UNC Greensboro 3, Furman 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Lyndsay Mouse belted a solo home run with two outs in the top of the seventh to lift UNC Greensboro to a 3-2 victory over Furman in the Southern Conference softball series finale between the schools Sunday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
The Spartans second baseman drove a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for her second home run of the weekend and reliever Hannah Angel retired the Paladins in order in the bottom of the seventh to help UNCG salvage the final game of the three-game series.
Furman took a 1-0 lead in the second inning with Brythe Blankenship started the inning with a walk and later scored on a throwing error by UNCG shortstop Whitney Miller. The Spartans responded in the top of the third as M.C. Vercoe doubled to left-center field with two outs to plate Brittany Ausley and Alex Emeterio to give UNCG a 2-1 advantage.
Paladin second baseman Morgan Hughey opened the bottom of the fourth with a double into the gap and scored with two out when Kate Termini hammered a double off of the left-center field wall to knot the game at 2-2.
Angel pitched three scoreless innings of relief to secure the win and improve to 6-6 in the circle. She allowed just two hits while recording one walk and one strikeout. Ausley and Mouse each collected two hits and scored a run for the Spartans.
Mackey (5-8) suffered the loss for Furman giving up three earned runs on seven hits in a complete game effort. She fanned nine batters and issued just two walks in the loss.
UNCG improved to 10-14 overall and 3-3 in the SoCon. Furman fell to 10-16 overall and 2-4 in league play.
The Paladins return to action March 28-29, when they travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face league newcomer Samford in a three-game SoCon series.
Samford 6, Chattanooga 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Behind a complete-game shutout by Samford pitcher Stephanie Royall, the Bulldogs defeated the Chattanooga softball team 6-0 Sunday at Frost Stadium. With the loss, the Lady Mocs (14-12/5-1 SoCon) dropped their first conference game of the season and had a season-long, eight-game winning streak snapped.
Royall (4-6) was brilliant, scattering seven UTC hits and striking out seven. Kandice Irwin (5-7) was tagged with the loss for the Lady Mocs as the sophomore was unable to record an out in the first innings. Irwin allowed three earned runs off two hits and walked one.
The Bulldogs (9-15/3-6 SoCon) jumped on Chattanooga early and often in the contest as Samford scored the game’s six runs in the first three innings.
In the first, Amy Gonzalez started the game with a leadoff walk and stole second. Gonzalez’s stolen base was the first of five on the day for the Bulldogs, who were a perfect 10-for-10 on the weekend. After a Kyle Harmon single, Harmon stole second and was able to advance to third on an error by Tia Blosser, which scored Gonzalez.
Harmon would score during the following at bat as Katie England brought in Samford’s second run on a fielder’s choice as Toni Hutchison was unable to retire the runner at the plate. After another stolen base, Amanda Barrs brought England in on a single into left-center.
After a 1-2-3 inning for UTC, the Bulldogs struck again in the second inning thanks to a RBI single by Harmon.
Samford would leave no doubt in the third frame as Aaren Fisher put the game out of reach with a two-run home run into left.
The Lady Mocs were able to put together one big threat, in the fourth, as the team was able to load the bases with no outs. However that was quickly extinguished as Brittany Eason struck out and Jenni Martin lined into a double play.
Three Lady Mocs were able to record multiple hits on the afternoon as Tiffany Baker, Toni Hutchison and Kaiti Kelley had two hits apiece. Lauren Flores accounted for UTC’s other hit as Chattanooga outhit Samford 7-6.
The Lady Mocs will look to start another winning streak on Tuesday as UTC hosts Jacksonville State on Tuesday, Mar. 24. Both teams will play two games with the first beginning at 5 p.m. from Jim Frost Stadium.
Georgia Southern 7, Western Carolina 3
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Georgia Southern softball team (14-14, 5-4) defeated Western Carolina (7-15, 3-3) 7-3 in the final game of the series Sunday.
The Eagles tied their season high with 16 hits in the game. Georgia Southern set its season high of 16 hits against Georgia State (Feb 25th).
