UNCG 1, Florida State 0 (9 innings)
Hofstra 16, UNCG 0 (5 innings)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Junior Cory Mattson pitched the first no-hitter of her collegiate career and redshirt senior Kaitlin Merkt drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth inning as UNCG opened the 2011 season in style with a 1-0, extra-innings win over No. 23 Florida State at the Seminole Kick Off Classic on Friday. The tables were turned in game two, as Hofstra no-hit UNCG 16-0 in 5 innings.
Mattson (1-0) was simply dominant in shutting down the Seminoles (0-1), allowing just four base-runners. After surrendering a leadoff walk in the sixth, Mattson retired the final 12 batters in order for just the 11th no-hitter in school history.
The Everett, Wash., native turned in the first UNCG no-hitter since March 22, 2005, when Lynsi Pierce threw a 5-inning no-hitter against Maryland-Eastern Shore. Mattson's no-hitter was the first in school history over a ranked opponent and the first to go to extra innings.
Merkt, meanwhile, picked up a clutch hit when the Spartans (1-1) had to have it. With the teams locked in a scoreless contest in the top of the ninth, UNCG was down to its last out of the frame when sophomore Eileen Horsmon doubled down the right field line on a 3-2 pitch. Merkt followed with a single to right center, scoring Horsmon with what would prove to be the winning run.
Mattson's counterpart, Sarah Hamilton, turned in a solid effort of her own to keep the Spartans at bay until the ninth. She allowed just five hits in the contest and worked out of a couple of jams.
Sophomore Heather Robb picked up UNCG's first hit of the afternoon in the top of the third, leading off with a double down the left field line. An Aisha Figueroa sacrifice moved Robb to third, but Hamilton, a preseason member of the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List, struck out the next two batters to escape unscathed.
The Spartans threatened again in the sixth inning, when freshman Ashley Reetz and senior Kristen Gabel reached on back-to-back one-out bunt singles, but Hamilton induced a double play to again wriggle off the hook.
FSU got a runner as far as second base only once, when Morgan Bullock walked in the sixth and stole second with two outs. Mattson coaxed a grounder from Robin Ahrberg to end the inning.
The Seminoles seemed to be in business in the fourth inning, as Shayla Jackson reached on a leadoff error. Mattson worked out of trouble, however, getting Ahrberg to line into an unassisted double play to first baseman Alex Emeterio.
Mattson finished with two strikeouts, whiffing leadoff hitter Tiffani Brown twice. She walked three in matching the longest outing of her career.
The win was UNCG's first over a ranked opponent since a 1-0 win over No. 19 Georgia Tech on Feb. 9, 2003. It was also the first win over a ranked opponent under coach Jennifer Herzig, who also picked up the second win over an ACC school of her career.
Game two against Hofstra (1-0) was a drastic departure from game one. The Pride scored at least four runs in three of the four innings in which it batted, but recorded just one extra-base hit. The Spartans committed four errors and a passed ball and allowed 10 hits.
Hofstra struck for five unearned runs in the first inning to chase starter Raeanne Hanks. Two runners scored before the Pride even got a hit as Hanks hit a pair of batters and a run came in on the Spartans' first error of the afternoon. Becca Bigler and Michelle Lavagnino had RBI hits in the inning as Hofstra batted around.
Emeterio came out of the bullpen for the first pitching appearance of her collegiate career and tossed a perfect second inning, and it looked like things had calmed down. Hofstra had other ideas, however, jumping on Emeterio for seven runs in the third, six of them earned, to put the game into mercy rule territory. The Pride picked up three hits and a walk off Emeterio and took advantage of two more UNCG errors to knock her from the game before recording an out in the inning.
Freshman Josie Felix retired the first batter she faced, but Laura Valentino followed with a two-run single and Olivia Galati added an RBI double to close the book on Emeterio. Felix retired the next two batters in order to end the inning.
Hofstra added four more runs in the fourth off of Felix, getting two-run singles from Valentino and Tessa Ziemba.
UNCG, meanwhile, couldn't get anything going, as Toni MacReynold's four-pitch walk in the top of the third inning was the only blemish for Galati (1-0), who struck out 10 in the 5-inning no-hitter.
Valentino led Hofstra at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. Every Hofstra player but one had at least one hit and all nine of them scored at least one run.
