Furman 8, Providence 3
Furman 4, Providence 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Junior Alex Bimonte belted a two-run homer run in the bottom of the sixth inning in game two to lift Furman over Providence, 4-2, and give the Paladins a doubleheader sweep of the Friars in non-conference softball action on Wednesday at Pepsi Stadium. The Paladins prevailed 8-3 in game one.
With the sweep, Furman improved to 9-12 overall and upped its record at Pepsi Stadium this season to a perfect 9-0. Providence fell to 5-12 on the season.
After Hannah Pace doubled down the left field line to open the sixth inning and Stephanie Spain popped out, Bimonte, a native of Boca Raton, Fla., drilled a two-strike pitch from Providence starter Alicia Grosso over the left-center field fence to break a 2-2 tie and give Furman its first lead of the game.
Providence jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Jessie Bryant's two-run homer. Morgan Hughey cut the lead in half with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame and Jessie Homesley pulled Furman even with a two-out single to plate Nikki Legg in the fifth inning to set up Bimonte's sixth inning heroics.
Sophomore Kayla Suskauer (4-4) tossed a complete game allowing just two runs on five hits to earn the victory for the Paladins. The Tampa, Fla., product fanned two Friars and issued just two walks.
Grosso (3-6) took the loss for Providence surrendering four runs, two earned, on five hits in six innings of work. Bryant paced the Friars at the plate with a pair of hits.
In game one, freshman Lauren Collier went 3-for-4 at the plate, including belting her fifth homer of the season, and tossed a complete game to lead Furman to an 8-3 victory.
The Paladins erased a 1-0 first-inning deficit with and RBI groundout from Homesley and RBI single from Pace in the bottom of the frame. In the second inning, Stephanie Field and Katie Michaels ignited a two-out rally with back-to-back singles before Collier lined a two-run single up the middle to extend the Furman lead to 4-1.
After an unearned run upped the cushion to 5-1 in the third, Collier hammered a Corinne Clauss pitch over the left-center field wall in the fourth to put the Paladins ahead 7-1.
The Maineville, Ohio, native worked out of trouble in the seventh to secure her fifth victory of the season and improve to 5-8. Collier allowed three runs on nine hits while walking two batters and recording three strikeouts.
Field went 3-for-4 with three runs while Collier finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Clauss (2-6) gave up seven runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings to suffer the loss for the Friars. Michelle Huber went 3-for-3 while Jen Abrams and Justine Stratton each collected two hits.
Furman returns to Southern Conference play with a three-game series at Samford this weekend. The Paladins and Bulldogs play a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday before concluding the series with a single game at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
North Carolina State 4, Elon 2
North Carolina State 13, Elon 1
ELON, N.C. - The Elon University softball team struggled to find a rhythm on offense on Wednesday, March 16, at East Field, as the Phoenix dropped a pair of games to the NC State Wolfpack, 4-2 in game one and 13-1 in game two. Elon drops to 13-7 on the year, while NC State improves to 12-10.
Rookie Carleigh Nester registered three hits on the day, all coming in game one after going 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Tomeka Watson recorded Elon's only hit in game two with a solo home run over the fence in left center. Emerald Graham went 2-for-4 with one run scored in game one for the Phoenix.
Lauren Taylor, the reigning Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week, went all seven innings in game one, but suffered the loss to fall to 8-3 on the year. Erin O'Shea went four innings in game two and gave up nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits and three walks to take the loss.
Game 1
NC State's offense struck early after pushing two runs across the plate on just one hit in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead following a two-run single to left with the bases loaded by Bethany Wells.
Elon put together a two-out rally in the bottom half of the first to load the basses on a walk by Caitlin McGowan and back-to-back singles by Graham and Nester, but the Phoenix left all three runners stranded on base to stay behind, 2-0.
The Wolfpack tacked on to their lead in the third with an opposite field solo homer to right-center off the bat of Wells to take a 3-0 advantage.
The Phoenix put a run on the board in the third and limited NC State to a 3-1 lead after McGowan walked and Graham singled to put runners on first and second with one down. Nester then delivered with a line-drive double over the left fielder's head to bring home Elon's first run.
But the Wolfpack responded in the fourth after Taylor got into trouble and walked in an NC State run to make it a 4-1 game. Taylor got out of the inning without any further damage to keep the Phoenix within arm's length.
Elon threatened in its final at-bat in the seventh when it loaded the bases with two down. A run came home after a fielding error by the shortstop that put the winning run at first base. But the maroon and gold rally ended on a pop put to short ending the ballgame with the score 4-2.
Elon put runners on base all afternoon but could not find the hit to push runs across the plate, leaving 13 runners left on base for the game.
Taylor went seven innings, giving up four runs on nine hits for Elon. Morgan Heeler (6-4) picked up the win for NC State, despite lasting only four innings and giving up one run on five hits.
Game 2
NC State got on the board early once again in the second game with one run in the first after Alyssa Albritten singled to bring home Alyssa Ishibashi, who was hit-by-pitch to start the game.
