Western Carolina 4, Towson 3
Western Carolina 1, Delaware 0
CONWAY, S.C. - Western Carolina softball (10-6) swept day one action at the Coastal Carolina Tournament defeating Towson (6-5) 4-3 and Delaware (2-6) 1-0 Friday.
Sophomore outfielder Jordan Fulton broke the Catamount career stolen base record in the fifth inning against Delaware. After breaking the single-season record, with 16, in 2010, Fulton now tops the Catamounts in career stolen bases with 20 for the sixth year program at Western Carolina.
Western Carolina opened the Coastal Carolina Tournament with a 4-3, come from behind, victory over Towson. Junior lefty hurler Katie King improved to 5-3 with win on the mound. King threw a complete game allowing eight hits, three runs and struck out three.
Catamount pitchers went 2-0 on the day with Amber Steinhardt earning the win in the second game against Delaware. Steinhardt tossed a six hit shutout, her second of the season, and improved to 5-2 on the year.
Towson scored first, a lone run in the third inning, after a scoreless first and second inning in the first game. The Tigers' Bina Abott hit a one out homerun to center field for the first score of the game.
Western Carolina tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth inning. Back-to-back singles by Shemekia Scotton and Haley Pace set up a scoring opportunity for Amber Steinhardt. After Scotton advanced to third from Pace's single, Steinhardt scored Pace on a fielder's choice RBI.
Towson added single runs in the top of the sixth and seventh innings to take a 3-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. It was the bottom of the seventh the Catamounts would take control of the game.
Singles by Makenzi McAteer and Amelia Griffin, followed by Jordan Fulton reaching first on a Towson error set the first score for Catamounts to start the bottom of the seventh inning. On the Towson error Robyn Burnette, who pinch ran for McAteer, scored on the Tiger's miscue. With Griffin now on third, Morgan Wyatt hit an RBI sacrifice fly to right field to score Griffin and tie the game at 3-3. Kelly Braman hit the game winning RBI when she singled past second base sending Fulton home for the winning run.
Griffin and Wyatt each had three hits in the game against Towson. In total, Western Carolina had 10 hits against the Tigers.
In game two, Western Carolina faced Delaware for the first of two times in the tournament. The Catamounts squeezed out a run in a game that was stingy for run production, scoring the first run of the game in the top of the third inning.
Griffin led off the third inning with a single and promptly stole second. Fulton ground out to the Delaware pitcher allowing Griffin to move to third. A sacrifice fly by Morgan Wyatt garnered an RBI and scored Griffin.
Starting pitcher Steinhardt got out of a real jam,the first real threat she faced in the game, in the top of the sixth inning. After issuing two walks and a single, the bases were loaded by Delaware. Steinhardt forced a fly out to centerfield to end the inning.
Delaware threatened to score again in the bottom of the seventh inning and again the Catamount defense held strong. A pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt had a Delaware runner at third posed to tie the game. Steinhardt forced a fly out and a ground out to end the game.
Western Carolina continues play at the Coastal Carolina Tournament Saturday facing Delaware again at 1 p.m. and host Coastal Carolina at 5:30 p.m.
College of Charleston 4, Central Michigan 3 (9 innings)
College of Charleston 3, Columbia 0
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The College of Charleston softball team won both of its games on the opening day of the University of South Florida Under Armour Invitational on Friday morning at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
CofC (12-5) got past Central Michigan, 4-3, in dramatic fashion in the opener with a game tying-run in the bottom of the seventh and an eventual game winner in the ninth. Jen Rosene picked up the win in going five innings allowing only two hits and no earned runs.
The Cougars won the second the second game more comfortably, 3-0, behind a complete-game shutout pitching performance by Alexa Datko.
"I'm proud of how my team kept fighting and stayed in the game [against CMU]," said head coach Shelly Hoerner. "It can be difficult to stay up after traveling this far but we responded well and picked up two wins."
GAME ONE: CofC: 4, Central Michgan: 3 (9 inn.)
For the third time this season, the Cougars successfully tied a game in the seventh inning to force extra innings. CofC also needed to score a run in the eighth to extend the game and eventually plated the game winner in the ninth.
CofC took an early lead when Katie Pesature was hit by a pitch and took advantage of a CMU fielding error to score the game's first run.
