Appalachian State 12, Hampton 0
Appalachian State 3, North Carolina A&T 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Caitlin Wainright and Hannah Dow eached tossed shutouts to lift Appalachian State University softball to wins over Hampton and North Carolina A&T on Friday in Greensboro. ASU beat Hampton 12-0 and beat the Aggies 3-0.
The Mountaineers improve to 5-2 on the season with the two wins.
The Apps got the scoring started against Hampton in the second inning, Allie Cashion walked to and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She moved up on a ground out by McKenzie Phillips and scored on a bunt single by Meghan Smith.
ASU continued the scoring with five runs in the fourth and and six in the fifth. Sarah Rappe dealt the big blow in the fourth with a two-run triple that scored Michelle Gorzelle and Michelle Lighton. Appalachian invoked the eight-run rule in the fifth, aided by run-scoring singles from Dow, Smith and Sheridan Phillips.
Wainright was dominant in the circle, allowing just one hit while striking out eight to earn her second win of the year.
Megan Rembielak and McKenzie Phillips had two hits apiece to lead ASU while Tama Vickers had the only Pirates' hit.
Katie Boyd and Cashion each hit home runs to lead ASU over North Carolina A&T in the second game of the day.
Boyd hit a solo shot in the fourth to put ASU on the board and Cashion added some insurance in the sixth with a two-run shot to right-center.
That was all the scoring needed as Dow allowed just four hits, and struck out six and did not walk a batter. Dow retired 13 batters in a row until she hit a batter in the seventh. After allowing a hit, Brittany Reddick hit a single up the middle but Rappe threw the runner out at the plate to end the game.
Appalachian continues play tomorrow as they play Maryland Eastern Shore at 11 a.m. and Coppin State at 3 p.m.
Chattanooga 6, Rutgers 5 (8)
Chattanooga 6, Kansas 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team opened up the home schedule in dramatic fashion when junior Della Harrison (Nashville, Tenn.) notched a game-winning two-out RBI double down the left field line to help head coach Frank Reed record his 800th career victory in eight innings, 7-6 against Rutgers. The momentum continued into the second game of the day as the Lady Mocs scored three in the first en route to a 6-0 victory over Kansas at the first day of the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial.
"I was thinking about what I have to prepare for," said Harrison. "Our hitting coach [Jeff] Martin tells me, 'we need to bring practice into the game Della.' Coming off the bench, I just had to refocus and go out there and do what I needed to do as a pinch hitter."
Now in his ninth season with Chattanooga, Reed has 324 victories with the Lady Mocs and 476 in eleven seasons at Chattanooga State to surpass the 800 win mark against the Scarlet Knights.
"I could not have gotten an 800th victory in a crazier way," said coach Reed after the game. "I have to thank that team for that and the past 19 years with all the kids that have helped to add one-to-one-to-one."
It was the second time that the Lady Mocs were down in the game against Kansas as another senior Kaiti Kelley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) sent the game into extra innings with a liner over the first baseman's glove scoring two to tie the contest at three with two outs.
Senior pitched Brooke Loudermilk (Locust Grove, Ga.) picked up the victory in both contests as she fanned a total of eight batters in eight innings pitched.
Against the JayHawks, junior Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) put the Lady Mocs ahead for good with a three-run home run into deep left center, 6-0. Chattanooga scored three times in the first.
Chattanooga continues its play in the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial on Saturday at 3 p.m., when they face Kentucky and Georgetown in a doubleheader. They end the three-day event at 12:30 Sunday against Miami (Ohio). The fifteen-teams at the tournament begin play at 10 a.m. Saturday with four timeslots spaced two-and-half hours apart.
Game One: Chattanooga 6, Rutgers 5 (8 inn.)
Seniors Harrison and Kelley recorded clutch base hits late in the game as the Lady Mocs defeated Rutgers 6-5 in eight innings to help head coach Frank Reed get his 800th career victory. Harrison had a double that scored the winning run, while Kelley sent the contest into extras with a two-out single.
It was the fifth win of the season for Loudermilk, who came on as the third pitcher out of the deep Chattanooga bullpen. She allowed two runs to score, but only one was earned due to the nature of the extra-inning tiebreaker rules placing a runner on second to start the inning.
Junior Michelle Fuzzard (Huntington Beach, Calif.) received the start in the game pitching three innings and only giving up one hit, a home run to Mikelyn Messina of Rutgers, while striking out three. Next in the circle was junior Nikki Waters (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) followed by Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) in an attempt at giving each pitcher an opportunity in the game.
