Elon 8, Samford 4
ELON, N.C. - Elon clinched its seventh Southern Conference series with an 8-4 win over Samford in the final home game of the season. The Phoenix tied its Division I record with its 33rd win to improve to 33-14 on the season and 15-6 in the Southern Conference. Samford is now 14-29 overall and 5-13 in league play.
Samford took at 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Aaren Fisher, who walked, scored on a RBI-double off the bat of Alex Adams.
Jackie Gonzalez led off the bottom of the first with a double down the left field line. Hannah Shelton followed with a walk that put runners at the corners for Tomeka Watson. Watson hit into a fielder's choice, allowing Gonzalez to come home after sliding around the tag at the plate. With runners at second and third and one away, Erin O'Shea lined the first pitch that she saw over the center field wall for a three-run home run that made it a 4-1 game. Caitlin McGowan followed the three-run shot with a single to right center, but was left stranded as Samford pitcher Stephanie Royall fanned the next two batters to end the inning.
The offenses remained quiet over the next two innings, as Gonzalez registered the only hit. Things changed in the top of the fourth when the Bulldogs put together three straight two-out singles by Kayla Schaffer, Rachael Reeves and Anna Kimbrell. Samford left the bases loaded when O'Shea got the final batter to pop up to McGowan at third.
Samford looked to cut into the Elon lead in the top of the fifth when Katie England and Adams reached on a fielder's choice and a double to right field. Amanda Barrs singled to the shortstop, allowing England to score and make it a 4-2 game. Amanda Jordan was hit by a pitch that loaded the bases with one out for the Bulldogs. New pitcher Lauren Taylor settled in to retire the next two batters to get out of the inning.
Taylor opened the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff double down the right field line. Gonzalez followed with a perfectly executed bunt down the first base line that put runners at the corners for Elon. Danielle Lafferty came on to pinch hit for Shelton and worked the count full before drawing a walk that loaded the bases. O'Shea came through for the second time with an infield single that scored Taylor and gave Elon a 5-2 edge. The final batter was caught swinging to end the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Kimbrell took a 1-0 pitch over the left center field wall to cut the Phoenix lead to two, 5-3. Samford made it a one-run game, 5-4 when Barrs hit a two-out, RBI-double down the left field line that scored Fisher, who reached on a fielder's choice. Elon kept its lead when Shelton snagged a fly ball in right field to end the inning.
Elon answered with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth. Kaitlyn Piazzolla got things started when she reached on a fielding error by the second baseman. Ashlee Crewe followed with a bunt single that moved Piazzolla into scoring position. Taylor pushed across the first two runs of the inning for Elon when she singled through the right side and moved to second on the throw. Piazzolla scored on the single, while Crewe was able to score on the throw from right field. With a runner on third, Watson hit a 2-1 single to left field that plated Taylor and put Elon on top 8-4.
The three-run sixth was enough for Elon as Samford was unable to score a run in the final inning to seal Elon's 8-4 win.
O'Shea improved to 15-5 on the year after giving up just one run on five hits and four walks in four innings of work. She also struck out four batters. Taylor picked up her second save of the season after throwing three innings of relief. She surrendered three runs, two of them earned, on five hits and one walk, while fanning two batters.
Royall fell to 7-8 on the season after giving up four runs on four hits and a walk in four innings of work. She struck out six batters. Kayla Burris also saw time in the circle for Samford. She gave up two runs, one of which was earned, on six hits and one walk in two innings of relief.
Elon will return to action next weekend when it plays its final Southern Conference series of the season against Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. The first game of Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 5, Furman 0
UNC Greensboro 3, Furman 0
Furman 4, UNC Greensboro 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. - UNC Greensboro took two of three games from Furman on Sunday, finishing off Saturday's suspended game 5-0 before taking a 3-0 win in game two. The Paladins grabbed a 4-3 win in game three to avoid the sweep. UNCG senior Amber Harrell struck out her 600th career batter in the final contest.
With the wins, UNCG improved to 23-23 overall and 10-7 in the Southern Conference. The Spartans, who entered the weekend tied for third with Furman (21-20, 9-8 SoCon), now hold sole possession of third.
Saturday, the Spartans jumped on top of Furman with three runs in the first on an RBI single from Alex Emeterio and back-to-back RBI doubles from Eileen Horsmon and Kaitlin Merkt.