CMU took control in the fifth inning with three consecutive hits - a double and two singles - to plate two runs and take a 2-1 advantage.
In the seventh, Kelsey Hodgson drew a walk to start the inning. CMU then recorded two quick outs before Carly Corthell reached on a bunt single to put runners on first and second. Kristy Giragosian, facing a 1-2 count and the game's potential last pitch, blooped a single down the right-field line to score the game-tying run.
In the international tiebreaker scenario with a runner placed at second, CMU took another lead in the eighth with a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third and an RBI groundout to go up 3-2.
The Cougars tied the game in bottom of the eighth when a CMU throwing error allowed the Cougars' automatically-placed baserunner to score from second.
CofC quieted CMU in the top of the ninth and won the game when Pesature doubled to right field to score Kristi Woodall.
GAME TWO: CofC: 3, Columbia: 0
The Cougars got a quality pitching outing from Datko and solid all-around defense to get a shutout in the second game to down Columbia.
The Cougars put on two runs in the opening inning with a rally sparked by Corthell's one-out single through the left side. Katie Forbes reached on an unsuccessful fielder's choice and Amanda Lonergan grounded out to plate the game's first run. Katie Nutaitis then doubled over the center fielder's head to put CofC up 2-0.
Nutaitis picked up another RBI in the sixth when she singled down the left-field line to score Kaitlyn White from second base.
The insurance run would prove unnecessary as the Cougars shut down CMU the rest of the way to come away with the 3-0 win.
NEXT UP:
The Cougars continue the Invitational with two Saturday games, the first against Radford at 10 a.m. and then against Maine at 3 p.m.
Elon 7, Tennessee State 4
Elon 5, Binghamton 4 (9 innings)
DELAND, Fla. - The Elon University softball team (10-2) picked up two more wins on the first day of the Stetson Invitational on Friday, March 4, in DeLand, Fla. The Phoenix used two home runs from senior Emerald Graham and junior Erin O'Shea to win the first game, 7-4, over Tennessee State (6-11). In its second game of the day against Binghamton (0-1), Graham recorded two RBI that sent the game into extra innings and gave Elon the eventual 5-4 win.
Senior Lauren Taylor (6-1) earned the two wins for Elon, while Graham finished the day 3-for-5 with one run, five RBI and one homerun.
Game 1
The Phoenix started things off right away in the first inning with a double from Tomeka Watson, who extended her hitting streak to 11 games, but was then thrown out at third. Senior Jackie Gonzalez was able to reach base off a dropped fly to right field and then advanced to third on an error and scored later in the inning off a sac fly from senior Caitlin McGowan to give Elon a 1-0 edge.
O'Shea extended Elon's lead to two runs an inning later after blasting Kelly Troglin's first offering over the fence for the solo homer to give the Phoenix a 2-0 lead.
McGowan drove in her second run of the game in the third, as her RBI single plated Watson to extend Elon's lead to three runs, 3-0. Gonzalez, who advanced to third on McGowan's hit, then scored on a throwing error to make it 4-0 for the Phoenix. With McGowan at second, Graham stepped up to the plate and hit an inside-the-park homerun to center field, her fifth homerun of the season. Elon finished the inning with four runs off three hits holding a 6-0 lead.
After Tennessee State plated three runs to pull within three, the Phoenix tacked another run on the board in the seventh to reclaim a four-run edge after an RBI single to left from Graham scored McGowan to make it a 7-3 game.
Tennessee State threatened in the bottom of the seventh with three hits, but were only able to score one run and left three players stranded giving Elon a final 7-4 win.
Taylor earned her fifth win of the season after 5.2 innings of work. The North Carolina native faced 24 batters and gave up only five hits and one run while striking out seven. Kari Pervell started the game for the Phoenix but was replaced by Taylor after giving up three runs off three hits in 1.1 innings. The Tigers' Troglin took the loss moving to 2-3 on the season.
Game 2
After two and a half scoreless innings, Elon made noise first in the bottom of the third. Senior Hannah Shelton reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Watson. Gonzalez brought Shelton home with a two-out single through the right side to give Elon a 1-0 lead.
Elon returned to work in the fourth with a single up the middle by Watson that scored Shelton and freshman Morgan Wright, increasing the Phoenix lead to 3-0.
