Chattanooga 8, UT Martin 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team notched its 11th victory in a row as it swept the Frost Classic with an 8-2 win against UT Martin (7-5). Senior third baseman Tiffany Baker paced the Lady Mocs with three hits and an RBI, while sophomore shortstop Jessica Traxler connected on her first home run of the season.
Offensively for Chattanooga, the Lady Mocs recorded 11 hits with seven different players driving in runs. Senior centerfielder Lyndsey Stiles scored two runs and stole her 12 base of the season, while sophomore first baseman Kasey Tydingco and senior left fielder Lauren Flores each had two hits.
Pitching for the Lady Mocs was junior pitcher Michelle Fuzzard, who picked up the victory and improved to 6-1 on the season. She tossed four innings and struck out four before senior closer Kandice Irwin finished the game by pitching three innings to earn her fourth save of the season.
The SkyHawks began a two-out rally in the first with a Jenny Bain single to center, then Amanda Brandenburg walked. Kate Vanderham singled through the left side and Bain was sent home, but senior left fielder Lauren Flores throws a rope to the freshman catcher Natalie Powers, who applies the tag to end the frame.
A leadoff infield single by senior center fielder Lyndsey Stiles and a stolen base put a runner in scoring position. Sophomore shortstop Sara Poteat reached on a wild pitch on ball four and took second as Stiles darted to within 60 feet of putting the Lady Mocs up 1-0.
With two runners in scoring position, Fuzzard drove in Stiles with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right center. Senior third baseman Tiffany Baker (singled just over the second baseman to bring around Poteat.
Following a single by sophomore first baseman Kasey Tydingco, senior right fielder Della Harrison doubled into the gap in left center that gave Chattanooga a 3-0 advantage.
A fielder's choice to the second baseman off the bat of senior second baseman Nikki Waters added another run, then Powers drew a walk. Senior left fielder Lauren Flores doubled to right center to drive in Harrison to give the Lady Mocs a 5-0 lead.
The five runs scored by Chattanooga on five hits chased starter Brandenburg as the SkyHawks brought in reliever Morgan Lewis, who retired the side on a ground out.
In the fifth, UT Martin led off with a double to right by Lewis and a walk to put two runners in scoring position. Head Coach Frank Reed then went to the bullpen and brought in Irwin, who coming into the day inherited 13 runners and only one scored, which was against Georgia Tech.
The Knoxville, Tenn., native was able to get a ground ball that was misplayed at second to load the bases. Garrett hit a seeing eye single up the middle to score two and cut into the Lady Mocs lead, 8-2. Irwin then forced her third grounder of the inning picked up by Baker and thrown to first.
The frame ended on an unconventional double play as the Baker picked up a grounder and threw it to the plate and Powers applied the tag. She tossed it back to the pitcher, but the runner was slow to get to second as Irwin threw it to Poteat at second.
Leading off the Chattanooga half of the inning, junior shortstop Jessica Traxler registered home run to dead center. It was the first round tripper of the season for Traxler and fifth of her career.
After junior catcher Vivian Morimoto, who entered on a double switch when Irwin came in to pitch, Flores reached on a fielders choice to the pitcher and Stiles walked. The SkyHawks went back to the bullpen and brought in Chelsea Jones.
Another walk by Poteat loaded the bases for the heart of the Lady Mocss order. Fuzzard stepped in and drove a pitch over the head of the right fielder and off the top of the wall to score another run, 7-2.
Following a pop out, Tydingco walked in another run as Chattanooga score three runs on two hits and take a 8-2 lead.
Chattanooga heads to Athens, Ga., for the Bulldog Invitational next weekend as they open the event with a game against Indiana at 11 a.m. The Lady Mocs will also face the host Bulldogs, Campbell twice and James Madison during the three-day tournament.
Georgia Southern 4, Murray State 3
AUBURN, Ala. - Georgia Southern Softball completed its second come-from-behind win in as many days as the Eagles downed Murray State, on Sunday, February 27th, at Jane B. Moore Field in the final game of the War Eagle Classic. A strong relief outing by senior Brianna Streetmon enabled the Eagles (7-9) to rally past the Racers and finish the weekend with a 3-2 record.