UNCG made it 5-0 in the third when Emeterio led off with a solo home run, her fifth of the season, and Whitney Sirois later added a sacrifice fly.
After heavy rain in the area forced the game to be suspended Saturday, the contest resumed Sunday in the top of the fourth inning, with neither side scoring the rest of the way.
Harrell (11-11) was in control for the Spartans both days, allowing just one hit in the first three innings Saturday and closing out the two-hitter Sunday for her second shutout of the season. She struck out nine in the game to move her to 599 for her career.
Emeterio was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
Lana Mackey (15-8) took the loss for Furman, allowing five runs - four earned - on six hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings Saturday. Kayla Suskauer worked the final 3 2/3 Sunday, allowing just two walks and striking out six.
The Spartans made it two straight in game two, with starter Cory Mattson (10-11) throwing a four-hitter for her third shutout of the season.
Horsmon staked Mattson to the only run she would need in the fourth, hitting a two-out solo home run in the top of the fourth, her fourth of the season. The Spartans added two more in the fifth on Kristen Gabel's two-run single.
Mattson worked out of a few jams to earn the shutout. The Paladins loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, but Mattson got a fielder's choice and a foulout to escape unscathed.
Mackey led off the fourth with a triple for Furman, but Mattson fielded Brythe Blankenship's bunt and nailed Mackey at the plate. The Paladins had one more excellent opportunity, as a two-out error in the seventh put runners at first and second, but Mattson got a groundout to end the game.
Suskauer took the loss, allowing three runs on a walk and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Needing just one strikeout for her milestone 600th in game three, Harrell fanned Mackey, the opposing pitcher, for the third out in the first inning.
Furman scored its first runs of the series in the second inning, taking advantage of a pair of UNCG errors to score all four of its runs in the game.
Alex Bimonte had an RBI single in the frame, and later scored on Harrell's error. With two down, Jessie Homesley and Morgan Hughey added RBI singles of their own to make it a 4-0 game.
Mackey was rolling early, surviving back-to-back singles from Emeterio and Horsmon in the first and a two-double from Brittany Ausley in the third before the Spartans finally got on the board in the sixth.
Emeterio hit a one-out double and Horsmon followed with a walk before Kaitlin Merkt hit her eighth home run of the season to make it a 4-3 contest.
Mackey struck out the next two batters to end the inning, then struck out two of the three in the seventh to nail down the win. She allowed three runs on six hits and a walk, striking out 11.
Harrell took the loss, allowing four runs - only one of which was earned - on seven hits and a walk, striking out six.
Emeterio and Horsmon had two hits each for the Spartans. Bimonte and Stephanie Field had two hits each to pace Furman.
UNCG returns to action Tuesday with its final nonconference games of the season. The Spartans will take on Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., for a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.
Chattanooga 4, Appalachian State 2 (10)
BOONE, N.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team defeated Appalachian State 4-2 in 10 innings Sunday in Boone, N.C. capturing the series and staying atop of the Southern Conference. The Lady Mocs rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the contest at two in the top of the sixth sending the games to extra inning.
Chattanooga improved to 35-13 overall and 14-3 in the Southern Conference and keep a two game distance in the loss column with Elon. Appalachian State fell to 23-22 and 8-12 in conference games.
After a passed ball allowed freshman Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.) to advance to third in the international tiebreaker during the 10th, Appalachian State decided to intentionally walk the bases loaded putting senior Tia Blosser (Knoxville, Tenn.) and junior Tiffany Baker (East Ridge, Tenn.) on base.
A groundball off the bat of junior Nikki Waters (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) to the second baseman, who threw home and Tydingco beat the throw allowed UTC to take a 3-2 lead. Then, junior Lauren Flores (Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga.) grounded out to the shortstop as Blosser came in to score. The inning would end on an unconventional double play off the bat of senior Kaiti Kelley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), where the Mountaineers were able to get Baker out at home.
In the circle, junior Kandice Irwin (Knoxville, Tenn.) threw seven shutout innings for Chattanooga securing her ninth win of the season. Irwin struck out four and only walked on coming in for relief of junior Nikki Waters (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) in the fourth inning.
Baker paced the Chattanooga offense going 2-for-4, while Tydingco, Waters, Kelley, and Eason each notched a hit to total six on the day. The Mountaineers were able to register 10 hits in the loss.
