Elon 5, Siena 2; Elon 6, Siena 1
ELON, N.C. ? The Phoenix softball team improved to 4-5 on the season with a two-game sweep of Siena on a sun-splashed afternoon at East Field. The team earned a 5-2 win in game one before downing the Saints 6-1 in game two.
Game one saw Brandi Jones record the first hit of the day, on her way to a team-high three, for the Phoenix in the bottom of the third inning. Jackie Gonzalez followed with a perfectly executed bunt that put a runner in scoring position. With two outs and the bases loaded, Caitlin McGowan sent a ball to left field to score Jones and Gonzalez and allowed the Phoenix to take a 2-0 lead.
Elon added to its lead in the fourth inning after Erin O’Shea drew a walk with one out and advanced on a wild pitch. Jones singled to left field, allowing O’Shea to score from second to make it a 3-0 game.
Siena looked to cut Elon’s lead to one in the top of the fifth inning as Lauren Weingart sent a ball to deep right-center field with a runner on third. Jones made the play, fielding the ball just as it was clearing the fence to record the final out of the inning.
The Saints got on the board the top of the sixth, as Courtney Brinkman and Piela opened with consecutive hits. Nastasha Powlowsky drove home Brinkman with a single to left field. Piela scored the second run of the inning, but a heads up play by catcher Kaitlyn Piazzolla and the Phoenix defense allowed the Phoenix to double-off runners at third and second to end the inning.
Patti Weber scored O’Shea, who reached on a walk, with a single down the left field line. With two outs, Ashlee Crewe singled up the middle that sent Gonzalez home to give the Phoenix a 5-2 lead.
O’Shea picked up the complete game win to improve to 2-1 on the season. O’Shea allowed two runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits while striking out four. Jamie Piela dropped to 0-2 on the season with the loss. She allowed three earned runs on four hits and struck out two. Also making an appearance for the Saints was Brinkman, who gave up two runs on three hits and walking two.
Ashlee Crewe got things started early in game two, scoring Jones from second to put the Phoenix on top 1-0 in the first. Siena tied things up in the top of the second with a homerun to leftfield off the bat of Powlowsky. Jones denied Sara Gallacchi of hit and a possible Siena run when she made a diving catch in right center field to end the inning.
The Phoenix tacked on another run in the bottom half of the second when Hannah Shelton stole third and scored on a throwing error by Powlowsky.
The bats stayed quiet over the next two-and-a-half innings until Crewe took the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the fifth inning over the right field wall for Elon’s third run of the game.
Elon added three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning after Jones hit a three-run shot to leftfield. The homerun, the first of the season for Jones, sealed the 6-1 win and the sweep of Siena.
Melanie Helterbran earned the complete game win, improving to 2-1 on the season. She allowed one run on just three hits and struck out seven. Amanda Filippazzo fell to 0-2, allowing six runs, only two of which were earned, and walking five.
The Phoenix return to the field Feb. 28-March 1 as they host the Golden Corral Classic. The two-day tournament features teams from Kent State and Bucknell, who will play in game one. Elon will face Kent State at approximately 1:15 p.m. Game two will pit the Phoenix against Bucknell with a scheduled start time of 3:30 p.m.
Mercer 2, Furman 0; Mercer 3, Furman 1
Macon, Ga. -- Mercer pitchers Lacey Richardson and Jenni Holtz combined to fan 20 Furman batters over two games to help the Bears to a 2-0, 3-1 doubleheader sweep of the Paladins on Thursday evening at Sikes Field in Macon, Ga.
The Bears improved to 11-6 on the season while Furman fell to 3-7.
In game one, Lacey Richardson tossed a five-hit shutout and Page Raynor provided the only offense of the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to lift Mercer to a 2-0 victory over the Paladins.
Paladin hurler Lana Mackey (3-2) retired the first 10 batters she faced and carried a no-hitter into the fifth before Sara Stukes led off the inning with a single. Pinch runner Anna Johnson swiped second ahead of Raynor’s two-run blast that cleared the centerfield fence. After allowing a double to Cassy Neilson, Mackey retired the next two batters to end the threat.
Richardson (5-1) fanned 10 Paladins and issued just one walk over seven innings to pick up the win. Furman out-hit the Bears 5-4, but stranded seven runners on base, including two in both the first and fourth innings.
Katie Michaels collected two hits to lead the Furman offense. Mackey surrendered two runs on three hits over five innings to absorb the loss.
She fanned four and walked one.
In game two, Holtz improved to 5-3 in the circle limiting Furman to just one run on one hit while striking out 10 in a complete game effort.
Mercer plated all three of its runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Amanda Santa Maria started a two-out rally with a single through the left side and moved to third base when Holly Oglesbee struck out, but reached base on a wild pitch. Jenny Goodman followed with an RBI single to plate Santa Maria before Oglesbee scored on an error on a pickoff attempt. Designated player Emi Sherrill capped the rally with an RBI double to plate Goodman and chase Paladin starter Bethany Ullrich from the game.
Meredith Mielke provided Furman’s only offense by leading off the fourth with a double to right-centerfield. She moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI groundout from Stephanie Cushing.
Ullrich dropped to 0-2 in the circle allowing three runs on three hits in 2.2 innings of work. She struck out three and did not issue a walk. Freshman Stephanie Mihaly held the Bears scoreless over 3.1 innings of relief.
Sherrill led the Bears at the plate going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Furman returns to action Saturday when it travels to Charlotte for a doubleheader against the 49ers. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.