After striking out six Bearcats in five innings and allowing only two batters to reach base, O'Shea gave up solo homer to Meghan Tucker to leadoff the sixth. Two straight singles by Jessica Bump and Shannon Kane placed runners at first and second for the Bearcats' Deannie Plemon, who sent the first pitch to left center for a three-run homerun. Senior Pam DelPizzo relieved O'Shea and struck out the next two to get the Phoenix out of the inning. Binghamton scored a total of four runs off four hits in the inning to take a 4-3 lead over Elon.
Down one run in the bottom of the seventh, Watson singled through the right side off the first pitch of the inning to put the tying run on base for the Phoenix. With two outs and Watson at second, Graham singled up the middle to score Watson and send the game into extra innings with the score knotted at 4-all.
Elon placed Shelton at second in the bottom of the ninth with the score still tied. Shelton then advanced to third on a fielder's choice that also found Watson safe at first. A sacrifice bunt by McGowan moved Shelton to third and Watson to second with Graham on deck for the maroon and gold. Graham, who sent the game into extra innings for the Phoenix, came to the plate with two outs and runners at second and third. With a full count, Graham sent a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Shelton from third and gave Elon the 5-4 victory.
Taylor picked up the win for the Phoenix, her second of the day, after pitching one inning. Of the four batters faced, Taylor stuck out three. DelPizzo pitched a total of 2.2 innings of hitless softball, striking out three of the eight batters she faced.
Watson extended her hitting streak to 12 games after recording one run off two hits and two RBI against the Bearcats. Graham finished with two RBI, including the game-tying run in the seventh and the game-winning run in the ninth.
The Phoenix will continue play in the Stetson Invitational tomorrow, March 5, with another game against Binghamton at 11 a.m. and a game against host Stetson at 4 p.m.
Western Kentucky 7, UNCG 1
UNCG 9, Evansville 3
WOODSTOCK, Ga. - UNCG dropped a 7-1 game to Western Kentucky but rebounded with a 9-3 win over Evansville as the Spartans earned a split on Friday, the first day of the Buzz Classic.
Against WKU (10-4), Kaitlin Merkt hit an RBI single for the Spartans (8-9) in the first inning to knock in Aisha Figueroa, who singled the lead off the game.
Western Kentucky tied the game in the bottom of the second on Megan Johnson's RBI single, then scored three runs in the third to take a lead it would not relinquish. Mallorie Sulaski, Amanda Walden and Amanda Thomas had RBI in the inning.
The Hilltoppers added two more runs in the fifth on Lauren Smith's two-run single, then added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Thomas.
The Spartans' best chance for a comeback was in the fifth, but UNCG left the bases loaded. Kristen Gabel got things going with a one-out single and Figueroa followed by reaching on an error. One out later, Alex Emeterio reached on a walk to load the bases, but WKU starter Kim Wagner got a popout to get out of trouble.
Figueroa was 2-for-4 in the contest but reached base in all four at-bats. She reached base twice on errors by WKU shortstop Thomas.
Wagner (4-2) picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits in 6 innings.
UNCG starter Cory Mattson (3-6) took the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits in 6 innings.
The Spartans bounced back in the nightcap, exploding for four runs in the bottom of the first against Evansville (1-10) after giving up two in the top half.
The Purple Aces drew first blood in the first with some savvy base-running. Katie Sears drew a leadoff walk, stole second, then went to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Kelci Alsip, the two worked a double steal for Evansville's first run.
A sacrifice moved Alsip to third and after another walk, Alsip came home when Alicia Betancur got caught in a rundown between first and second.
UNCG came roaring back in the bottom half, with Emeterio hitting an RBI single to score Figueroa and Merkt following with a two-run home run to make it 3-2. After a Jordan Jewett walk, Toni MacReynolds hit an RBI double to make it a two-run game.
The Spartans added another run in the second on another RBI single from Emeterio. Two more runs came in in the third inning, with Jewett scoring on an Ally Johnson groundout and Heather Robb coming around on a wild pitch to make it 6-2.
Evansville got a run back in the fifth on Kacey Rogers' bases-loaded walk, but the Spartans answered with a pair in the bottom of the sixth on Emeterio's RBI single and Merkt's run-scoring double.
