Chattanooga ? Kentucky doubleheader canceled
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- With the threat of rain and possible severe weather in the Lexington, Ky., area, the softball doubleheader between Chattanooga and Kentucky has been canceled.
This marks the end of the non-conference schedule for the Lady Mocs (23-19/12-2 SoCon) as the two contests will not be made up.
UTC will now turn its eyes back to conference play as the team will close out the home portion of the Lady Mocs’ schedule next weekend.
The Lady Mocs will welcome in rival Georgia Southern with first place in the Southern Conference likely on the line.
The two teams will begin the three game set with a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 25. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. from Jim Frost Stadium.
Western Carolina 6, Samford 3; Samford 8, Western Carolina 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team split Saturday’s doubleheader with Western Carolina, falling in the first game, 6-3, but rebounding with an 8-4 win in the second game. The Bulldogs will try to win the series Sunday as they meet up with the Catamounts for the series rubber game at 1 p.m.
Every run for Western Carolina (11-26, 7-10 SoCon) in the first game was scored on a home run. The Catamounts put together four solo home runs to score the first four runs while WCU second baseman Amber Hawkins rattled off a two-run homer in the seventh inning to bring in the winning runs.
Samford (13-24, 6-13) put up four runs in the bottom of the first inning in game two to take an early 4-0 lead, but Western Carolina answered back with four of their own in the top of the third to tie the score. However, the Bulldogs added a run in each of the next four innings while shutting out the Catamounts in those respective innings to win the second game, 8-4.
“We are still just looking for that consistency,” Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham said. “Stephanie (Royall) threw great on Wednesday and then came out and didn’t throw great today. (Amanda) Barrs didn’t throw great on Wednesday but came out and did a great job today. We are just really struggling right now to find a consistent combination from a pitching standpoint. When we do pitch well, I think we have a great chance to win.
“Overall, I think we played great today,” Ketcham said. “The pitches that they hit out of the ballpark, we didn’t just leave them fat at the plate. Their hitters just did a great job and we were aggressive, but that is just what happens sometimes when teams get hot.”
In the first game, freshman Amy Gonzalez was 2-for-2 and senior Kristy Lawrence was 2-for-4 while both had one RBI each. Robyn Harmon, Katie England and Amanda Jordan each had a hit while Jordan brought in Samford’s third run.
Mollie Fowler led the Catamounts going 2-for-3 at the plate with two home runs and two RBI. Chelsea Schaffer and Amber Hawkins both went 2-for-4. Both of Schaffer’s hits were home runs while Hawkins’ second hit was a two-run homer in the seventh that scored the winning runs.
Stephanie Royall (8-8) started in the circle for the Bulldogs, pitching four innings and giving up two earned runs on six hits while striking out four batters. She was relieved by Robyn Harmon (0-1) who pitched the remaining three innings and took the loss, giving up four earned runs on four hits while striking out two batters.
Katie King (5-11) earned the win for WCU as she struck out four batters and gave up just three runs, two earned, on seven hits.
Samford took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Jordan singled to left field to bring home England. However, the Catamounts answered back in the top of the third with two runs of their own. Schaffer led off with a home run before the Bulldogs retired the next two batters. Fowler then blasted her first homer of the day to put Western Carolina up, 2-1, before Samford got out of the inning when Stephanie Beatty flied out to center field.
The Bulldogs tied the score in the bottom of the third when Lawrence got a base hit to bring Kylie Harmon home. Harmon reached base on an error by the shortstop and advanced to second on the throw. She advanced to third when Lawrence got the hit and scored ahead of the tag at home.
Samford took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when England scored with two outs on a single by Gonzalez to the pitcher. However, the Catamounts tied the score in the sixth when Fowler led off the inning with her second homer of the day. WCU then scored three more in the seventh when Schaffer led off with her second home run and Hawkins blasted a two-run homer to score the winning runs.
The Bulldogs saw King again in the second game and seemed to settle into her pitching and make some adjustments to get hits off of her.
“Obviously, when you see a pitcher for that long, it gives you an opportunity to make adjustments,” Ketcham said. “You’ve seen all of her pitches and you know what to expect. In the second game, that was a huge advantage for us.”