The Racers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Georgia Southern slowly chipped away at the lead over the next two innings. With two outs in the second frame, Hanna Ennis singled to right field. Mackenzie Williams followed with a double which was mishandled by the outfielder. The error allowed Ennis to score and cut the Murray State lead to 2-1.
In the top of the third, Marie Fogle singled to start the inning and Megen Smith put runners on first and second with a single of her own. Andrea Tarashuk brought Fogle home later in the inning to tie the game at 2-2 with an RBI single.
Tarashuk led off the fifth with a single up the middle and Tabby Douberley executed a textbook sacrifice bunt to move pinch runner Alexa Lewis to second. With two outs, Ennis hit a towering two-run home run over the left field wall to give the Eagles their first lead of the game. The 4-2 advantage held as the Eagles won their seventh game of the season.
Streetmon earned the win for the Eagles and improved to 4-3 on the season. In six innings of scoreless relief, she struck out nine batters while allowing only two hits.
Georgia Southern Softball continues its 2011 season next weekend at Tennessee's Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. Georgia Southern is scheduled for two games against eighth-ranked Tennessee and a single game against Louisiana-Monroe. The Eagles and Lady Vols meet in the first game Saturday, March 5th, at 3 p.m. The Eagles will also play an exhibition game against the Dutch National Team.
College of Charleston 2, Iowa State 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston softball team closed the 2011 CofC Cougar Classic with a 2-1 win over Iowa State at Patriots Point on Sunday afternoon.
Stephanie Saylors picked up the complete-game win in the contest and hurled four perfect innings before Iowa State produced a base runner. She allowed just two hits, four base runners in total in the game.
The Cougars improved to 8-5 on the season while Iowa State fell to 9-6.
Amanda Lonergan picked up an RBI for the Cougars. Katie Nutaitis was 2-for-3 on the day with a double and a single.
The Cougars struck early with a two-out rally in the bottom of the first inning. Katie Forbes drew a two-out walk to extend the inning to Lonergan who doubled to right-center field to score Forbes from first.
The Cyclones didn't put anybody on base until the top of the fifth inning but couldn't translate a CofC error into runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Cougars added an insurance run when Kaitlyn White reached on a walk and Carly Corthell singled to put runners on first and third. White scored later on an Iowa State error, making the score 2-0.
The Cyclones managed two hits and a run in the top of the sixth to cut the lead in half but Saylors shut them down the rest of the way to preserve the win.
The Cougars continue play on Wednesday, March 2 with a doubleheader at South Carolina State before traveling to Clearwater, Fla., to take part in the University of South Florida Under Armour Invitational next weekend.
UNCG 3, Morehead State 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Alex Emeterio went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI as UNCG downed Morehead State 3-2 in the consolation game of the Spartan Classic on Sunday. Kansas topped Minnesota 1-0 in the title game later in the afternoon.
Emeterio put the Spartans (7-8) on the board in the top of the first inning, lacing a double to the gap in right center to score Aisha Figueroa, who led off the game with an infield single.
UNCG made it a 3-0 contest in the third inning, with April Langley drawing a leadoff walk and stealing second before Emeterio brought her in with an RBI single to right. Emeterio moved to second on a Morehead State error on the play.
Kaitlin Merkt followed with a single up the middle to score Emeterio and give the Spartans an early three-run cushion.
UNCG starter Cory Mattson worked out of a couple of early jams, getting an infield fly and a strikeout as Morehead State (4-10) left the bases loaded in the second and working around a double and infield single in the fourth.
The Eagles finally broke through against Mattson in the sixth. A pair of hits and a hit batter loaded the bases, and Stephanie Etter came in on Sam Woodall's fielder's choice that erased the runner at third. Kayla Ashbrook followed with an RBI single up the middle, but Mattson got a groundout to escape further damage.
She then worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to lock up the win.
Heather Robb also had a two-hit game for the Spartans, going 2-for-3 with singles in the second and sixth innings.
