcher Danielle Reese hit a RBI double, her first two base hit of the season, to score Schaffer to tie the game at nine. Reese proceeded to steal third and then gave Western Carolina the lead when she scored on a passed ball.
Freshman lefty hurler Katie King (1-2) went six innings and got her first win as a Catamount. Senior Lauren Ross replaced King in the bottom of the seventh inning and earned her first save of the season tossing a scoreless inning allowing one Coastal Carolina hit.
The Catamounts jumped out to an early lead scoring two runs to open the game. Kristen Gay drew a lead-off walk and then stole second. Sophomore Amber Hawkins singled and she and Gay both scored on a Coastal Carolina error.
Coastal Carolina posted three runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead and tacked on three more to take what looked like a commanding 6-2 advantage.
Western Carolina pulled within two runs in the top of the third scoring two runs. Hawkins hit a one out single and after Stephanie Beatty reached on an error, Hawkins scored on the play. Beatty scored on a wild pitch.
After Coastal Carolina tacked on yet another run in the bottom of the fourth, Western Carolina exploded for four runs in the fifth inning.
The scoring barrage in the fifth inning began with the first Catamount homerun of the season and first of junior Keri Burnside’s career. With one out, Beatty singled and then Beth Hauser and Schaffer reached on errors to load the bases. Mollie Fowler was hit by a pitch to score Beatty for the second run of the inning. The final two runs where thanks to a two RBI single by Reese giving Western Carolina a short 8-7 lead.
Coastal Carolina took back the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth before Western Carolina rallied in the seventh.
Reese led the Catamounts going 2-for3 with a double, a run and three RBI.
It was all Appalachian State in the second game of the day as the Mountaineers scored 10 quick runs and shortened the game to just five innings. Appalachian State’s Ashley Stubbs tossed a no-hitter against the Catamounts.
Freshman Megan Taylor started the game and went 3.1 innings allowing nine runs in five hits. Sophomore Chere Monday tossed the final 1.2 innings allowing one run on three hits.
Western Carolina returns to action Friday facing Tokyo in the Hawaii Invitational.
No. 16 Georgia 12, UNC Greensboro 2
ATHENS, GA ? No. 16 Georgia took advantage of three UNC Greensboro errors and 10 walks to grab a 12-2 win over the Spartans in five innings to wrap up play at the Sixth Annual Georgia Softball Classic on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (12-1) jumped out to a 10-0 lead, scoring three runs in the first inning, six in the second and one in the third.
UNCG (6-9) put runners on first and second to lead off the game, but was unable to push a run across. Brittany Ausley led off the game with a walk, and went to second on a Georgia error on Jordan Jewett’s fielder’s choice. UGA starter Taylor Schlopy recovered to retire the next three batters to get out of trouble early.
In the bottom half of the frame, Georgia’s Megan Wiggins hit a three-run home run after a pair of one-out walks to get the scoring started. The Bulldogs batted around in the second, scoring six runs ? five unearned ? on three hits, three walks and a UNCG dropped fly ball that allowed three runs to score.
Georgia added another unearned run in the third on Wiggins’ sacrifice fly, which plated Brittany Hubbard, who reached on another Spartan error.
The Spartans got on the board in the top of fourth, with Mary Catherine Vercoe drawing a leadoff walk and Kaitlin Merkt’s double putting runners at second and third for Emily Akiyama. Akiyama, who had been hitless in the tournament, came through with a single to right to plate pinch-runner Katie Stripling with the Spartans’ first run of the day.
UNCG added another run when Merkt scored on a Georgia passed ball.
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the fourth on Kristin Schnake’s two-out, bases-loaded single to center.
Facing the prospect of having the game end early because of the mercy rule in the top of the fifth, UNCG tried to get the margin back down under eight runs. Ausley singled to lead off, and Jewett moved her into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Schlopy got a line-drive double play off the bat of Alex Emeterio to end the game.
Akiyama, Ausley and Merkt accounted for UNCG’s three hits on the day, while six different players accounted for Georgia’s six hits.
Hannah Angel saw her record drop to 4-4 with her fourth straight loss. She allowed nine runs (four earned) on four hits and six walks in two innings. Freshman Cory Mattson pitched two innings of relief, allowing three runs ? two earned ? on two hits and four walks. Both pitchers struck out three.
Schlopy improved to 2-0 on the season after allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks in five innings. She struck out five.
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday for their first midweek doubleheader of the season, at No. 21 North Carolina. First pitch for game one is set for 3 p.m.
USC Upstate 5, College of Charleston 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? A pair of home runs by junior centerfielder Crislyn Chewning and sophomore first baseman Lauren Quevedo led the USC Upstate (5-0) to a 5-0 victory over the College of Charleston (4-8) in the final game of pool play of the USC Upstate Campus Suites Classic in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Having denied Charleston a scoring opportunity with a runner on third in the top of the first inning, USC Upstate got on the board in the home half of the inning. A lead off single from senior outfielder Heidi Gibbs, followed by a three-base error on the next batter, allowed the Spartans to take a 1-0 lead. Following an RBI ground out from junior centerfielder Crislyn Chewning, sophomore first baseman Lauren Quevedo slugged a ball over the left field fence to make it a 3-0 lead.