But Elon tied the game in the bottom of the third after Watson belted her third round-tripper of the season over the fence in left-center to make it a 1-1 game and give the Phoenix a spark.
However, NC State immediately struck back with six runs in the fourth to take a commanding 7-1 lead. With runners on second and third and one out, a wild pitch brought home one run and a single by Breanna Andrews brought home another to make it a 3-1 game. NC State added four more runs, including a three-run homer by Bridget Desbois, to take a six-run lead.
The Phoenix loaded the bases on three walks in the bottom of the fourth, but could not chip into the deficit. The Wolfpack added on six more runs in the fifth all with two outs to take a 13-1 lead and all but seal the win.
Kayla Cox registered 13 strikeouts over five innings of work to pick up the win for NC State and improve to 6-5, while O'Shea dropped to 4-3 on the year with the setback.
The Phoenix travels to Boone, N.C. this weekend for a series with SoCon rival Appalachian State. Elon will play a doubleheader with the Mountaineers on Saturday, March 19, at 1 p.m. with the final game of the series scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 20.
Lipscomb 1, Western Carolina 0
Lipscomb 11, Western Carolina 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (13-12) was swept by Lipscomb 1-0, 11-2 (9-8) Wednesday at the Catamount softball complex.
The Catamounts host their Southern Conference home opener Saturday, welcoming Georgia Southern for a three-game series. WCU plays a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday and a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Game one was a tight contest dominated by Lipscomb pitcher Whitney Kiihnl who earned 16 strikeouts. Kiihnl was riding a perfect game for five innings, before Catamount junior Erin Foster spoiled her no-no. With one out, Foster laced a shot past the second baseman and into right field. Western Carolina managed to squeeze out a second hit in the seventh inning, a single past the shortstop by Jordan Fulton.
Lipscomb scored its lone run in the second inning. A walk, by starting Catamount pitcher Bekkah Burkett, and a pair of Catamount errors set up the Lipscomb run. With a Lady Bison runner on third, Lipscomb's Breanna Thurman hit a sacrifice fly to score Rena Cothron.
Burkett got the start and went two innings. She gave up two hits, one unearned run and falls to 0-2 on the season. Burkett was replaced by Katie King in the third inning. King completed the game giving up four hits and striking out five.
In the second game, Western Carolina took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Amelia Griffin and Fulton led off with back-to-back singles. Freshman Morgan Wyatt hit an RBI single to plate Griffin.
Lipscomb took the lead in the top of the third inning, off a three RBI homerun by Mollie Mitchell. It was the first of four homeruns by the Lady Bison, accounting for 10 of the 11 runs Lipscomb scored in the game. Thurman and Courtney Billington also hit solo homeruns and Billington came back to cap off the game with a grand-slam in the top of the seventh inning.
Western Carolina got into the homerun business in the bottom of the sixth inning. Freshman Kelly Braman hit the third homerun of her career, and the first at home for the Catamounts, with a shot to left field.
Sophomore Amber Steinhardt started the game on the mound and takes the loss, falling to 7-4 on the season. She went 5.1 innings allowing six runs on nine hits and struck out two. Megan Taylor replaced Steinhardt in the sixth inning, allowing five runs on three hits and struck out one.
Georgia State 3, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team dropped its midweek matchup with Georgia State, 3-1, Wednesday afternoon at Bulldog Field. The game was the first of a string of six games in five days for the Bulldogs this week.
Georgia State (11-14) got off to a quick 3-0 lead after plating a run in each of the first three innings. The first run was scored on a fielder's choice, the second run on a home run by Maddy Stanton in the second inning, and the third was scored on a base-loaded walk in the third.
The Bulldogs (3-19) finally got on the board in the fifth inning when the Bulldogs had the bases loaded and Madeline Baker, who was pinch running for Nicole Bobrowski who doubled to lead off the inning, scored on a wild pitch.
The Panthers went quietly in the top of the sixth before Adams hit a single with two outs in the bottom of the inning. However, GSU would get the final out to end the inning. The Bulldogs retired the side again in the top of the seventh, but Samford flied out, grounded out and then flied out again to end the game.
Bobrowski, Alex Adams and Kayla Shaffer each had one of Samford's three hits against the Panthers. Kayla Burris (2-9) pitched a complete game, giving up two earned runs on five hits while striking out three batters and allowing one walk.
McCall Langford (4-7) earned the win for GSU, giving up just one earned run on two hits in five innings of work. She struck out six batters and walked two. Erin Collins earned her second save of the season, giving up just one hit and recording one strikeout in the final two innings of the game.
Whitney Phillips went 2-for-2 for the Panthers while Brenna Morrissey was 1-for-4 with two runs. Jessica Clifton and Stanton also went 1-for-3 and each had an RBI along with Lauren Jones.
Samford will be back in action Thursday as it plays host to Jacksonville State in a doubleheader. The first game starts at 1 p.m. at Bulldog Field.