During the third inning, Sarah Rappe led off the frame with a single to left field and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Another single to left by Katie Boyd gave the Mountaineers an early 1-0 advantage as Rappe crossed the plate.
Appalachian State chased Waters after a leadoff triple by Megan Smith in the fourth. After Irwin came in, McKenzie Phillips singled in the runner from third to take a 2-0 lead.
The contest would remain scoreless until the sixth when Chattanooga would score twice as coach Reed went into his bag of tricks again. Waters led off the inning with a single to right center. Then a string of three pinch hitters began for the Lady Mocs with sophomore Jenni Martin (East Ridge, Tenn.) flying out to left center field at the fence.
Junior pinch hitter Della Harrison (Nashville, Tenn.) drew a walk as the Lady Mocs had runners on first a second. Harrison and Waters advanced to scoring position after a passed ball. Pinch hitter Eason made the Mountaineers pay with a single that eluded the shortstop and landed in left field as Waters scored and Harrison beat the throw to knot the score at two.
Appalachian State would load the bases in the seventh after an intentional walk to Katie Boyd, but Irwin was up to the task as the Mountaineers lined out to second ending the frame.
In the eighth, Chattanooga had an opportunity to score as Baker led off with a single to right and pinch runner Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) beat out the throw from the first baseman, who went to second. The next three would be retired in order as the game continued.
Both teams would go down in order during the ninth frame as the teams headed to the international tiebreaker placing a runner on second. The Lady Mocs scored twice in the top of the 10th inning to take a 4-2 lead.
On the first pitch from Irwin, Rappe, the runner on second broke to third and Eason gunned her out erasing the runner as sophomore Jessica Traxler (Chino Hills, Calif.) applied the tag. Irwin retired the rest the side on a groundout to second and a pop up to the pitcher.
Leading the offense for Appalachian State was Megan Rembielak, McKenzie Phillips and Boyd each recording two hits, while Boyd and Phillips drove in a run. Hannah Dow threw seven innings allowing six hits and an earned run, while Frannie Seader took the loss finishing the contest with two strike outs.
The Lady Mocs are back in action next weekend traveling to UNC Greensboro, which will be another important conference matchup. The Saturday doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. where two of the top three teams will battle in the Southern Conference. Sunday the finale between the teams starts at 1 p.m. For all games, live audio and statistics will be available on GoMocs.com
Georgia Southern 10, College of Charleston 9
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Eagles outlasted College of Charleston in a slugfest at Eagle Field Sunday to win 10-9 and take the series two games to one. The Eagles' 10 runs were the highest total scored in a single game this season, coming off 10 hits and three Cougar errors.
Down 5-3, the Eagles (24-23, 9-8 Southern Conference) scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take an 8-5 lead, sending at least nine batters to the plate for the second inning of the game. Georgia Southern also batted around in the first inning, pushing three runs across to chase Cougar starting pitcher Terri Mesko after just two-thirds of an inning. She gave up three runs on three hits with three walks and a strikeouts.
The Cougars (21-22, 8-9 SoCon) scored three in the top of the fifth to tie the game at eight all, but senior Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.) reached with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Charleston pitcher Stephanie Saylors threw the ball past the first baseman, allowing freshman Sara Hinchman (Douglasville, Ga.) and sophomore Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) to give the Eagles a 10-8 advantage.
The Cougars scored one run in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 10-9, but junior Brianna Streetmon (Winder, Ga.) re-entered to pitch, earning her fourth save this season. Streetmon started the game, allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts in 3.2 total innings pitched.
Freshman Kaitlynn Szcepanski (Chesapeake, Va.) earned the win two improve to 3-1 on the season, giving up a run on two hits with a strikeout in 0.2 innings.
Saylors (5-3) was charged with the loss, giving up two unearned runs on three hits in 2.1 innings.
Side led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Senior Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, and senior Kelly Burnett (Boynton Beach, Fla.) went 2-for-4.
The Eagles play host to Elon at Eagle Field Saturday-Sunday, May 1st and 2nd with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1 p.m on Saturday. Georgia Southern will honor its seniors prior to the final game of the series on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
Eagle softball games can be heard locally, on 91.9 FM, The Buzz, with announcers Daniel Sallerson and Drew Cheshire. Live Stats will be available on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com in the schedule tab at the bottom of the homepage. Fans may also follow the score, posted every half inning, via Twitter at www.twitter.com/GSScores.