Appalachian State 1, Presbyterian 0
Appalachian State 3, Presbyterian 2
BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University softball (19-19, 10-6 SoCon) doubled up Presbyterian (22-14, 6-6 Big South) in the later innings of both games, winning the first, 1-0 and the second, 3-2 on Wednesday night at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium as part of Strikeout Cancer.
The Mountaineers had to use late, timely hitting to seal the deal in both victories.
Appalachian only tallied one hit through three innings until junior Michelle Lighton singled to left field, moving sophomore Allie Cashion over to second base after she reached on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior Morgan Price singled into left field and advanced to second on the throw, as the Blue Hose defense tried to get Cashion out at the plate for the game's only run. Lighton moved over to third on the play. With runners in scoring position, senior McKenzie Phillips went down swinging to end the inning, but not before ASU would take the 1-0 advantage.
The only other ASU hit of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning when senior Katie Boyd singled to left field and got caught trying to steal second to end the stanza.
The Apps tallied the win, despite getting out hit by PC, 6-4 with both teams committing one error a piece.
Senior Hannah Dow (9-4) picked up the victory, going six innings, giving up five hits and striking out six, while Presbyterian's Leslie Hensley (14-8) was charged with the loss.
Junior Caitlin Wainright came in to throw the last inning and picked up her second save of the season, only giving up one hit, while walking two and striking out one.
Lighton notched two of ASU's four hits, while Boyd and Price picked up the others.
The second game of the doubleheader ended more dramatically.
PC got on the board early in the first inning, but Appalachian was not able to equal the run output, despite having bases loaded. Boyd reached base on an error by PC's second base Morgan Durham and managed to steal second. Junior Megan Rembielak laid down a nice bunt and beat it out for a single, moving Boyd over to third. Rembielak stole second easily and sophomore Meghan Smith walked to load the bases. Presbyterian's Brittany Howell was able to stifle the Mountaineer offense, striking out three straight Apps swinging to get out of the bases-loaded jam.
But ASU answered in its half of the fifth to tie the game up. Senior Sarah Rappe singled to first base to start off the inning. Boyd hit a long pop up to right field for the first out, but Rembielak laid down another bunt, sacrificing herself to advance Rappe to second base. Smith laced a ball through first base, allowing Rappe to come around to score, tying the game up at 1-1. Smith would steal second, but Cashion popped up to right field to end the inning.
After getting Hensley to ground out to second base to start off the sixth, sophomore Louise Gibson had Codee Yeske take a pitch over the left center fence, giving the Blue Hose a 2-1 lead. Gibson settled down to get the next two batters out.
Down to their last at bat, Rappe got the ASU offense going in the seventh by singling through the right side for her second hit of the game. Boyd singled back up the middle, giving the Mountaineers runners on first and second. Rembielak laid down her second sacrifice of the game and advanced Rappe and Boyd over to second and third. After fouling off three pitches and letting one go by for a ball, Smith singled up the middle, allowing Rappe and Boyd to cross home plate, lifting the Black and Gold to a 3-2 victory.
Wainright (4-4) relieved Gibson in the seventh inning and earned the win after sitting down the final two batters in the frame. Hensley (14-9) replaced Howell for the final inning and was given the loss.
Smith led ASU's offense, tallying three hits and three RBIs in the victory, while Rappe added her two hits.
The Mountaineers return to the diamond on Friday and Saturday to take on Samford. Friday's games are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and Saturday's finale, which is Senior Day, will start at 1 p.m.
Charleston Southern 5, College of Charleston 2
College of Charleston 5, Charleston Southern 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston softball team split its nonconference doubleheader against Charleston Southern at Buccaneer field on Wednesday afternoon. The Cougars fell in the opener, 2-5, but bounced back to claim a 5-3 win in the 64th edition of the rivalry.
The Cougars move to 29-17 on the year while Charleston Southern slides to 21-28. Both teams' losses snapped four game winning streaks.
The Cougars will break for 10 days before hosting Western Carolina in a three-game Southern Conference series at Patriots Point on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, April 1. The Saturday doubleheader will serve as the Cougar's Senior Day and they will honor the special careers of five outstanding seniors.
Alexa Datko pitched well in the opener but was a victim of misfortune as all of CSU's contact seemed to find holes. She was tagged with a loss for the first time in six appearances.
Stephanie Saylors pitched 6.1 innings of the second game and earned the win with five strikeouts. Saylors held CSU hitless through the first three innings.
Jen Rosene appeared in both games and earned a save in the second. She pitched a total of two innings allowing one hit and striking out one.
GAME ONE: CofC: 2, Charleston Southern: 5 Charleston Southern plated a run in the third and two in both the fourth and fifth innings and held the Cougars to two total runs to snap CofC's four-game winning streak.
