Elon 4, Furman 2; Elon 7, Furman 3
Greenville, S.C. -- Elon’s Jacqueline Gonzalez tallied five hits and Furman pitchers issued 16 walks over two games as the Phoenix swept the Paladins 4-2, 7-3 in a Southern Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
The Phoenix improved to 11-16 overall and 3-5 in the SoCon while Furman slipped to 12-20 overall and 4-7 in league play.
In game one, Melanie Helterbran (4-7) tossed 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory while adding a sacrifice fly in Elon’s two-run fifth as the Phoenix downed the Paladins 4-2.
Furman grabbed an early 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second. Brythe Blankenship and Lana Mackey started the frame with back-to-back doubles and scored on singles from Meredith Mielke and Katie Michaels. Elon knotted the game at 2-2 on Ashley Crewe’s two-out, RBI single to left field in the top of the third.
Patti Weber drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and moved to third as Jaimie Rao singled and Kaitlyn Piazzolla drew a base on balls to load the bases. Weber scored the go-ahead run when Lauren Taylor was hit by a Hannah Bradley pitch. Helterbran added a sacrifice fly to plate Rao for the final 4-2 margin.
Bradley (0-3) allowed three runs on three hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings to suffer the loss. She relieved Lana Mackey who allowed one run on one hit in 4 1/3 innings but issued eight walks. Gonzalez recorded a pair of hits for Elon and Mackey and Michaels each notched two hits for Furman.
In game two, Piazzolla keyed a four-run third inning with a three-run double to help Elon to a 7-3 triumph.
Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs while Rao added two hits and Brandi Jones went 1-for-2 with two runs. Pam DelPizzo (3-3) worked 4 2/3 innings allowing three runs on five hits to earn the win. Erin O’Shea limited Furman to one hit in 2 1/3 innings to earn the save.
Stephanie Mihaly surrendered seven runs on seven hits and four walks in a complete game effort to fall to 5-3 in the circle. Stephanie Cushing hammered her seventh homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth, and Mackey added a pair of hits.
Furman and Elon conclude their three-game series with a single game on Sunday at Pepsi Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
Georgia Southern 1, Samford 0; Samford 6, Georgia Southern 4
STATESBORO, Ga. ---- The Samford softball team split a doubleheader with Georgia Southern Saturday in the first day of play on the road this weekend. The Bulldogs (11-19, 5-9 SoCon) dropped the first game, 1-0, but roared back to win the second game, 6-4.
“We pitched and played well both games,” Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham said. “We had chanced to score in the first game but just didn’t get the big hit. We also had several big plays on defense and the pitchers threw well. Kayla (Burris) did a good job of closing against the heart of their order in the second game. It was a great effort all the way around today.”
In game one, Samford held the Eagles scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning. Georgia Southern’s third basemen Robyne Siliga doubled to right field to get in scoring position before the designated player, Megen Smith singled and advanced on the throw to bring in Siliga for the winning run.
Amanda Barrs led the Bulldogs by going 2-for-2 and pitching a complete game of six innings. She gave up four hits and one earned run with one strikeout and two walks.
Brianna Streetmon pitched a complete game for the Eagles, giving up four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
In the second game, Samford jumped out to a 1-0 lead right off the bat. Kristy Lawrence led off with a single before Kylie Harmon reached on an error and to advance Lawrence to second. Katie England then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. With two outs, Aaren Fisher stepped up to the plate and singled to right field to bring in Lawrence. At the bottom of the inning, Georgia Southern evened the score when Marie Fogle scored for the Eagles.
After a no-scoring second inning, Samford made it a 2-1 ballgame when Lawrence scored on a wild pitch after getting on base via a walk and advancing two bases on a bunt and a wild pitch. However, Georgia Southern answered back and tied the game when Caitlin Hart, who was pinching running for Jenny Side, scored on an error by England after Nina Induate singled.
Samford then grabbed four runs in the top of the fourth after Harmon sparked a rally with a single with runners on first and second to bring in Fisher. Whitney Terry then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners before Amanda Jordan brought in Amy Gonzalez on a fielder’s choice and an error by the GSU catcher. Lawrence then doubled to centerfield to bring in Jordan which gave the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead.
After being held scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, Georgia Southern added one run in the fifth and the sixth innings, to close the gap to two, but Samford maintained their lead with a scoreless seventh inning and the Bulldogs would go on to win.
Lawrence led the Bulldogs in offense, going a perfect 3-for-3 appearance at the plate. She scored two runs and batted in one. Gonzalez and Harmon both were 2-for-3 in game two, each scoring a run while Harmon had one RBI. Jordan and Fisher each had one RBI while Terry and Lawrence led in putouts with eight and six, respectively.
The Bulldogs and Eagles will wrap up the series on Sunday with a single game at 11 a.m. CT at Eagle Field.
Appalachian State 8, College of Charleston 7; College of Charleston 7, Appalachian State 2
BOONE, N.C. - Katie Boyd tied game one in the bottom of the seventh with a three-run homer and Morgan Price drove in Megan Rembielak with the running run to give Appalachian State University softball an 8-7 nine inning win in game one. Charleston won game two 7-2.
Charleston (12-19, 4-6) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, scoring runs in each of the first three innings. Appalachian (17-19, 9-5) got on the board with three runs in the third, all with two outs.
