Appalachian State 7, UNC Greensboro 0
GREENSBORO, NC ? Appalachian State hit a pair of three-run home runs in a seven-run seventh inning to take a 7-0 win over UNC Greensboro on Saturday. Game two of the Southern Conference doubleheader was postponed by rain until Sunday.
UNCG (11-16, 3-4 SoCon) will now face the Mountaineers (14-16, 7-3 SoCon) for a doubleheader starting at noon Sunday.
UNCG starter Cory Mattson (1-2) and App State starter Kayla Richardson (8-8) both had two-hitters heading into the seventh, but things quickly went downhill for the Spartans.
Mattson induced a popped up bunt from Brittany Gaston for the first out, but Stephanie Long and pinch-hitter Meagan Gaston drew consecutive walks to bring Andrea McIntyre to the plate. McIntyre blasted her second home run of the season out to left field to break up the shutout.
Sarah Rappe singled and Megan Rembielak walked to keep the rally going, and after Katie Boyd’s looping lineout to left, Michelle Lighton singled through the left side to bring in Rappe. Morgan Price followed with another three-run home run, her fourth of the year, to chase Mattson.
Hannah Angel came out of the bullpen and struck out Gaston looking to end the inning.
Richardson was cruising for the Mountaineers, as she took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, retiring 13 in a row at one point. She sat down the side in order in the seventh to lock up the win.
The Spartans left a pair of runners in scoring position in the second inning, as Mary Catherine Vercoe led off with a walk and was safe at second on Alex Emeterio’s sacrifice bunt attempt. A Whitney Sirois sacrifice moved up both runners, but Richardson got a popup in shallow right and a groundout to escape the jam.
Brittany Ausley broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth, dropping a bloop single into shallow center just off the glove of a diving Rappe. Kaitlin Merkt hit a single to left one out later to put runners at first and second with two down, but Richardson got a grounder from Vercoe to end the frame.
Richardson allowed just two hits and a walk in seven innings of work, striking out five.
Mattson allowed seven runs on six hits and five walks in 6.2 innings. She struck out seven.
The freshman had a solid outing early, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning. Rembielak had the Mountaineers’ first hit of the game, leading off the frame with a blooper that dropped in behind Mattson.
College of Charleston 4, Western Carolina 1; WEestern Carolina 8, College of Charleston 4
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Behind a ten-hit effort in Game 1, the College of Charleston (11-17, 4-4) earned a split against Western Carolina (8-18, 4-4) in the double-header portion of their Southern Conference series Saturday, March 28 at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. The Cougars claimed the first game by a score of 4-1 before falling 8-4 in the night cap.
Game 1
College of Charleston 4, Western Carolina 1
A complete game, five strikeout effort from junior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) and a pair of run scoring doubles from junior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) helped lead the College of Charleston to a 4-1 victory in Game 1 of its Southern Conference series with Western Carolina.
The Cougars got on the board in the third inning when sophomore outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) tripled with one out and scored on a single by redshirt junior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) to make it 1-0. After stealing second, Amber Shifflett would then score on her sister Kristie's double to centerfield for a 2-0 lead.
Charleston would add to the lead in the fifth inning with another pair of runs to make it 4-0. In that inning, CofC used another Kristie Shifflett double for their first run and got their second score of the frame on an RBI single from redshirt sophomore catcher Katie Pesature (Brewster, N.Y.).
The Catamounts scratched their lone run of the contest in the sixth inning on a pinch-hit single by freshman catcher Brittany Barrineau. That pulled Western Carolina to within 4-1 but it would be as close as they would get as Charleston closed out the three-run victory.
Senior third baseman Stephanie Beatty and junior catcher Danielle Reese led the way for the Catamounts with identical 2-for-3 outings while Barrineau had the only RBI as she went 1-for-1. In the circle, freshman Katie King pitched all six innings, allowing ten hits and four runs to take the loss and drop to 3-6 on the season.
For the Cougars, Kristie Shifflett finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs while Amber Shifflett went 1-for-3 with a run, RBI and two steals. Katie Pesature went 2-for-3 on the day with the only other RBI and senior outfielder Tiffany Harmon (Lynn Haven, Fla.) finished 1-for-2 with a stolen base. Terri Mesko earned the victory to move to 7-8 after scattering seven hits and striking out five.