Gonzalez and Robyn Harmon led the Bulldogs in the second game with a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate while Gonzalez scored one run and Harmon scored two with three RBI. Aaren Fisher, Amanda Barrs, England and Jordan also each had two hits while England added two RBI and Fisher and Lawrence each had one.
Western Carolina’s third baseman Beatty was 2-for-2 with one RBI while Beth Hauser was 1-for-3 with two RBI and Schaffer and Fowler went 1-for-4. Fowler also had one of the Catamounts’ four RBI.
Barrs (3-12) pitched a complete seven-inning game to earn the win for the Bulldogs, posting a 5.21 ERA. She struck out one batter and gave up four unearned runs on seven hits. She walked two batters. King took the loss for the Catamounts as she pitched 5.2 innings while giving up seven runs, five earned, on 11 hits. Chere Monday relieved King for just one-third of an inning before giving up one run on two hits and walking two batters. King then re-entered and pitched the remainder of the game.
In the first inning of the second game, England fielded a ground ball by Schaffer to put the first out on the board before the Bulldogs found two Catamounts on the bases after a single and a hit-by-pitch. Samford then turned a double play to get the last two outs, when Fowler grounded out to third base and Kristen Gay was out at third on the play.
Kylie Harmon led Samford off in the bottom of the inning with a single to right field and stole second base before Fisher came to the plate and singled to second base to bring Harmon in for the first run. Fisher was then put in scoring position on second base when Lawrence grounded out and Barrs singled to left field to advance Fisher to third.
Robyn Harmon then came to the plate and sparked a scoring frenzy on an interesting play. Harmon singled to left field and advanced to second on an error by the WCU left fielder. Meanwhile, Fisher, Barrs and Lawrence move all the way around to home to score the first three runs for the Bulldogs. Harmon’s fast action brought her home as the Catamounts looked to be confused on where to throw the ball, and Harmon beat the tag at the plate to put the Bulldogs up, 4-0.
In the third inning, Schaffer reached base on an error by Jordan with one out on the board. Gay singled to the shortstop and put Schaffer in scoring position on second base. After Hawkins flied out to center field, Fowler singled to third base and brought in Schaffer for Western Carolina’s first run of the game. Beatty then singled to center field to bring in Gay before Hauser singled to bring in the tying runs. Samford was able to get out of the inning, though, when Burnside popped up to Jordan for the third out.
Robyn Harmon doubled in the third inning and scored when England singled to second to put Samford up, 5-4. In the fourth inning, Lawrence flied out to right field to bring Gonzalez home in the fourth before Monday threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded to bring in England. The Bulldogs were up, 7-4.
In the sixth inning, Lawrence and Barrs were on base. Reeves laid down a sacrifice bunt to move them to into scoring position before England brought in the winning run (Lawrence) on a single to the shortstop.
First pitch for the final game of the series on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m.
College of Charleston 1, Elon 0; College of Charleston 7, Elon 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Junior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) threw a 10-inning, complete game, one-hit shutout and junior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) belted her ninth homerun of the season as as the College of Charleston (16-22, 8-8) took the first two games from Elon (13-23, 4-10) in their Southern Conference series on Saturday, April 18. The Cougars won the first game by a score of 1-0 in 10 innings while claiming the nightcap by a 7-1 margin.
GAME 1
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 1, ELON 0 (10)
Junior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) threw a 10-inning, complete game, one-hit shutout as the College of Charleston claimed a 1-0 victory in the series opener against the Phoenix.
Sophomore first baseman Katie Nutaitis (Vienna, Va.) notched the first hit of the game in the fourth inning and collected the final hit of the game as she looped a ball over shortstop to short left field for the game winning hit in the bottom of the tenth inning.
In that frame, following the placement of a runner on second base as per the international tiebreaker, the Cougars put runners on first and third when junior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) dropped down a bunt single. After a foul out gave Elon one out, Nutaitis followed through with her game-winning single.