Hanks (0-1) took the loss after allowing five unearned runs on two hits and two walks in an inning of work.
UNCG returns to action Saturday against St. John's at 10 a.m. The Spartans will then begin bracket play, with their next game coming at either 2:45 p.m. or 4:45 p.m.
Chattanooga 2, Florida Atlantic 1
Georgia Tech 6, Chattanooga 1
CLERMONT, Fla. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team kicked off the 2011 campaign with a victory against Florida Atlantic, 2-1, but fell to Georgia Tech, 6-1, in the night cap at Dot Richardson's National Collegiate Softball Invitational. Sophomore Sara Poteat had a two-RBI double down the left field line to propel Chattanooga over the Owls, while Georgia Tech's offense awoke during the final four frames for six runs.
Junior first baseman Michelle Fuzzard paced the offense with three hits and including a double along with an RBI during the doubleheader.
Game One: Chattanooga 2, Florida Atlantic 1
Poteat had the big base hit for Chattanooga, a two-RBI double down the left field line, that ended up being the difference in a 2-1 victory against Florida Atlantic.
In the circle, senior Nikki Waters picked up the victory and classmate Kandice Irwin notched the save. Waters worked against a tight strike zone and fought through six walks to pitch into the sixth inning. Both pitchers each recorded two strikeouts, while Irwin fanned the final two.
With a two-for-two performance, junior Michelle Fuzzard began her season on the right foot after missing most of last season.
After a scoreless first, junior Vivian Morimoto led off the bottom of the second for Chattanooga with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Freshman Kaiti Dutton hit a hard ball that the shortstop was unable to handle. Loading the bases was freshman Natalie Powers with a single into left field.
With one out, Poteat delivered a double down the left field line just past the third baseman to score two. The Lady Mocs were unable to continue the threat, but took a 2-0 lead.
After Florida Atlantic left the bases loaded, Fuzzard led off with a double to right center and a successful fly to right by Baker put a runner within 60 feet with less than two out. Mormimoto jumped on a pitch and sliced it down the left field line, but Haylie Broyles made a diving stab and she immediately threw it to third to check if the runner Layne Rainey left early. After the umpires discussed the play, it was ruled a double play and the Owls were out of the inning.
The game was quiet till the top of the sixth, when Rose Gressley reached on a bad hop to first. Ashlyn Permerter doubled to put the pressure on Chattanooga with two runners in scoring position.
Immediately, head coach Frank Reed went to his bullpen and brought in Irwin, who walked the first batter to load the bases. The Knoxville, Tenn., native then forced a groundout and struck out the next batter before the Owls broke up the shutout on a slow roller to second. Irwin got the next hitter to hit a grounder to senior third baseman Tiffany Baker, who dove back to the bag to get the force out and end the frame.
Once again, Fuzzard led off the sixth with a single up the middle and Baker deposited one into right. Senior Kristin Holloway and sophomore Kasey Tydingco were put in as pinch runners, but Chattanooga could not build upon its lead.
The Owls went down in order in the seventh as Irwin fanned Gressley to end the contest. For Florida Atlantic, Whitley Herb went 3-for-4 with three infield singles, while Gressley went the distance in the circle striking out four.
Game Two: Georgia Tech 6, Chattanooga 1
The second game proved to be a difficult one as pitcher Kristin Adkins kept the Lady Mocs hitters off-balance for a majority of the game as Georgia Tech posted a 6-1 win. Fuzzard produced the only RBI for Chattanooga scoring Poteat from third in the sixth.
Getting the start was Irwin, who went five innings before the Yellow Jackets knocked her out. Waters completed the game for Chattanooga throwing two innings and striking out one.
The contest began as a pitcher duel between Irwin and Adkins through the first three innings.
Georgia Tech broke through and changed the game with two outs in the fourth as Danielle Dike drilled a ball over the center field fence. Irwin was one pitch away from battling out of a jam and keeping the Yellow Jackets off the scoreboard.
The Yellow Jackets added to the lead in the fifth on a double by Kristine Priebe following a Rudnick single. Then Waters relieved Irwin in the sixth with two runners in scoring position and yielded a run.