The Lady Mocs offense was held in check for six innings by Noelle Sisco, but the offense came alive starting with the bottom of the order with six hits over the final two frames to score five runs.
After scoring a run to start the game, the Chattanooga offense scattered four hits. Junior Lyndsey Stiles (Hixson, Tenn.) was the first runner across the plate after drawing a walk and scoring on a Rutgers defensive miscue in right field.
Once again, Messina hurt the Lady Mocs with a two-out single that pushed the Scarlet Knights ahead 2-1 in the fourth inning. Lindley scored after drawing a walk to begin the inning. Rutgers would add another run in the sixth to make the deficit two.
With their backs against the wall in the seventh, the Lady Mocs rallied with sophomore Jessica Traxler (Chino Hills, Calif.) and freshman Sarah Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) singling to lead off the inning. The runners would advance to scoring position after a sacrifice bunt by freshman Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.).
The stage was set for an unlikely hero as Kelly fouled off four pitches before hitting the ball into shallow right field down the line scoring the speedy Traxler and Tydingco to knot the score at three. Rutgers was able to limit the damage and send the game to extra innings after Fuzzard recorded a single to put Kelley in scoring position.
"I had really been hard on Kaiti for not getting bunts down earlier in the game," said Reed. "I could not ask for hit in a more timely fashion."
The Lady Mocs brought in Loudermilk after they pinch hit for pitcher Irwin, but Rutgers drew a walk to start the eighth and a sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position with one out. Loudermilk struck out the next batter, but Ashley Bragg delivered a two-out double to put the Scarlet Knights up 5-3.
Facing another difficult situation down two, junior Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.) was placed on second to start the inning and eventually scored on a single up the middle by Blosser cutting into the Rutgers' lead. After a walk and a fielder choice and Loudermilk, the pitcher scheduled to hit.
The seasoned coach Reed made a difficult decision and brought in pinch hitter Harrison, who has one hit this season and two in her career, and the Nashville, Tenn., native came through with a double down the left field line scoring Blosser and Poteat.
"Della Harrison has been here three years and has caught in the bullpen as a catcher, had an opportunity to run a few times and one other college hit in her life," said Reed. "To come up to the plate with that poise and find a way to get a decent hit and score two key runs. She needs to be commended. A lot of times you forget about the people who are an integral part of the team."
Bragg went 2-for-2 for the Scarlet Knights along with two walks and two RBI, while Messina had an RBI in two different at bats. Pitchers Sisco and Abbey Houston combined for three strikeouts, but seemed to keep the Lady Moc hitters off balance for most of the game.
Game Two: Chattanooga 6, Kansas 0
After recording the most dramatic win of the season, the UTC softball team continued the momentum into the second game as they scored three first inning runs and Blosser hit a three-run home run in the third to beat Kansas, 6-0.
This afternoon, Loudermilk might not have had her best performance of the season, but she still fanned six batters and did not give up an earned run as Chattanooga improved to 9-2 on the season and the JayHawks dropped to 5-7.
In the first inning, Stiles hit a single through the left side and Kelley followed with a bunt single. The frame opened up when Fuzzard hit a screamer right at the third baseman that hit the glove and bounced in to left center scoring a run.
Sophomore Jenny Martin (East Ridge, Tenn.) came up with a perfectly executed bunt single, where all three Rutgers players on the right side of the infield went for the ball leaving first base unoccupied scoring Kelley and Blosser drove in Fuzzard to end the scoring for Chattanooga.
After Fuzzard and Baker hit singles to left, Blosser notched her third home run of the season when she nailed a pitch over the fence in left center field scoring three.
Defensively, Fuzzard just missed a double play in the fourth inning when she snagged a hard line drive and pitched the ball to Blosser at first, but the runner just barely reached the base first. Loudermilk was able to retire the side in that inning after Kansas threatened with runners at the corners with no outs.
Finishing strong, Loudermilk retired the last six batters from Kansas in order.
Leading the JayHawks was Alex Jones, who recorded two of the team's five hits. Jones and Sarah Vertelka combined to strikeout out three, while only allowing one walk.
Georgia Southern 5, St. Francis (PA) 3
Georgia Southern 3, Minnesota 0
FT. MYERS, Fla. - Georgia Southern finally put together a complete game. Eagles pitcher Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) (3-1) dominated Minnesota Golden Gophers hitters all day. More importantly, the Eagles defeated both opponents they faced on Day 1 of the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament.