Emeterio finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, while Merkt was 2-for-3 with three RBI of her own. Figueroa, Robb and MacReynolds also had two hits each.
Amy Gaertner was 2-for-4 to lead the Purple Aces.
Josie Felix (3-2) picked up the win, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits. Her counterpart, Kendall Kautz (0-3), took the loss, allowing five runs on five hits in an inning of work.
UNCG returns to action at the Buzz Classic on Saturday, taking on Massachusetts at 11 a.m. and Connecticut at 4 p.m.
Indiana 2, Chattanooga 0
ATHENS, Ga. - An 11-game winning streak came to an end Friday as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team fell to Indiana, 2-0, in the first-game of the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga. Senior pitcher Michelle Fuzzard fanned a career-high nine on the afternoon in a complete game.
"It was cold as the weather throughout the game was around 39 degrees with misting rain," said Head Coach Frank Reed following the contest on the phone. "Fuzzard was awesome today and I wish that the offense could have backed her up. She had nine strike outs and only gave up four hits. She rebounded today and was dominant after being a bit off last weekend."
A pitching-duel ensued between Fuzzard and Indiana's Morgan Melloh as the two hurlers combined to strikeout 22 opposing hitters. Melloh with 13 strikeouts moved into 20th on the NCAA all-time list with 1,263 in her career.
The Chattanooga offense was held in check for the first time in 10 games as senior left fielder Lauren Flores and sophomore first baseman Kasey Tydingco registered the two hits for the Lady Mocs.
"We need to be more selective at the plate," stated Reed. "We were swinging at pitches out of the zone after we just got ourselves deep in the count. We need to just make sure that we stay ahead in the count and make positive swings on the front end."
Following an infield single and walk in the bottom of the first, Indiana's Jenna Abraham singled up the middle as Ashley Warrum gave the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, the Lady Mocs went down in order, but Fuzzard notched two strikeouts in retiring the Hoosiers.
Flores led off the third with a walk and advanced to second on a ground out, but would be stranded in scoring position. The third strikeout of the game for Fuzzard ended the bottom-half of the frame.
With one out in the fourth, Tydingco connected on the first hit of the game for Chattanooga a double off the wall in left field, but Melloh was able to strikeout the side. The pitching duel continued as Fuzzard matched the Hoosier hurler by retiring three-in-a-row on strikes.
After a strikeout to open the fifth, Flores singled off the pitcher Melloh as the ball caromed into shallow left field.
Indiana was able to manufacture another run in the fifth as a walk and miscue at short allowed for a runner in scoring position. Sara Olson singled to center as senior centerfielder Lyndsey Stiles gunned the ball to third, but hit the runner in the helmet and the ball ended up in the dugout allowing Indiana to take a 2-0 advantage. Fuzzard continued to dazzle in the circle as she fanned the final two in the inning to tie a career-high with eight.
The Lady Mocs had another opportunity in the sixth as Fuzzard drew a one-out walk, but Indiana's Melloh was up to the task and retired the side on strikes. The final pitch of the day for Fuzzard was a strikeout to set a new career-high with nine.
Chattanooga continues the Bulldog Invitational on Saturday with a doubleheader against Campbell and James Madison beginning at 11 a.m. The Lady Mocs conclude the event on Sunday with matchups against Campbell and #1 Georgia beginning at 1 p.m.
Louisiana-Monroe 12, Furman 3
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Louisiana Monroe belted three home runs in an eight-run third inning en route to a 12-3 victory over Furman in the opening game of the Tennessee Softball Classic on Friday afternoon at Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
With the victory, the Warhawks improved to 10-8 on the season while Furman dipped to 2-9 with its third straight loss.
Melissa Rivera, who registered a 3-for-3 day at the plate with a pair of doubles, drilled a two-run extra base hit to left-center field in the bottom of the first to help stake the Warhawks to an early 3-0 lead.
After Furman answered with an RBI triple from Stephanie Spain in the second inning, ULM exploded for eight runs on nine hits in the bottom of the third. The Warhawks tallied six hits, capped by a solo homer from Brianna Love, to chase Paladin starter Lauren Collier from the game with ULM leading 8-0. Roxane Cassel and Janel Salaona greeted reliever Kayla Suskauer by belting back-to-back homers to continue the offensive outbreak for the Warhawks.