To lead off the sixth, Poteat singled into left field and senior outfielder Lyndsey Stiles drew a walk to put two runners on. Following a groundout that enabled the runners to move up, Fuzzard hit a grounder to second scoring Poteat from third.[
In the seventh with two out, Kelsi Weseman connected on a solo shot to right field to end the scoring.
Adkins threw six innings for the Yellow Jackets and struckout eight, while Lindsey Anderson pitched the final frame and struckout two.
The Lady Mocs are back in action tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. against Florida Atlantic and 6:30 p.m. against Georgia Tech. Chattanooga wraps up the event on Sunday with a 1 p.m. meeting against Fordham.
Winthrop 12, Furman 4 (6 innings)
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Winthrop scored 11 runs off of a pair of Paladin pitchers in the opening two frames and cruised to a 12-4, six-inning victory over Furman in the softball season opener for both teams on Friday morning at the Palmetto State Showdown at the University of South Carolina.
The Lady Eagles plated five runs, four earned, off of Kayla Suskauer in the bottom half of the first and belted three home runs to score six off of reliever Lauren Collier in the second inning as they improved to 1-0.
After Furman grabbed a 1-0 lead when Stephanie Field scored on a wild pitch in the top half of the first, Winthrop sent 10 players to the plate in the bottom of the inning. The Lady Eagles pounded out six hits, including an RBI triple from Veronica Berrie, and benefitted from two illegal pitches and two Furman errors to take a 5-1 lead.
Freshman Nikki Legg laced a two-run single to center in the top of the second to pull the Paladins within 5-3, but Chelsey Schoenfeldt, Berrie and Brittany Stoudemire greeted Collier with long balls in the bottom of the second to up the margin to 11-3.
Furman added a run on an illegal pitch, but Winthrop scored an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to invoke the eight-run mercy rule.
Berrie went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI to lead Winthrop while four other Lady Eagles collected two hits apiece in the opener. Ashleigh Jackson earned the victory in relief allowing just one Paladin run on three hits over four innings.
Suskauer (0-1), who surrendered six runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings suffered the loss. Collier also allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings of work. She fanned five batters and walked one.
Field led Furman at the plate going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks while Legg went 1-for-2 with two walks and a pair of RBI.
Furman looks to rebound in the second game of tournament this afternoon when it faces Coastal Carolina at approximately 1:00 p.m.
Coastal Carolina 6, Furman 4 (8 innings)
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Coastal Carolina scored a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning to slipped past Furman, 6-4, on Friday afternoon at the Palmetto State Softball Showdown at the University of South Carolina's Beckham Field.
The loss, Furman's second of the day, dropped the Paladins to 0-2 on the season while Coastal Carolina improved to 1-0.
With the game tied 4-4 in the top of the eighth inning and Nicole Saggiomo placed on second base according to the international tiebreaker rule, Sarah Maples lined an RBI double to left field and Stacy Snellings followed with a run scoring double two batters later to give the Chanticleers a two-run lead. CCU freshman Ashley Bagwell (1-0) fanned Morgan Hughey to start the bottom of the eighth and got Hannah Pace to line into a double play to end the game.
Bagwell, who entered in relief of starter Katelin Edwards, limited Furman to just one run on two hits over five innings to claim the win. She struck out five batters and walked just one.
The Chanticleers broke open a 1-1 deadlock with three runs in the top half of the fourth inning keyed by Jazmin Daigle's RBI double and a bases loaded walk drawn by Jessie Winans.
Furman answered in the bottom of the frame. Hughey led off with a single before Pace and Lauren Collier clubbed back-to-back doubles. Pace later scored on an illegal pitch to trim the margin to 4-3 and Collier forced extra innings when she belted her first career homer in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Kayla Suskauer (0-2) suffered the loss for Furman allowing one earned run on four hits over 4.2 innings. She walked four Chanticleers, but fanned five batters. Collier went 2-for-2 with a double and a home run while Stephanie Field was 1-for-2 with two bases on balls.
Maples and Brooke Donovan each collected three hits for Coastal Carolina.
Furman returns to action in the Palmetto State Showdown on Saturday when the Paladins face host South Carolina at 10:30 a.m.