Offensively, Georgia Southern started slower than they did in the first game, however, when the Eagles struck, they struck hard. In the bottom of third inning with the game scoreless, Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) singled to second base. Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) homered to right center to give GSU a 2-0 lead. Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) followed Smith's homer with a single to left field and then Andrea Tarashuk (Flemington, NJ) doubled down the left field line to drive in Bethany Crenshaw (Warner Robins, Ga.), who was pinch running for Russo. By the time the Golden Gophers could get out of the inning, the damage had been done.
With a 3-0 lead in hand, Streetmon went to work on Golden Gopher batters. In the last four innings, Streetmon struck out four batters. Only four Gophers would reach second and none would advance further than at any point. Streetmon pitched seven innings of scoreless ball, allowing only three hits while striking out seven.
"We have really started to understand what it takes to find a way to win close ball games," coach Maggie Johnson said. "Our hitters are stepping up when we need them to and our pitchers have shut down some strong hitting teams."
Georgia Southern opened the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament with a 5-3 win over St. Francis (Pa.).
The Eagles started the game off with an infield single by Lowe's Senior CLASS candidate Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.). Iduate then stole second base, her third of the season. She advanced to third off a sacrifice by Smith (Springfield, Ga.). Russo's pop fly should have ended the inning. However, St. Francis' second baseman misplayed the ball, allowing Iduate to score, 1-0, Eagles.
The Eagles held the lead until the top of the fifth inning when an error by Fogle allowed three Red Flash players to score.
Trailing 3-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth, GSU rally started on Tarashuk's double down the left field line. Kayla Brooks (Jonesboro, Ga.), pinch running for Tarashuk, advanced to third on a sacrifice. Kelly Burnett (Boynton Beach, Fla.) reached on an error, putting Eagle runners on the corners. Kaitlynn Sczezpanski's (Chesapeake, Va.) double down the line scored both Brooks and Burnett. A Iduate walk followed by Fogle single through the left side scored Sczezpanski. The Eagles would suppress any Red Flash thoughts of a comeback in the top of the seventh.
Georgia Southern returns to action tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. against UConn. Following their contest with the Huskies, the Eagles will take on Villanova at 1 p.m. Both those games can be followed on the website, www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com under the Live Stats link at the bottom of the page.
UNC Greensboro 5, Sacred Heart 3
Niagara 3, UNC Greensboro 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro split on the first day of action at its own Spartan Classic, topping Sacred Heart 5-3 before falling to Niagara, 3-2, in the nightcap on Friday.
In earlier games, Cleveland State (4-3) topped Sacred Heart 1-0 and Niagara 5-3 in 8 innings.
With the score tied at 3 in the bottom of the sixth, UNCG (3-7) got a bases-loaded walk from Kristen Gabel to push across what would prove to be the winning run against Sacred Heart (0-2). Alex Emeterio followed with an RBI single for a little insurance, and senior Amber Harrell (1-3) made the lead stand.
UNCG jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the game, with April Langley leading off the second with a double down the left field line and Emily Akiyama following with a double to left to bring in Langley. Two outs later, Ausley reached on an infield single to knock in Akiyama and put UNCG up by a pair.
The Pioneers would counter with two runs in the top of the third. After Carley Rudloff drew a two-out walk, leadoff hitter Taylor Froelich launched a two-run home run out to left center to tie the game.
Sacred Heart took its only lead of the game the following inning. Courtney Lee started the inning with a walk, and the Pioneers loaded the bases with no one out when UNCG twice tried to nail the lead runner on sacrifice bunt attempts, only to see the SHU runners get there ahead of the throw both times.
Harrell got a popup to short for the first out, then induced an easy ground ball that she fielded herself. She tossed home in plenty of time to nail Lee at the plate, but UNCG catcher Whitney Sirois dropped the ball, allowing Lee to score. Harrell got a strikeout to avoid further damage as the Pioneers left the bases loaded.
UNCG picked up the equalizer in the bottom half of the frame, with Akiyama reaching on an error and Sirois sacrificing pinch-runner Kayla Hensley to second. One out later, Ausley doubled to center to bring in Hensley with the tying run.
SHU made some noise in the top of the seventh, but left the bases loaded. Back-to-back one-out walks put runners at first and second and Lee singled to left to load the bases with two down. Harrell recovered to strike out Amanda Bradley swinging to end the game, striking out the side.