Freshman Hannah Pace blasted her first career homer in the top of the fourth and Spain added an RBI single before ULM added a run in the bottom of the fourth to eventually win by the eight-run mercy rule after five innings.
Collier (2-6) suffered the loss for Furman allowing eight runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings while Suskauer surrendered four runs, one earned, on five hits in just 1.1 innings. Spain went 2-for-2 with two RBI to pace the Paladins offense.
Stephanie Routzon worked four innings allowing three runs on five hits to earn the victory for ULM. Rivera collected three hits while four other Warhawks tallied a pair of safeties each to lead ULM's 14-hit attack.
Furman concludes play in the Tennessee Classic on Saturday when it battles the seventh-ranked Lady Vols at 1 p.m. before playing a 5 p.m. exhibition contest against the Dutch National Team at Lee Stadium. The Paladins return home to host Charlotte in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday at Pepsi Stadium.
Bulter 5, Appalachian State 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Amid growing concerns for the weather that would be moving into the Nashville area, Appalachian State University softball (5-10) played what would have been its first game tomorrow, today and fell to Butler, 5-0 at Draper Diamond on the first day of the Lady Bison Classic.
The Bulldogs tallied at least a single run in the first, fourth and fifth innings and two in the third off seven hits and two errors to down the Mountaineers.
Junior Megan Rembielak earned the first Black and Gold hit in the top of the first frame by singling through the left side of the Bulldog defense after senior Katie Boyd looked at strike three to lead off. But sophomore Meghan Smith popped into a double play in the next at bat to erase Rembielak and end the inning for ASU.
Back-to-back Mountaineer errors to begin the Butler half of the first inning came back to bite ASU. Erin Jackson got on via an error by senior McKenzie Phillips and teammate Kayla Gray reached on an error by senior Hannah Dow to put runners on first and second. Erin Falkenberry then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners up one more base with one out. Lauren McNulty then grounded out to Boyd, forcing Boyd to get the sure out at first, allowing Jackson to record the game's first run. Meaghan Sullivan ended the inning by grounding out to Phillips.
Neither team put up any runs in the second and the only ASU player to reach base in the stanza was Dow on an one-out walk.
Sophomore Hayley Grabner used her speed to earn a bunt single to begin the third, but was left on the base path as Appalachian went down in order afterward.
In the home end of the third, the Bulldogs only needed three hits to get tack on two more runs and to build a 3-0 cushion. Lauren Ott started ff with a single to right field and her pinch runner, Emily Schrock, was advanced over to second after Jackson laid down a bunt single to third base. Schrock was forced out at third during the next at bat via a Gray fielder's choice. But McNulty came through with a single right back up the middle, playing Gray and Jackson. Sullivan lined out to shortstop to end the inning before any more damage could be done.
Smith started off ASU's fourth inning by reaching on a miscue by Callie Dennison. Sophomore Allie Cashion followed up with a gapper to right field, placing runners on first and second. Dow flew out to center field, allowing Smith to move over to third, putting Mountaineers on the corners. But back-to-back strikeouts stopped the Apps' momentum and ended the inning.
A Jessica Huey single to shortstop ended sophomore Louise Gibson's day in the circle as she was replaced with junior Caitlin Wainright. Alyssa Coleman laid down another bunt for the Bulldogs, permitting Huey to make the run over to second. Devin Dearing, who came in to pinch hit for Dennison, popped up to Phillips, making it two outs in the inning, but a base knock to left center by Schrock, plated Huey and gave the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead.
In the Mountaineer fifth, Boyd garnered a two-out hit to shortstop to keep the inning alive. Rembielak used her speed to lay down a bunt single to third for her team-leading second hit of the game, but both were left standing as Smith grounded out to second base to end the inning.
Butler put one more run up on the board in the bottom of the fifth and the lead stood through the next two innings, despite the Apps scattering two more baserunners.
Gibson (1-3) took the loss while Butler's Jennifer Chasteen (2-1) got the complete-game shutout.
The Mountaineers were led by Rembielak and Grabner's two hits, which were season highs for both.
Appalachian will take to the field again tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. against Lipscomb.