Appalachian State 3, Furman 0
BOONE, N.C.- Michelle Lighton (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) scored the winning run in the second inning and hit a home run in the sixth, while Kayla Richardson (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) threw a one-hitter to give Appalachian State University softball a 3-0 win over Furman.
With the win, ASU improves to 22-23 overall and 14-9 in the SoCon while the Paladins fall to 15-25 overall and 7-10 in the SoCon.
Richardson threw her 19th complete game of the season and with the win, broke the ASU single-season record with her 12th win of the season and broke the career wins record with her 32nd career win.
The Mountaineers got on the scoreboard in the second when Lindsay Whitlock dropped down a sacrifice bunt and Lighton scored on an error by the shortstop.
Appalachian added a run in the fifth when Megan Rembielak (Advance, N.C./Bishop McGuinness) drove in Ashley Gaston (Alpharetta, Ga./Roswell) with a sacrifice fly. Lighton capped off the scoring in the sixth with her fifth homer of the year.
The 14 wins are the most conference wins for Appalachian in school history. The Mountaineers finish off their final home stand of the season when they host USC Upstate on Tuesday April 21 in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.
College of Charleston 10, Elon 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Junior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) threw a complete game, four-hit shutout and redshirt junior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) belted a three-run home run as the College of Charleston (17-22, 9-8) swept Elon (13-24, 4-11) with a 10-0 victory in the final game of their Southern Conference series on Sunday, April 19.
Following a scoreless first inning, Charleston got on the board first with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second. With runners on first and second, senior outfielder Tiffany Harmon (Lynn Haven, Fla.) laced a two-RBI double to left to give the Cougars a 2-0 advantage.
The score would stay that way until the bottom of the fourth when CofC exploded for five runs, highlighted by a three-run home run from Amber Shifflett. That blast was preceded by run scoring singles by sophomore outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) and freshman shortstop Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.).
The Cougars final runs of the game would come in the bottom of the sixth inning in the form of a three-run, walk off home run by senior designated hitter Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calif.). That blast, a line shot over the left centerfield fence, was her seventh of the season and gave Charleston a 10-0 victory.
Elon managed only four hits on the day, three of them singles by senior outfielder Brandi Jones, senior third baseman Patti Weber and sophomore outfielder Hannah Shelton. Freshman pitcher Erin O’Shea notched the only extra base hit for the Phoenix with a double. In the pitching circle, senior pitcher Melanie Helterbran started and went 3.2 innings, surrendering six hits, six runs and two walks while striking out three. She took the loss and dropped to 4-9 on the season.
For the Cougars, Amber Shifflett went 2-for-3 with two runs, a three-run home run and a pair of steals to extend her consecutive streak to 36 dating back to 2006. Howard added three RBI on her home run while Harmon finished with a double, two RBI and her 12th stolen base of the season.
Forbes finished the day 2-for-3 with a run and RBI and Woodall went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI. Junior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) notched three walks on the day, tying for the third most in a single game by a Cougar.
Terri Mesko was masterful for the second straight game, pitching a six-inning complete game four-hitter to even her record at 9-9 on the season. She struck out seven batters to move her total for the week to 17 in 16 innings. In two outings, Mesko threw two shutouts and allowed only five hits in 16 innings, including a one-hit, 10-inning shutout in the second game of the series.
The College of Charleston will be in action next week when they travel to Charleston Southern for their final non-conference double header of the season. First pitch against the Buccaneers is set for 2:00 p.m. at Buccaneer Field in Ladson, S.C.
Samford 6, Western Carolina 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team won its second conference series of the year Sunday as it outlasted Western Carolina in the third game of the series, 6-5. The Bulldogs’ seventh-inning run lifted Samford over the Catamounts and handed the Bulldogs’ their eight conference win of the season.
After the score had been tied at three for five innings, Samford (15-24, 8-13 SoCon) finally broke away with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. However, Western Carolina tied the score again in the top of the seventh before the Bulldogs struck the final blow. Amanda Barrs singled up the middle for her only hit of the day to bring Kristy Lawrence in the score the winning run.
Katie England was 2-for-2 to lead the Bulldogs Sunday, scoring one run and batting in one run as well. Robyn Harmon went 2-for-3 with two runs while Kylie Harmon, Aaren Fisher, Amy Gonzalez and Lawrence all had one hit each. Kylie Harmon, Fisher and Lawrence each had a run on the day while Fisher had an RBI and Barrs and Gonzalez had two.
Kayla Burris (3-3) earned the win for the Bulldogs as she relieved Stephanie Royal in the top of the seventh inning. Royall pitched one and one-third innings in relief of Barrs, walking two batters and giving up two earned runs on two hits. Barrs pitched five full inning before being taken out, striking out two batters, walking three and giving up three earned runs on five hits.
Katie King (5-13) took the loss for the Catamounts after pitching a complete game. The freshman pitcher had three strikeouts on the day while giving up six runs, three earned, on nine hits.