Harrell allowed three runs (two earned) on five walks and four hits in 7 innings of work. She struck out eight. SHU's Nicole Sidor (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks in 2 innings of relief.
Ausley and Emeterio had two hits each to pace the Spartans at the plate.
Against Niagara (1-1), the Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Emeterio's RBI single up the middle.
The Purple Eagles answered in the bottom half with Maggie McDonald's leadoff homer, which bounced off the top of the wall in left center and went over.
Niagara added two more runs in the thid on Kristin Sito's RBI single and a Spartan fielding error that allowed Jennifer Hare to score from third.
UNCG made it interesting in the top half of the seventh, getting a run back and leaving two men on. Freshman Chelsea D'Ambrosio roped a pinch-hit double to the gap in right center with one out, and Katie Stripling worked a 10-pitch walk to put runners at first and second. A wild pitch moved both runners over before Heather Robb's squib single loaded the bases for Ausley. Ausley hit a ball to short and McDonald tagged Stripling for out No. 2, but not before pinch-runner Jordan Jewett scored from third.
Niagara pitcher Cassie Stone (1-0) induced a popup off the bat of Gabel that Teresa Healy was able to corral in shallow right to escape the jam and end the game.
Stone allowed two runs on five hits and three walks in 7 innings.
Cory Mattson (1-3) took the loss for UNCG, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks in 3 innings. Freshman Raeanne Hanks tossed the final 3 innings, allowing just two walks and striking out five.
The Spartan Classic resumes Saturday with Niagara taking on Sacred Heart at 11 a.m. and UNCG hosting Cleveland State at 1 p.m. Semifinals are at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
Nicholls State 3, Samford 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford softball team dropped its first game of the Magic City Classic Friday to Nicholls State in game four. A late run by the Colonels broke a 2-2 tie and gave Nicholls State its second win of the day. Samford falls to 4-3 while Nicholls State moves to 6-1.
"Nicholls State came out and did what they had to do," Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham said. "I thought we pitched pretty well but we didn't play well on defense and we didn't hit well enough. We just didn't execute very well today, and you can't play a good solid team like that and not execute."
Although the game was being played on Bulldog Field, a pregame coin flip decided which team was home and which was away for the tournament. Samford ended up being home for Friday evening's game.
Alex Adams put the Bulldogs on the board in the top of the second inning with a lead-off homerun, her second of the year. However, Nicholls State retired the next three batters and tie things up in the bottom of the inning with one run on a bases-loaded single.
After a scoreless third and fourth, Nicholls State shut out Samford in the top of the fifth before taking a 2-1 lead. Samford tied the score in the top of the sixth when Robyn Harmon scored on an error by the third baseman. However, the Colonels scored on a double in the bottom of the inning and then secured the win by shutting out Samford in the top of the seventh.
"I was pleased with how (Amanda) Barrs pitched and how Robyn (Harmon) pitched," Ketcham said, "We just gave up too many extra bases."
Barrs started the contest for Samford and pitched four and two-thirds innings. She gave up two earned runs on seven hits and struck out one batter before being relieved by Harmon. Harmon (1-2) took the loss for Samford, giving up the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. She faced seven batters, striking out two while walking one.
Adams led the Bulldogs with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate against the Colonels. She and Barrs combined for both of Samford's RBI while Aaren Fisher and Katie England each had a hit and a stolen base for the Bulldogs.
Lacey Gros (3-0) earned the win for the Colonels, pitching the complete game and striking out seven batters. She gave up just one earned run on five hits.
Kayla Watterson and Whitney Roan led Nicholls State with 2-for-2 outings while Natalie Travasos, Audrey Wood, Lauren Batiz and Lyndsey Mesh each had hits for the Colonels. Batiz, Megan Gaspard and Lauren Martinez also each scored for Nicholls State.
In other Magic City Classic action, Nicholls State shutout Alabama State, 5-0, in the first game of the day. Troy then defeated Alabama State, 6-4, before falling to UAB, 4-1.
Saturday's action will begin at 11 a.m. ET, when Troy and Nicholls State face off. UAB and Alabama State will then collide at 1:15 p.m., followed by Samford's doubleheader with Alabama State and UAB starting at 3:30 pm.
A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of Saturday's action. Fans can follow Samford's game versus UAB on Gametracker.