A pitcher's duel from the very beginning, both teams were held hitless into the fourth inning before Nutaitis singled in that inning for CofC's first hit. Sophomore first baseman Ashlee Crewe laced a two-out double to the right centerfield gap in the fifth inning for the only Phoenix hit of the day.
After setting down Elon in order in the eighth and ninth innings, Charleston worked out of a major jam to start the tenth inning. With a runner on second base as a result of the international tiebreaker, the Cougars committed an error on the first play of the inning to put runners on first and third with no outs. Mesko then bore down and got the next two outs on infield pop outs before inducing an inning-ending fly out to left to maintain the tie.
Crewe produced the only hit for Elon, going 1-for-4, while freshman pitcher Erin O'Shea threw 192 pitches and 9.1 innings. She allowed six hits, six walks and struck out five batters to take the loss and fall to 5-7 on the season.
For Charleston, Mesko posted a record-tying performance with 10 shutout innings, 10 strikeouts and only one hit allowed in her eighth win of the season. The 10 innings tied for the fourth most innings pitched, accomplished four times previous, three by Mesko. She was one inning away from tying for her own program record of 11 innings. The 10 strikeouts set her season-high and ranks just outside the top-10 in the Cougars record book for a single game.
At the plate, Nutaitis went 2-for-5 with the lone RBI while senior outfielder Tiffany Harmon (Lynn Haven, Fla.), Kristie Shifflett, freshman outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and junior catcher Amanda Maurer (Haubstadt, Ind.) each added a single. Redshirt junior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored the only run of the game.
GAME 2
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 7, ELON 1
In the nightcap, Kristie Shifflett went 3-for-4 with three RBI, a double and her ninth home run of the season while her sister Amber Shifflett was 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs and a stolen base as Charleston claimed a 7-1 victory.
Charleston got on the board first, going up 1-0 in the second inning, and extended that lead to 3-0 in the fifth on Shifflett's blast down the left field line. After allowing a single run in the top of the sixth, the Cougars exploded for four runs in the bottom of the inning to reach the final margin.
Ashlee Crewe went 3-for-3 to lead Elon while sophomore pitcher Pam DelPizzo started and went five innings, allowing eight hits, six runs and five walks, to take the loss and drop to 3-4 on the season. Senior pitcher Melanie Helterbran had the only RBI for the Phoenix as she went 1-for-1 in a pinch hit appearance.
The Shifflett's led the offensive attack for the Cougars while senior pitcher Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calif.) pitched her third consecutive complete game, scattering seven hits and allowing only one run, to move to 5-10 on the season. Offensively, freshman shortstop Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) added the only other RBI for CofC and senior outfielder Tiffany Harmon (Lynn Haven, Fla.) swiped two bases to move to 11-for-13 on the base paths.
The College of Charleston will close out the series tomorrow afternoon with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Patriots Point Stadium.
UNC Greensboro 1, Georgia Southern 0; Georgia Southern 5, UNC Greensboro 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern softball team (21-19, 10-7) split Saturday's doubleheader with UNC Greensboro (19-23, 7-7) on the back of Marie Fogle's (Rincon, Ga.) five RBIs in game two.
Game One
Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) erased Hanna Angel's no-hitter with a slap single in the fourth, but the Eagles were unable to get a run across and lost 1-0 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.
Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) pitched a solid game, allowing only one unearned run on five hits but picked up the complete game loss, her sixth loss of the season.
“Bri kept us in a position to win the game, but we were unable to get her a run,” said head coach Maggie Johnson.
The Spartans loaded the bases with one out in the third inning on a Lyndsay Mouse single that landed just out of reach of a ranging Iduate in left field. Whitney Miller drove in a run on a fielder's choice, but Streetmon got out of the inning without any further damage, recording a pop up to second.
Brittany Ausley led off the game with a single over the head of the second baseman. Jordan Jewett laid down a perfect bunt base hit beating out the throw from Side to put runners on first and second. After a visit to the mound, Streetmon gathered her composure and stranded the runners. The sophomore pitcher struck out back-to-back hitters in Alex Emeterio and Mary Catherine Vercoe before Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) speared a line drive robbing Lyndsay Mouse of a RBI base hit.