GAME 1 NOTES
With her two steals, Amber Shifflett now has 32 for her career (32-36) and is one steal away from tying for sixth on the program's all-time list.
Game 2
Western Carolina 8, College of Charleston 4
In the second game, Western Carolina got on the board early scoring four runs over the first two innings to take a 4-0 lead and powered out to an 8-4 victory. Trailing by four runs, the Cougars battled back in the bottom of the second inning, scoring two runs on a single by freshman shortstop Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) and a sacrifice fly by sophomore outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) to pull to within 4-2.
A fifth run by Western Carolina in the top of the second made it 5-2 before junior catcher Amanda Maurer (Haubstadt, Ind.) tripled home two more runs in the bottom of the inning to narrow the margin to 5-4. That would be as close as the Cougars would get, however, as WCU added three more runs over the next two innings to reach the final margin of 8-4.
Freshman shortstop Chelsea Schaffer paced Western Carolina as she finished 4-for-4 with three runs, three RBIs and a home run to pace the Catamounts while senior third baseman Stephanie Beatty went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs. Junior catcher Danielle Reese finished 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI while senior first baseman Mollie Fowler added two RBIs. Senior pitcher Lauren Ross (5-6) earned the victory with a complete game, six hit performance.
Maurer's two-RBI triple led the way for the Charleston while Woodall and Forbes each added an RBI to round out the Cougars' scoring. In the pitching circle, senior pitcher Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calif.) suffered the loss after allowing five runs, four earned, over 2.1 innings. Sophomore pitcher Alexa Datko (San Diego, Calif.) threw 4.2 innings of relief, allowing six hits and three runs, two of which were earned.
The Cougars wrap up the three-game series with the rubber game tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
GAME 2 NOTES
Kristie Shifflett notched her first stolen base of the season and is now 7-for-7 for her career ... combined, Amber and Kristie Shifflett are 39-for-43 on the base paths for their careers.
Chattanooga 10, Elon 3
ELON, N.C. ? Under cloudy skies, the Elon Phoenix fell to Chattanooga 10-3 in Southern Conference softball action. Elon is now 8-13 on the season, including a 0-4 mark in conference play. Chattanooga improves to 15-14 overall and 6-1 in the Southern Conference.
Jacqueline Gonzalez recorded two hits, including a double, and scored twice to lead the Phoenix. Patti Weber and Ashlee Crewe had one RBI each.
Lyndsey Stiles singled up the middle to start the first inning. The single was followed by a Michelle Fuzzard walk. Tiffany Baker hit the ball straight to third base where Weber was able to step on the bag to get Stiles out at third before throwing to first baseman Crewe to end the inning and any threat of a Lady Moc run.
Chattanooga got on the board in the top of the second inning. Toni Hutchinson walked and later advanced to third on a double by Brittany Eason. The pair scored on a two-RBI single by Lauren Flores that gave Chattanooga a 2-0 lead. Back-to-back singles by Stiles and Kaiti Kelley plated the next two Chattanooga runs. Baker doubled to score Kelley and Stiles to give Chattanooga a 6-0 lead. Erin O’Shea, who came on in relief of starting pitcher Melanie Helterbran, got the final Lady Moc to fly out to end the inning.
Caitlin McGowan recorded Elon’s first hit of the game in the bottom of the second with a single to left center that moved Jaimie Rao, who reached on a walk, into scoring position. The pair moved up on a popup by Lauren Taylor, but would not advance further as the final Phoenix batter was retired.
Chattanooga loaded the bases in the top of the third after three of the first four batters walked. Kelley hit a fly out to center, where Brandi Jones made the play and then gunned down Eason at home to end the inning.
Elon got on the board in the bottom half of the third inning to make it a 6-1 game. Gonzalez singled up the middle to reach first. With two outs, Ashlee Crewe roped a double to left field that allowed Gonzalez to score from first. The final out was record one batter later, leaving Crewe stranded.
The Phoenix added two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 7-3 game. Jones got things started with a single through the right side. Gonzalez then belted a doubled to right field to advance Jones to third. Jones scored on a wild pitch that moved Gonzalez to third. She scored after Weber hit a sacrifice fly to left field. The final batter was retired to end the inning.