Sarah Rappe started the rally with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. Rembielak drove in Rappe with a single and Boyd followed with a double off the center field fence to score Rembielak. Michelle Lighton followed with a single through the left side to score Boyd and bring ASU to within one.
The Cougars responded with three runs in the fourth to stretch their advantage to 7-3. The Mountaineers' got back a run in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by Andrea McIntyre.
Down three entering the bottom of the seventh, McIntyre drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a single by Rembielak before Boyd tied the game with her 11th homer of the year.
Price ended the game for ASU, hitting a line drive to center field to score Rembielak with the winning run.
Rembielak had three hits and scored three runs while Rappe, Boyd and McIntyre had two hits apiece. Tiffany Harmon had four hits for Charleston
It is the second time ASU has won this season while trailing heading into the seventh.
Kayla Richardson earned the win for ASU, her ninth of the season. Richardson allowed a season-high 14 hits, but stranded 12 runners on the day, while striking out seven.
Charleston took the early lead again in game two, scoring three times in the third and won game two 7-2. The Cougars put up two runs each in the fifth and seventh innings to put the game out of reach.
Boyd launched a two-run shot in the sixth for ASU, her 12th of the season and her 21st of her career to tie the all-time record at ASU.
Alexa Datko came back strong for CofC after suffering the loss in game one, allowing just five hits while striking out four. Amber Shifflett had three hits to lead the CofC offense.
Game three of the series is tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
Chattanooga 11, Western Carolina 3; Chattanooga 11, Western Carolina 8
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Chattanooga swept Western Carolina softball 11-3, 11-8 (in 10 innings) Saturday, at the Catamount Softball Complex. The Catamounts fall to 9-22 and 5-6 in the Southern Conference while Chattanooga improves to 19-16 and 9-2 in the SoCon.
The second game of the doubleheader was the third extra inning game for the Catamounts in their last five contests. Western Carolina is now 3-2 in extra inning games this season.
Chattanooga scored 11 runs in both contests, and after the Catamounts could only muster three runs in the first game, WCU strung together eight runs on 11 hits to force extra innings in the second.
The second game was tied four times before Chattanooga took the lead for good in the top of the 10th inning. The Mocs got on the board first with a lead off homerun by Tiffany Baker in the second inning.
Just as they did for most of the game, the Catamounts responded with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Danielle Reese drew a one-out walk and stole second, setting up an RBI single by sophomore Amber Hawkins.
Freshman lefty hurler Katie King tossed two scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth innings. However, Chattanooga struck again in the top of the sixth posting two runs off a two RBI single by Michelle Fuzzard. Western Carolina answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, which began when Stephanie Beatty was hit by a pitch and Mollie Fowler doubled to left field. Senior Lauren Ross pushed both Beatty and Fowler across the plate to tie the game at six with a two RBI single up the middle.
It appeared Chattanooga had locked in the victory when the Mocs lit up the scoreboard for three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but again Western Carolina responded. Beth Hauser drew a lead off walk and with one out, freshman Chelsea Schaffer singled to center field. Hawkins RBI single, her second of the game, plated Hauser for the first run. A two RBI single by Fowler sent Schaffer and Hawkins home to tie the game for a third time at six.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Chattanooga again took the lead with two runs in the top of the ninth inning. Western Carolina tied the game for the fourth time with one swing of the bat, as Schaffer led off with a single and Hawkins scorched a pitch over the left field wall to knot the contest at eight. It was Hawkins’ fourth homerun of the season, which ties her with Fowler for the lead on the team.
In the 10th inning, Southern Conference runs mandate the International tie-breaker rule is enforced, which places the last batter who made an out in the previous inning be placed on second. King had gone the distance for Western Carolina and got into a jam in the 10th inning. She gave up three runs, two earned, on two hits to give Chattanooga the lead for good.
King tossed 9.1 innings, before being replaced by sophomore Chere Monday. In 0.2 innings of work, Monday did not allow a run or a hit and struck out one to close out the inning.
Western Carolina couldn’t find the magic to tie the game again, as after Ross was placed on second in the bottom of the 10th, Brittany Barrineua flew out and Keri Burnside and Beth Hauser struck out to end the inning.
Hawkins was near perfection in the second game for the Catamounts. She went 4-for-5 with four RBI, a homerun and two runs scored. King got the loss in the contest, on the mound, and falls to 3-9. Chattanooga’s Brooke Loudermilk started the game but was pulled in the seventh inning. Kandice Irwin was the third pitcher to see action for the Mocs in the game and picked up the win, improving to 6-9. Loudermilk came back into the game in the 10th inning and notched her second save of the year.
The first game between Western Carolina and Chattanooga was close in the early innings. The Catamounts scored the first run in the bottom of the first off an RBI double by Fowler. The Mocs tied the game in the second and took the lead in the third.
Western Carolina pulled within one run, 3-2, in the bottom of the fifth inning when Hawkins hit a sacrifice fly to right field which scored Keri Burnside. In the next two innings, Chattanooga exploded for nine runs, three in the sixth and six in the seventh, to pull away.
Ross started the game and takes the loss, falling to 6-7. Megan Taylor and Monday each saw 0.1 innings of work in the top of the seventh. Fuzzard took the win for Chattanooga, improving to 7-6.
Schaffer kept her hitting streak alive with a hit in the first game and two in the second. She has now hit safely in eight consecutive games.
Western Carolina will try and avoid the sweep by Chattanooga when the two clubs meet for a single game on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.