Siliga walked in the bottom half of the inning putting just four free passes away from tying a school single season record, a record that she set last season when she walked 38 times.
Game Two
Fogle drove in all five runs and helped the Eagles rebound to win game two 5-2.
Kristan Glover (Evans, Ga.) followed Streetmon's lead and pitched a solid game two. Glover went the distance allowing two runs on only three hits and retired the side in order in five of the seven innings she pitched.
“With they way we hit we just need our pitching to keep us in a position to win,” said Johnson. “Kristan was outstanding and kept us in the game.”
Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) drilled a bases-clearing triple over the head of Jewett in the fourth inning, plating three runs to give the Eagles their first lead of the series. Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) reached on a four-pitch walk but was thrown out at second on Amanda Glover's (Evans, Ga.) fielder's choice. Hanna Ennis (Oceanside, Calif.) singled with two outs to put a runner in scoring position. Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga.) walked on four pitches, loading the bases for Fogle.
“We moved her (Fogle) up in the lineup because of the way she had been hitting,” said Johnson. “After the first game, we told her to keep it simple because when she hits the ball she hits it hard.”
Ennis and Williams got on base again to start the bottom half of the sixth, and Fogle drove them in again with a double to left.
The Spartans used back-to-back one-out walks in the first inning to put a runner in scoring position before a fly out by Vercoe allowed Jordan Jewett to move to third, putting runners on the corners. Mouse plated Jewett with a RBI base hit, giving UNCG the early lead.
Kristan Glover responded after the run was scored and retired the side in order in the next three innings, before GSU took the lead in the fourth inning.
The Eagles got a two-out double from Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) and a single from Smith to put runners on the corners in the fifth inning, but Cory Mattson got a fly out from Amanda Glover to end the inning.
Softball will play the rubber game of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Appalachian State 4, Furman 3; Appalachian State 6, Furman 1
BOONE, N.C.- Katie Boyd (Walkertown, N.C./North Forsyth) walked four times and scored the game-winning run on a double by Brittany Gaston (Alpharetta, Ga./Roswell) to give Appalachian State University softball a dramatic come from behind 4-3 win over Furman in game one Saturday afternoon. The Mountaineers finished off the sweep with a 6-1 win in game two.
Furman (15-24, 7-9) struck first, scoring in the second inning on an RBI single by Meredith Mielke. ASU (21-23) took the lead in the bottom of the third when Michelle Lighton (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) drove in Sarah Rappe (Charlotte, N.C./Butler) and Megan Rembielak (Advanced, N.C./Bishop McGuinness) with a double to left center field.
The Paladins retook the lead on a two-run homer by Kate Termini in the bottom of the sixth. Termini came into the game batting .143, went 3-for-4 on the day with two home runs and three RBIs.
The Mountaineers come-back win is there third of the season after having one all of last season.
Rembielak had two hits for the Mountaineers while Ashley Gaston (Alpharetta, Ga./Roswell) and Brittany Gaston both made diving catches in the outfield to save extra-base hits.
Kayla Richardson (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) earned the complete game win for the Mountaineers, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out eight. The win ties the school record for wins in a season, 11, and wins in a career with 31.
Appalachian did not need the late inning heroics in game two, pouncing on Furman in the first inning for two runs, on an Lighton RBI groundout and an RBI single by Ashley Stubbs (Balm, Fla./Newsome).
Furman got on the board in the second on a Termini home run, but ASU came right back with a run in the third and three in the fourth. Lighton drove in Boyd with a single in the third to make it 3-1 and Lindsay Whitlock (Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville), Ashley Gaston, Andrea McIntyre (Christiansburg, Va./Tallahassee C.C.) and Rembielak all singled, while Lighton drove in her third run of the game with an RBI walk.
Stubbs went six innings in the circle, allowing just four hits and one earned run. Teri Fister (Summerfield, N.C./NW Guilford) finished up the game, striking out the final batter of the game to preserve the win.
The final game of the series has been moved up to a noon start time.
All nine ASU starters reached base in the win, while Stephanie Field had two hits for the Paladins. With seven walks on the day, Boyd now has 54 for the season and is just five shy of tying the SoCon single-season record for walks in a season.