USC Upstate managed a fourth run the following inning when a lead off single, hit-by-pitch and a single by senior outfielder Amber Patterson lead to a solo run to make it 4-0. The Cougars limited the Spartans to a pair of runners over the next two innings before junior centerfielder Crislyn Chewning homered off the light stanchion in right center to make it 5-0.
The score would remain that way as the Spartans allowed only one base runner over the final two innings to secure the five-run victory and advance to the championship game of the USC Upstate Campus Suites Classic.
Chewning led the Spartans with two RBI and was 1-for-3 with a home run while Quevedo finished 2-for-3 with a run and RBI off of a solo home run in the first. Patterson added the only other RBI for USC Upstate. Sophomore pitcher Morgan Childers pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout and struck out 11 to earn the victory and move to 5-0 on the season.
For Charleston, senior shortstop Christal Kotchman (Seminole, Fla.) and sophomore first baseman Katie Nutaitis (Vienna, Va.) had the only hits of the day, both singles, while redshirt sophomore catcher Katie Pesature (Brewster, N.Y.) picked up a walk. Junior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) pitched 4.1 innings, giving up eight hits, five runs and striking out four batters as she took the loss to drop to 2-5. Freshman pitcher Laura Jeroszko (Simpsonville, S.C.) threw 1.2 scoreless, hitless innings of relief, striking out two.
Charleston wraps up the tournament in the third place game against UMBC at 4:00 p.m.
UMBC 17, College of Charleston 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The University of Maryland Baltimore County (1-5) exploded for nine runs in the third inning to defeat the College of Charleston (4-9) 17-1 in the third place game of the USC Upstate Campus Suites Classic Sunday evening in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The Retrievers wasted no time as they scored two runs in each of the first two innings to take a 4-0 lead, highlighted by a pair of home runs from junior designated hitter Amanda Fefel and sophomore first baseman Malorie Weller.
Following a Charleston run in the bottom of the second, UMBC put the game out of reach in the third inning with a nine-run, five hit out burst to extend the lead to a commanding 13-1. They would add another four runs in the fifth to reach the final margin of 17-1.
The Cougars return to action when they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina for the N.C. State Wolfpack Challenge.
North Florida 4, Chattanooga 3
COLUMBIA, S.C. --- The snake-bitten Chattanooga softball team fell 4-3 in the final game of the Gamecock Invitational Sunday, thanks to a walk-off two-run home run by UNF right fielder Kara Rutenbar. The Lady Mocs (5-11), who have battled injuries all season, have now dropped five games in a row.
“We got off to a good start in this game, which is something we have been pressuring them to do,” head coach Frank Reed said. “They were in this one until the end, but it came down to one final swing. This let me know that we have some kids that will step up, but we still have things we need to work on.”
Despite the loss, the UTC offense had a season-high nine hits, four off the bat of Michelle Fuzzard and Lauren Flores, who had two apiece and finished 2-for-3. Kandice Irwin (2-6) suffered the loss for Chattanooga, giving up four earned while striking out six.
Much like its game with South Carolina, the Lady Mocs left several runners on base. In Sunday’s contest UTC left nine stranded with at least one in every inning except the second, while UNF left eight on base.
The Lady Mocs never trailed in the contest, until Rutenbar’s blast, as Chattanooga put up three runs off five UTC hits. The team mounted a big two-out rally in the frame, started off by a Fuzzard double. After Tiffany Baker drew a base-on-balls, Toni Hutchison smashed her team-leading fourth home run of the season to give the team a 3-0 advantage.
North Florida (5-13) threatened as well in the inning, loading up the bases, all with two outs. UTC would escape unscathed however, as Irwin forced Allyson Bailey to ground out.
In the second and third innings both teams were held in check. Chattanooga threatened again in the fourth thanks to a one-out Flores double. Kaiti Kelley singled advancing Flores to third, when Lyndsey Stiles slapped a dribbler past the pitcher only to get Flores thrown out at home by the shortstop for the second out. Tia Blosser ended the inning by fouling out to the catcher.
The fifth frame began a stretch of three straight innings where the Lady Mocs had their leadoff hitter reach. In the fifth, Fuzzard collected her second hit of the day with a single, but was left marooned on the base paths.
Flores led off the following inning with a triple into right-center, the first of the season for the Lady Mocs. Kelley recorded the first out of the inning with a comebacker to the pitcher and Stiles was unable to get Flores home on a squeeze bunt as the team let another scoring opportunity go by the wayside.
After the top half of the seventh, Irwin retired the first UNF hitter on a pop-up to Blosser at short. Ashley Battaglia then reached base on a single up the middle, bringing up Rutenbar. On the first pitch she saw, Rutenbar drove it over the left field wall to give the Lady Ospreys the 4-3 victory.
The Lady Mocs will return to the diamond on Friday, Feb. 27 for the beginning of a nine-game homestand. Chattanooga will host its annual Frost Classic, which will feature 14 teams in 2009. UTC will start the tournament at 3 p.m. against Dayton and will wrap up the day against Princeton at 5:30 p.m.