“It is all about confidence at the plate,” said head coach Maggie Johnson. “When this team focuses at the plate, we can hit out 16 hits like we did today.”
Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) picked up four straight base hits after flying out to start the game.
“She is great at reading the defense and understands her swing and how to drop the ball in if the defense is playing her deep,” said Johnson.
Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga.) had one of her best days at the plate, going three for three with two RBIs.
Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) earned her eighth win of the season. Streetmon battled all day and allowed only two earned runs on nine hits.
The Eagles got on the board in the first inning when Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) hit her sixth homer of the season. She managed to keep it fair down the first base line. The home run was the first for Siliga since March 5th.
Michelle Beasley (Metter, Ga.) started a two-out rally in the second with a walk and came around to score after Marie Fogle's (Rincon, Ga.) base hit was booted by the center fielder. Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) drove in two runs with a base hit.
Georgia Southern extended their lead to five runs in the fourth inning. Mackenzie Williams plated Beasley with a RBI single to center. The Eagles had an opportunity to extend the lead even further when they loaded the bases on back-to-back base hits with one out; but Lauren Ross escaped the inning without further damage, recording two straight outs.
The Catamounts plated a run in the fourth after Mollie Fowler was hit by a pitch and scored on an error by the first baseman.
Georgia Southern got the run back with a two-out RBI single by Mackenzie Williams. Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) led off the inning with a double. Amanda Glover (Evans, Ga.) moved the pinch runner Caitlin Hart (McDonough, Ga.) to third with a base knock before Williams' base hit. The Eagles loaded the bases for the second straight inning on Nina Iduate's (Norcross, Ga.) third base hit of the game but were unable to plate any of the runners.
Western Carolina cut the lead back down to four runs in the sixth after the lead-off walk scored on Kari Burnside's second single of the game.
The Eagles extended their lead back to five runs with three straight one-out hits. Iduate plated Fogle with her fourth hit of the game.
Softball returns to action Tuesday in Atlanta, Ga. where they will face the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.
Appalachian State 4, Elon 3
BOONE, N.C.- Kayla Richardson scattered five hits and Megan Rembielak drove in the eventual tying and winning runs as Appalachian State University softball completed the three-game sweep of Elon with a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
Appalachian improves to 13-14 overall and matched their Southern Conference win total from last year with six. Elon drops to 7-11 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon.
ASU took a 1-0 lead in the sixth, when Michelle Lighton led off with a home run to center field. The Mountaineers followed by loading the bases and Rembielak delivered with a two-run single to score Ashley Gaston and Stephanie Long.
The three-run inning turned to be key, as Lauren Taylor hit a pinch hit three-homer in the seventh to make the score 4-3, but Richardson got the last two batters to fly out to end the game.
The Mountaineers took the lead in the first inning when Katie Boyd drove in Sarah Rappe with an RBI single.
Rappe stretched her hitting streak to a career-high seven games with her first inning hit. Brittany Gaston added two hits for the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers' forced Elon pitcher Melanie Helterbran into eight walks, the second highest total in ASU history.
Helterbran went the distance in the circle for Elon in the loss, giving up seven hits and four earned runs.
Richardson earned her second win in as many days to improve her record to 7-7. She scattered five hits on the day, allowing two walks and seven strike outs. The senior struck out 19 batters in the series and stretched her earned run scoreless streak to 25 straight innings until Taylor's homer in the seventh.
Appalachian is back on the road on Tuesday as they travel to Gardner-Webb for a doubleheader.
College of Charleston 10, Coastal Carolina 6; Coastal Carolina 9, College of Charleston 8
CONWAY, S.C. ? Senior designated hitter Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calf.) drilled a pair of home runs and redshirt-junior catcher Katie Pesature went 5-for-7 with a home run in Game 1 as the College of Charleston (10-16, 3-3) earned a split with Coastal Carolina (9-19) in a double header on Sunday, March 22 in Conway, South Carolina. The Cougars won Game 1 by a score of 10-6 before dropping the nightcap by the narrowest of margins at 9-8.
