Furman 2, Presbyterian 0
Furman 2, Presbyterian 1
CLINTON, S.C. - Senior Lana Mackey and sophomore Hannah Bradley combined to hold Presbyterian to just one run over 15 innings as Furman completed a 2-0, 2-1 doubleheader sweep of the Blue Hose in non-conference softball action on Thursday afternoon at the PC Softball Complex.
The sweep improved the Paladins to 17-17 on the season while Presbyterian dipped to 14-19.
Mackey mastered the Blue Hose in game one tossing a four-hit shutout and fanning 13 batters in a complete game effort to up her record in the circle to 12-7. She issued just two walks and retired five straight batters on strikeouts in the middle innings.
Furman got the only two runs it would need in the top of the fourth inning. Katie Michaels led off the frame with a single and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Jessie Homesley singled to center field to plate Michaels with the first run and later doubled the lead by scoring on Mackey's sacrifice fly to right field.
Brittany Howell (3-4) took the loss for Presbyterian allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits. Howell walked one Paladin and fanned four over seven innings. Katie Anderson paced the Blue Hose with two hits.
In game two, Hannah Bradley held PC to only one run over seven innings to secure her first victory and Lana Mackey set the Blue Hose down in order in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn her second save of the season.
With the game tied at 1-1 after seven innings, Furman's Brythe Blankenship was placed on second according to the international tiebreaker rule. Alyssa Williams executed a sacrifice bunt to move Blankenship to third base with one out. After Alex Bimonte struck out, Bradley popped a pitch into shallow center field. PC's Tera Powell raced in to make the catch, but could not hold onto the ball allowing Blankenship to score the go-ahead run.
Mackey entered the game in the bottom half of the inning, and after Taylor Staten advanced the potential tying run to third with a sacrifice bunt, Mackey got Rachel Parker to pop out to second and Anderson to ground out to shortstop to secure the victory.
Bradley improved to 1-5 with the win. She surrendered seven hits, walked two batters and struck out three.
Michaels and Hughey each registered two hits to lead the Paladin offense.
Leslie Hensley (5-9) allowed just one earned run on eight hits while fanning eight batters in a complete game effort, but suffered the defeat. Morgan Durham went 2-for-3 with a double for the Blue Hose.
Furman returns to action next Wednesday when it hosts South Carolina State in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Pepsi Stadium.
Ole Miss 7, Samford 3
Ole Miss 3, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford softball team dropped its midweek doubleheader with Ole Miss Thursday, losing the first game by a score of 7-3 and the second by a score of 3-1. The night cap was the Bulldogs' fourth loss in a row and drops them to 11-25 on the year while Ole Miss improved to 23-18.
Ole Miss came out and took a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning of the first game after a one-out two-run home run by Lauren Grill and a two-out bases-loaded single by Cali Overbeck. The Rebels then extended their lead to seven in the top of the fifth with a two-run homer by the second batter Overbeck followed by a two-run shot by Ashley Dowdy.
Samford finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning when Alex Adams grounded out with one out and runners on second and third to drive in Amanda Barrs. Amy Gonzalez then singled up the middle to drive in Katie England before Ole Miss could record the final two outs.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to four in the bottom of the seventh after Anna Kimbrell led off with a double to left field. Madeline Baker then pinch ran for Kimbrell and Barrs singled to advance Baker to third. England grounded out to the shortstop to drive in Baker before Alex Adams lined out to third base to end the game.
Barrs and Amy Gonzalez each went 2-for-3 at the plate while three other Bulldogs had one hit each. Barrs, England and Baker scored the three runs while England, Adams and Gonzalez were each credited with an RBI.
Barrs (1-13) took the loss, giving up six earned runs on 10 hits and walking four batters while also striking out three. Stephanie Royall pitched two innings while Kayla Burris pitched one, each giving up just one hit.
Three Rebels had two hits each including Brittany Barnhill, Overbeck and Dowdy. Overbeck also had three RBI while Dowdy and Grill had two each, and seven different Ole Miss players scored runs.
Barnhill pitched a complete game and recorded seven strikeouts with only three walks. She gave up three earned runs on seven hits.
In game two, Ole Miss took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Alyssa McGovern scored on a wild pitch by Royall before Aly Presswood scored from third on a one-out groundout to second base. The Rebels added another run in the top of the third when Brittany Broome scored on an error by the third baseman.
Samford scored in the bottom of the fourth inning when Aaren Fisher doubled with two outs to drive in Kayla Shaffer from third base. Kimbrell then lined out to third base for the second out while Shaffer was thrown out at third base on the same play to end the inning.
Fisher and Shaffer led the Bulldogs in the second game. Fisher went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI while Shaffer was 2-for-2 with one run. Royall (6-7) pitched a complete game and took the loss, giving up just one earned run on four hits. She walked three batters and struck out only one.
Grill led the Rebels in the second game with a 2-for-2 performance at the plate. Corrine Doornberg and Barnhill each had one of the Rebels' other two hits while Broome, McGovern and Presswood scored the runs. Dowdy recorded Ole Miss' only RBI.
Lindsey Perry (7-3) also pitched a complete game, giving up one earned run on four hits. She struck out nine batters and walked three.
Samford will be back in action this weekend as it jumps back into Southern Conference play and hosts Georgia Southern. The Bulldogs and Eagles will meet for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday and will close out the series with a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.