Western Carolina (11-27, 7-11 SoCon) took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Catamounts plated their first run when Mollie Fowler reached on a fielder’s choice bunt and Chelsea Schaffer scored ahead of the tag at home plate. With runners on first and third, Stephanie Beatty reached on a fielder’s choice that got Fowler out, but advanced to second on an error by Samford shortstop Kylie Harmon while Kristen Gay scored. Beth Hauser then singled to center field and advanced on the throw while Beatty came home. The Bulldogs cleared the bases, though, when Hauser got caught stealing at second base for the third out.
Samford answered back in the bottom of the inning and tied the score. Kylie Harmon led off with a walk before stealing second on Aaren Fisher’s first pitch and then advancing to third on a wild pitch. Fisher then reached base on an error by Western Carolina shortstop Schaffer and advanced to second on the throw while Harmon scored to make it a 3-1 ballgame.
Lawrence struck out then Barrs hit a sacrifice fly to home Fisher. The Bulldogs were closing the gap. Robyn Harmon then singled and advanced to second on another error by Schaffer before England stepped up and singled to left center to bring in the tying run.
After four scoreless innings on both sides, Samford held the Catamounts in the top of the sixth inning. The Bulldogs then took a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Robyn Harmon led off with a single before England earned her base after getting hit by a pitch. Jordan then laid down sacrifice bunt to move the runners over before Gonzalez doubled to right field to bring Harmon and England home.
Western Carolina answered back and tie the score again in the top of the seventh after Royall loaded the bases and Fowler singled to bring home Schaffer to get within one. After a Samford pitching change, Beatty flied out with one out to bring in Gay before Hauser popped up to Kylie Harmon to end the inning.
Kylie Harmon led off the bottom of the inning with a single to center field before getting caught stealing on Fisher’s fielder’s choice. Fisher was then out on Lawrence’s fielder’s choice but Lawrence was able to advance to second base on an error by Schaffer. Barrs then stepped up to the play and singled up the middle to bring in Lawrence to score the winning run.
Samford will be back in action at home next weekend, April 25-26, as the Bulldogs host Elon in their final home series of the season. The series closes out an eight-game homestand and Samford will honor its seniors ? Kylie Harmon, Kristy Lawrence and Jessica Owens ? before Sunday’s game. The series will feature a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. First pitch on both days is slated for 1 p.m.
Georgia Southern 8, UNC Greensboro 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern softball (22-19, 11-7) took the rubber game of the series from UNC Greensboro (19-24, 7-8), with an 8-2 win Sunday at Eagle Field.
“Sunday is championship day for us. We tell them to go out there and find a way to finish the series with a win,” said head coach Maggie Johnson. “We have been able to do that a lot this year.”
Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) earned her 13th win of the season after allowing only one run. The sophomore pitcher struck out four and walked none in four innings of work.
Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) continues to hit well after being moved to the top of the lineup. She is five for 11 with six RBIs since the move and reached base in all four plate appearances Sunday. The sophomore outfielder started the game with three straight singles before reaching on an error in the fifth inning.
“She has found a groove and is crushing the ball right now,” said Johnson.
The Eagles were unable to score a run in the first inning after Fogle reached third with less than one out but rebounded to score four runs in the second inning. Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) hit a no doubter over the left field fence with one out for her second home run of the season. “Megen is so competitive out there and plays hard,” said Johnson. “She hits the ball hard and runs the bases well.” Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) walked and scored the second run of the inning on Jenny Side's (Loganville, Ga.) double to center. Fogle plated Side with her second hit in as many innings. The freshman outfield scored the fourth run of the inning on Nina Iduate's (Norcross, Ga.) base hit.
Streetmon faced the minimum the first time through the order but ran into some trouble in the fourth inning, allowing a run on a pair of hits. Brittany Ausley led off with a single past a diving Iduate into left field and scored on Alex Emeterio's double into the left field gap.
Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) drove in three more runs in the fourth inning with her seventh home run of the year. Russo got just enough of a two-out pitch to drop it in on the other side of the left field fence. Fogle and Iduate started the inning off with back-to-back singles, but two fielder's choices before the homer kept the Eagles from reaching third and put Cory Mattson in position to get out of the inning without any damage.
“Sam is a very good two-strike hitter and usually finds a way to come through for us,” said Johnson.
UNCG added another run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Ausley. Whitney Miller led off the inning with a base hit and moved to second on a passed ball before Kayla Hensley walked to load the bases. Ausley drove a ball to deep left field to score the run, but Gabel was thrown out at second base to end the inning.
Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) got the run back in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly to the wall in left and just missed hitting a grand slam by a few feet after Iduate walked to load the bases.
Smith earned her third save of the season after pitching the final three innings. The sophomore pitcher allowed only one run on two hits.
Softball hits the road next weekend to take on Southern Conference leader Chattanooga in a critical three game series.