Mattson improved to 3-5 on the season, allowing two runs on seven hits. Her counterpart, Kelcey McMurray fell to 2-2 after allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks in 3 innings. Ashley Imperial finished the game for the Eagles, throwing 4 innings of three-hit ball.
UNCG returns to action next weekend at the Buzz Classic in Woodstock, Ga. The Spartans open play at the Buzz against Western Kentucky at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by a contest against Evansville.
Radford 6, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team closed out play Sunday in the Magic City Classic with a 6-1 loss to Radford at Bulldog Field. The Bulldogs (3-11) went 1-3 over the weekend falling to Lipscomb, Indiana State and Radford while defeating Alabama State in a one-hit shutout.
Radford jumped out to a 2-0 lead quickly in the first inning when Nichole Beall hit a two-run home run over the scoreboard in left field. Michelle Beall led off the second inning with a homer to right field to put the Highlanders on top, 3-0.
Samford got on the board in the bottom of the third inning when Julianne Surane grounded out to drive in Kayla Shaffer who hit a triple to right center field in the previous at-bat.
The Bulldogs held Radford scoreless in the top of the fourth inning, but the Highlanders added two more on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single in the top of the fifth to take a 5-1 lead. Radford then extended its lead to 6-1 in the top of the sixth when Michelle Beall scored on a passed ball.
Lakan Smith led the Bulldogs against the Highlanders with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Five other Bulldog players also had a hit including Shaffer, Alex Adams, Amanda Jordan, Tessa Frates and Brianna Chambers.
Smith was also named to the Magic City Classic All-Tournament Team. Smith played in three games, starting two, and posted a .556 batting average. She collected five hits in nine appearances at the plate, scored two runs and also had an RBI. She also had 14 putouts on the weekend and posted a perfect fielding percentage.
Kayla Burris (2-6) took the loss for the Bulldogs, giving up three earned runs on four hits in two innings of work. Nicole Bobrowski pitched the final five innings, giving up just one earned run on seven hits while recording two strikeouts.
Nichole Beall and Michelle Beall led the Highlanders at the plate. Nichole went 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI while Michelle went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Lauren Williams also posted a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, scoring two runs, while Shannon Keefe went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Stephanie Dameron (3-2), an All-Tournament Team selection, earned the win for Radford, giving up just one earned run on three hits in three innings of work. Chelsea Kelley pitched the final four innings, giving up four hits and recording three of the Highlanders' four strikeouts.
The Bulldogs are back in action next weekend in their final tournament before the Southern Conference season starts March 12. Samford will head to Cookeville, Tenn., to play in the Tennessee Tech Combat Classic. There, the Bulldogs will take on Belmont, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina State and Louisville.
IPFW 2, Western Carolina 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (8-5) dropped the final game of the North Carolina A&T Invitational 2-0 to IPFW Sunday.
Sophomore Amber Steinhardt and freshman Kelly Braman were named to the NC A&T Invitational All-Tournament team. Braman had a .455 batting average in the four-game tournament with five hits, a double and three RBI. Steinhardt hit .333 with three hits, a double and an RBI. On the mound, although Steinhardt went 0-2 in two appearances, she only allowed two earned runs in 13 innings pitched, giving up 10 hits and striking out six.
The Catamounts were shutout for the second time in the tournament this weekend, with the 2-0 loss to IPFW. The Mastadon's scored a run in the first inning and one in the second to hold out for the win.
Western Carolina has just three hits in the game. Amelia Griffin, Erin Foster and Braman each picked up a hit in the contest. The Catamounts had only one player in scoring position in the contest. In the fifth inning Steinhardt was hit by a pitch and moved to second thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Shemekia Scotton. A fly ball out by Haley Pace and a strikeout by Makenzi McAteer ended the Catamounts scoring opportunity.
Steinhardt pitched a complete game and takes the loss falling to 4-2 on the season. She allowed two runs, one earned, six hits and struck out four.
The Catamounts return to action March 4 at the Kickin' Chicken Classic hosted by Coastal Carolina.