USC Upstate 8, Appalachian State 2; Appalachian State 7, USC Upstate 2

 

BOONE, N.C. - Teri Fister (Summerfield, N.C./NW Guilford) threw her first complete game of the season and Michelle Lighton (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) had three RBIs to lead Appalachian State University softball to a 7-2 victory over USC Upstate (27-14) in game two. The Spartans won game one 8-2.

 

Fister retired the first 10 batters of the game before allowing a single in the fourth. She threw just 80 pitches en route to her second career complete game.

 

Lighton got the Mountaineers on the board in the first when she drove in Sarah Rappe with an RBI single.  

 

Boyd stretched the lead to 2-0 in the fourth when she led off with a solo home run off the scoreboard in left center. The home run is Boyd's SoCon leading 15th of the year and she increased her career home run total to 24, also a school record.

 

Appalachian (23-24) blew the game open with a five-run fifth inning.  Ashley Gaston (Alpharetta, Ga./Roswell) and Andrea McIntyre (Christiansburg, Va./Tallahassee C.C.) started off the inning with singles and Gaston scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. After Rappe and Boyd walked, Lighton came through with a two-run single through the left side to score Rappe and Megan Rembielak (Advance, N.C./Bishop McGuinness), who reached on a fielder choice. Morgan Price (Kannapolis, N.C./NW Cabarrus) finished off the scoring with a two-run single down the left field line.

 

McIntyre had two hits for ASU while Lighton had three RBIs. Amber Patterson had two hits for USC Upstate.

 

Morgan Childers allowed just one earned run and struck out nine batters as the Spartans won game one 8-2.

 

Crislyn Chewning gave the Spartans an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off the right field foul pole. The Mountaineers got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Boyd hit a home run to left field.

 

The Spartans got a run back in the fifth and scored five runs in the seventh to break the game open.

 

Lighton had two hits for the Mountaineers while Chewning and Heidi Gibbs had three hits apiece for Upstate.

 

ASU is back in action tomorrow night as they travel to No. 16 Tennessee to play a single game starting at 7 p.m. ASU is 1-1 against ranked teams this year, splitting a pair of games this year against Purdue.

 

 

Campbell 18, Elon 1; Campbell 7, Elon 3

 

ELON, N.C. - Brandi Jones became the Elon career home run leader, with 26 round-trippers, with a solo shot in game two as the Phoenix fell to Campbell 18-1 and 7-3 in non-conference softball action at East Field Tuesday evening. Elon is now 13-26 on the season, while Campbell improves to 33-11.

Erin O’Shea kept the Campbell hitters at bay over the first three innings, scattering just two hits and registering three strikeouts, including back-to-back strikeouts to end the Campbell third. She helped out the Phoenix offensively, recording the first hit of game two for Elon with an infield single in the bottom of the third. She did not advance as Pam DelPizzo hit into a 5-4-3 double play.

Campbell took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on a solo home run by Karlie Love. With one runner on, O’Shea struck out Lauren Stephan before Kaitlyn Piazzolla caught Katie Woodcock stealing second for the second out of the inning. A popup by Amanda Miller ended the inning.

Jones’ solo shot to left field tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth inning. A pair of errors by the Campbell infield allowed Patti Weber and Ashlee Crewe to reach base. Jaimie Rao tripled to right field to score both Weber and Crewe that allowed Elon to take a 3-1 lead.

Hilary Wheatley and Taylor McGee scored on a single by Lizzie Goldbach to tie the game at three in the top of the fifth. Robin Leathers then singled to centerfield to put runners on the corners. Campbell took a one run lead at 4-3 on a Love single. A two-run single by Stephan put the Camels up 6-3.

A pair of walks to DelPizzo and Hannah Shelton and a single by Jacqueline Gonzalez loaded the bases for Elon in the bottom of the sixth. The Phoenix would not be able to push a run across as the final out was recorded.

The Camels tacked on a run in the top of the seventh inning to take a 7-3 lead after Wheatley hit a bases loaded single through the right side gap that scored one.

O’Shea fell to 5-9 on the season with the game two loss. She allowed six runs on eight hits and struck out four in 4.2 innings in the circle. She also walked two. DelPizzo threw 2.1 innings, allowing just one run on four hits. She also walked one and struck out one. Picking up the win was Stephan who threw 2.0 innings, allowing three runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits. She also registered two strikeouts. Christina Melton earned the save, throwing three scoreless innings, scattering just three hits and striking out four. She also walked two.

Campbell jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the top of the second inning of game one. Miller put the first run on the board with a one-out home run to left field. A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for the Camels. After a brief rain delay, O’Shea issued consecutive walks to score Campbell’s second and third runs of the day, prompting Elon head coach Patti Raduenz to put DelPizzo in the circle in relief of O’Shea. DelPizzo hit the first batter she faced to score Keely Michael to make it a 4-0 game. Melton reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing the Phoenix defense to record its second out of the game when Leathers was tagged out at home. Brittany Stanley hit an RBI single to score Katie Hinton to give Campbell a 5-0 lead.

Campbell put up 11 runs on 10 hits in a marathon third inning that gave the Camels a 16-0 lead. A line drive to O’Shea, who came back in to pitch, allowed the Phoenix defense to turn two, as Cassie Webb was doubled off at first to end the inning. The Camels made it an 18-0 game in the top of the fifth inning as Hinton and Ashley Jones each crossed the plate on singles from Miller and Melissa Elks.

Rao gave the Phoenix its first run of the game with a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. O’Shea followed with a one-out double to left center. She would be left stranded as the final two outs were retired to end the game.

O’Shea picked up the loss to fall to 5-8 on the season. She allowed seven runs on six hits in four innings of work and walked 11. She also tied her career strikeout record of five for the fourth time in five games. DelPizzo finished with 11 runs, 10 of which were earned, on 10 hits in one inning in the circle. She also walked one.

Elon returns to conference play with a road series in Birmingham, Ala., to face Samford. The series marks just the third time that teams have faced one another. The first game of Saturday’s double header is scheduled for 1 p.m. with the second to follow at approximately 3 p.m. The series will conclude Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.