North Texas 6, Appalachian State 0
Oklahoma 8, Appalachian State 0 (5 innings)
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball (0-3) dropped a pair of games at the Kajikawa Classic on Friday afternoon to North Texas 6-0 and Oklahoma 8-0 in five innings.
In the first game of the day against North Texas, sophomore Hayley Grabner grounded out to start the top of the first, but senior Sarah Rappe tripled in the next at bat. Sophomore Meghan Smith and senior Katie Boyd struck out to end the inning, leaving Rappe stranded on third.
Senior Hannah Dow sat down the side on three groundouts and the Mountaineers went into the second inning with momentum.
Junior Michelle Lighton walked to start the top of the second and sophomore Allie Cashion singled into right field to give the Apps back-to-back runners for the first time during the tournament. ASU was not able to put the ball into play for the rest of the inning and both were left stranded.
The Black and Gold put together another three-up, three-down inning in the bottom of the second, but Grabner and Rappe struck out swinging to start the third frame. Smith drew a two-out walk, but Boyd popped out to third base to end the inning.
ASU then let the Mean Green score six runs off eight hits and one error in the third, fourth and fifth innings and were not able to recover.
The Mountaineers were hitless for the rest of the game until Smith got on base for the second time of the day by lacing a hit into right field in the top of the sixth inning.
Sophomore Frannie Seader, who came in relief of Dow, sat down the side in the final frame and completed the game for Appalachian.
In the second game of the day, sophomore Louise Gibson, who had only seen action in one previous game, made her second appearance in a Mountaineer uniform and threw a complete game against a potent Sooner offense that defeated Cal State Bakersfield, 11-2.
Junior Michelle Lighton also had a solid day behind the plate and threw out OU's Brianna Turang on a steal attempt. Turang went 20-for-25 last season and had been perfect heading into today's game.
ASU is back on the diamond at 11:30 a.m. (ET) against San Jose State and again against Nevada at 4:30 p.m. (ET) at the Tempe Sports Complex.
Alabama 8, Samford (5 innings)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team dropped its season opener Friday night to the University of Alabama, who was ranked sixth in the USA Today/NFCA preseason rankings. The Bulldogs fell to the Crimson Tide by a score of 8-0 in five innings.
"We looked good today and had a great presence despite what the score was," Samford head coach Stephanie VanBrakle said. "I'm proud of how the team came out and competed tonight."
Samford held the Crimson Tide scoreless in the first inning but Alabama rattled off five runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead. The Tide added three more in the bottom of the fourth inning before shutting down the Bulldogs in the fifth to seal the win.
Senior Aaren Fisher and junior Robyn Harmon led the Bulldogs, each going 2-for-3 at the plate in the season debut. Harmon (0-1) also pitched a complete game, giving up eight runs on eight hits, walking five batters and recording two strikeouts. Freshman Nicole Bobrowski recorded one of Samford's five hits, going 1-for-2 in her collegiate debut.
Along with Bobrowski, redshirt freshman Arica Dykes also got her first start as a Bulldog at second base.
Jennifer Fenton led the Tide with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. She posted three hits including one home run along with three RBI and two runs. She also stole two bases. Cassie Reilly-Boccia followed, going 2-for-3, with a run, an RBI and a home run. Whitney Larsen and Jackie Traina also each had one of Alabama's four home runs, posting two RBI on each home run as well. Traina (1-0) also pitched a full five innings, giving up just five hits and recording five strikeouts. Kayla Braud had one of Alabama's eight hits while also stealing three bases.
In the top of the first inning, Samford got Harmon all the way to third but could not bring her in. Then in the bottom of the inning, Alabama had several chances to score but Samford thwarted those with great defensive plays. However, in the bottom of the second inning, Traina homered to center field with a runner on third to give the Tide a 2-0 lead. Braud then walked and stole second before Fenton singled to bring her in. Larsen then homered to make the score 5-0.
In the third inning, Samford quickly got two runners in scoring position but could not get them home. The Bulldogs held Alabama scoreless in the bottom of the third but after a quick outing in the top of the fourth inning, Fenton hit a two-run home run to left field. Boccia then homered to widen the gap to 8-0.
Samford will take on South Alabama in the first session of Saturday's games at 11 a.m. The game will be played on field six. The Bulldogs will then play cross-town rival UAB at 1:30 p.m. to wrap up Saturday's action.