Fuzzard greeted the top of the sixth inning with a homerun to right center that gave Chattanooga an 8-3 lead. The team tacked on one more run to make it a 9-3 ballgame when Jessica Traxler doubled to left to score Della Harrison, who came in to pinch run for Baker. Flores fouled out to the third base side.
Chattanooga added a run in the top of the seventh, making it a 10-3 game. Stiles followed a single with a stolen base to get into scoring position. She then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Fuzzard drove Stiles home with a single to right field. Elon’s Jones made stellar back-to-back catches in centerfield to end the inning with one Lady Moc on base.
Melanie Helterbran fell to 3-6 with the loss. She allowed six runs on five hits in one and one-third innings of work. She also walked three. Also appearing in the circle for the Phoenix was Erin O’Shea. She allowed three earned runs on six hits in five and two-thirds innings. She also registered one strikeout and walked six batters. Earning the win for Chattanooga was Fuzzard who improved to 6-5 on the season. She allowed three runs on five hits in the complete game. She also struck out seven and walked three.
Due to heavy rains in the forecast this afternoon, the teams will play a double-header tomorrow afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. to conclude the series. Game two will begin at approximately 3 p.m.
Samford 3, Furman 2; Furman 7, Samford 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team split Saturday’s doubleheader with Furman as it won the first game, 3-2, before falling in the second game, 7-3. The Bulldogs and Paladins will round out the Southern Conference series on Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m.
The Bulldogs used three pitchers in the circle Saturday with Kayla Burris leading in strikeouts with seven. Kristy Lawrence led the Bulldogs in hitting with four RBI and going 4-for-6 at the plate. Her two-run homer in the third inning of the first game scored what turned out to be the winning runs for the Bulldogs in game one. She brought in all three runs for Samford in the first game.
In the first game, Samford retired three straight batters at the top of the first inning and then quickly got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when Lawrence doubled, with runners on second and third and one out, to bring in Katie England. Samford then took a 3-0 lead when Lawrence blasted a two-run home run in the third inning.
The Paladins finally got on the board in the fourth inning and added another run in the fifth inning but the Bulldogs held on to win the game.
Stephanie Royall (5-6) started in the circle for the Bulldogs and got her fifth win of the season, pitching four and one-third innings. After she had given up the second run, Burris came on in relief and threw the duration of the game. She struck out four batter and walked two while only giving up one hit.
Lana Mackey (5-9) took the loss for the Paladins after giving up three runs on six hits in three innings. She was relieved by Hannah Bradley in the fourth inning and Bradley would pitch the duration of the game, giving up two hits but striking out zero batters. Second baseman Morgan Hughey and third baseman Jessie Homesley each brought in one run for Furman.
In the second game, Furman jumped out early with a 2-0 lead. Samford pitcher Amanda Barrs walked the Paladins’ lead-off batter, Stephanie Field, who was put in scoring position on second base after a sacrifice bunt by Abby Robertson. Stpehanie Cushing then singled to put Field on third and then stole second. Hughey then doubled to bring the two runs in.
In the bottom of the inning, Samford answered back with three runs of its own. Amy Gonzalez led off with a single through the left side and then advanced to second on an illegal pitch by Bethany Ullrich. Kylie Harmon singled to advance Gonzalez to third and England loaded the bases with another single. Barrs stepped up and singled as well to bring Gonzalez home and then advanced to second on the throw. Harmon was thrown out trying to advance home and England and Barrs were on second and third, respectively.
Ullrich threw another illegal pitch which brought England home. Lawrence then stepped up and reached base on an error by Brythe Blankenship at first base which brought home Barrs.
Furman then had a huge inning the top of the second, tacking on five runs to make it a 7-3 ballgame. Kate Termini led off and was walked by Barrs before stealing second place and getting into scoring position. Katie Michaels then doubled to bring in Termini and thus began Furman’s five-run rally.
Field singled to advance Michaels to third before Robertson brought in the go-ahead run on a single to right field. Burris came in to pitch for Royall but Furman’s shortstop Stephanie Cushing stepped up with two runners on and blasted a three-run homer to centerfield to bring the score to 7-3. Both teams would keep the other scoreless for the rest of the game, combining for seven more hits and leaving eight runners on base.
Samford and Furman will wrap up the weekend Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. start in the final game.