GAME 1
College of Charleston 10, Coastal Carolina 6
Trailing 1-0 in the second inning of Game 1, a two-run home run from sophomore outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) got the Cougars on the board at 2-1. Following single runs in back-to-back innings from the Chanticleers to make it 3-2, CofC regained the lead in the fourth inning with a five-run, five-hit explosion.
A sac fly by senior shortstop Christal Kotchman (Seminole, Fla.) started the scoring while junior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) added a two-run single to make it 5-3. Senior designated hitter Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calif.) then drilled a two-run home run to deep centerfield to cap the scoring and stretch the Cougars’ lead to 7-3.
Charleston would add solo runs in each of the last three innings to extend the lead to 10-3 before allowing Coastal Carolina three runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh to finish off the 10-6 victory.
Senior second baseman Kelsey Riffel finished 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs to lead Coastal Carolina while junior outfielder Mecaela Ballard went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Freshman first baseman Stacy Snellings and sophomore designated hitter Olivia Williams each added an RBI to round out the scoring for the Chanticleers. Sophomore pitcher Katelin Edwards suffered the loss for CCU after throwing 3.2 innings and allowing nine hits and seven of the 10 runs. She falls to 4-12 on the year.
Charleston was led by Howard’s 2-for-3, three RBI performance that included her fifth home run of the season and a career-high 4-for-4, three run day from redshirt sophomore catcher Katie Pesature (Brewster, N.Y.). Kristie Shifflett finished 2-for-3 with two runs and a pair of RBIs while her sister, redshirt junior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.), continued her hot hitting with her third straight two-hit game.
She went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while freshman outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) delivered her first career home run as part of a 2-for-4, two-run, RBI day. Kristi Woodall added to the Cougar’s home run parade with her second of the season to set a career-high for a season.
NOTES
With her 4-for-4, three run day, Pesature broke both of her career-highs for hits and runs ... her previous high for hits was three accomplished twice, last vs. Chattanooga on May 6, 2007 ... her previous career-best for runs was two, five times ... the ten runs scored mark the most by the College of Charleston in a game this season.
GAME 2
Coastal Carolina 9, College of Charleston 8
In the nightcap, the teams once again battled evenly throughout the first three innings, with the Chanticleers again taking a 3-2 lead. This time though, it was Coastal Carolina that erupted in the fourth inning. The Chanticleers scored six runs on four hits and a pair of walks to push their lead to 9-3 through four innings of action.
It would stay that way until the top of the sixth inning when Charleston’s bats came to life with four runs and four hits, including a pair of run scoring doubles and a two-run home run by Shannon Howard. The shot for Howard was her second of the day and sixth of the season while Amber and Kristie Shifflett each doubled home runs to pull CofC to within 9-7.
Charleston would pull to within 9-8 in the top of the seventh on a massive home run by Katie Pesature with one out before freshman shortstop Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) doubled to left centerfield, barely missing a game-tying home run. The Cougars would strand the tying run on third base as Coastal held on for the one-run victory.
Sarah Maples led CCU with a 3-for-4, two-run, RBI performance while Stacy Snellings delivered two RBIs. Catcher Ashley Pisone finished with three RBIs and Olivia Williams added an RBI. Ashley Frederick picked up the victory for the Chanticleers despite giving up seven of the nine runs.
Amber Shifflett had her fourth straight two-hit game with a 2-for-4, two RBI, one run outing and Kristi Woodall added two RBIs. Shannon Howard delivered her second home run of the day and finished with two RBIs while Katie Forbes was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. That stands as Forbes new career-high in both hits and doubles in her young career. In the circle, Howard took the loss to fall to 3-8 on the season.
The Cougars are back in action March 28-29 when they host Western Carolina in a three-game Southern Conference series at Patriots Point Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, S.C..
NOTES
On the day, the Cougars hit a season-high five home runs with three in the first game and two in the second.