The Cougars broke the scoreless draw in the top of the third inning with a double over the head of the Lady Buc center fielder Melissa Adams by Lizzy Vaughn followed by a clutch, two-out RBI single back up the middle by Kelsey Hodgson who became the first Cougar to 20 RBIs this season.
The Lady Bucs equalized in their half of the third, however, when Megan Lombard doubled into the gap in right center and Jessica Brock plated her with an infield single. Katie Pesature got CofC out of the inning when she gunned down Courtney Konyk - who had pinch ran for Brock - attempting to steal second.
CSU continued its offense in the fourth when Trea Steele singled to a diving Vaughn at shortstop and was able to beat the throw to first base. Melanie Stickney then tripled to left and Ari Tedesco blooped in an infield single to move the score to 3-1. Datko fielded her position to get out of the inning with an extended catch towards the third base line and doubled off the runner who had taken off thinking the ball was unreachable.
CofC took one back in the fifth when Carly Corthell got herself to third with a hard-hit single to right and two stolen bases before Katie Forbes brought her in with a sacrifice fly to center.
CSU tacked on runs for the third inning in a row in the fifth with a Kristin Kelleher walk, Lombard's second double of the game and a two-RBI single for Jana Matthews.
GAME TWO: CofC: 5, Charleston Southern: 3 Hodgson went 3-for-4 in the second game with an RBI while Forbes drove in two runs with one swing to lead CofC to the bounce-back victory in game two.
The Cougars claimed the first run in game two as well when, in the first inning, Vaughn walked and Forbes and Hodgson singled to load the bases for Pesature who scored Vaughn with an RBI sacrifice fly.
After a quiet second inning, CofC broke out in the third and by the time the dust settled, six straight Cougars reached base - inclusive of a fielder's choice - and three runs scored. Vaughn started the rally with an infield single before Forbes crushed her fifth home run of the season over the leftfield fence. Hodgson then dropped a single in over the pitcher's head; Pesature reached on the fielder's choice; Kristi Woodall doubled deep into the gap, scoring Pesature; and Katie Nutaitis hit a hard, line-drive single through the right side.
The Lady Bucs registered their first hits of the game and got on the board in the fourth with an infield single by Lombard who advanced to second on an errant throw into the first base dugout. Matthews then moved the unearned run across with a double to the leftfield fence.
The Lady Bucs loaded the bases and cut into CofC's lead with two runs in the seventh but Rosene shut them down to preserve the win and earn the save.
Georgia 4, Georgia Southern 1
ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia Southern Softball (25-24, 13-5 SoCon) took third-ranked Georgia (40-6, 14-5 SEC) to the brink on Wednesday night (April 20th) at Jack Turner Stadium. The Eagles led early in the game, but runs in the second and sixth innings for the Bulldogs gave the hosts a 4-1 win. Kayla Brooks was 2-for-3 in the game and drove in Georgia Southern's run. The Eagles out-hit the high-powered Georgia offense, 6-3.
"Georgia is an extremely strong team," said Head Coach Maggie Johnson. "We were able to hold them to a close game tonight. We put forth a great pitching and defensive effort and we look forward to playing Georgia again."
The Eagles had a chance to tie the game in the seventh inning when Kelly Burnett hit a would-be game-tying home run off the left field wall. The Eagles, however, were unable to score any runs in the inning to cut into the 4-1 Georgia lead.
Senior Brianna Streetmon held the high-scoring Georgia offense in check all night. The Bulldogs scored four runs, well below their season average of 7.09 runs per game. Streetmon allowed just three hits in the game and stuck out six batters.
The Eagles took advantage of a first-inning leadoff walk to Marie Fogle and a two-out throwing error by the Georgia pitcher to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. With runners on the corners, Brooks slapped a chopper over the shortstop's head. The ball bounded into left field, allowing Fogle to stride home for the game's first run.
Georgia took the lead in the third frame with a two-out single by Alisa Goler. The Bulldogs put runners on second and third with no outs in the inning, but Streetmon struck out the next two batters. Goler rifled a ball down the third base line which glanced off Andrea Tarashuk's glove and into the outfield. Two runs crossed home plate on the play as Georgia pulled ahead 2-1.
With two down in the bottom of the sixth, Georgia tacked on two more runs. Taylor Schlopy scored from third base on Julia Echols' single. Pinch runner Macie Couey scored later in the inning from second base on a Georgia Southern fielding error. The Eagles got out of the inning when Schlopy was cut down trying to advance to third base. With the two runs, UGA extended its lead to 4-1 through six complete innings.
In the seventh frame, Brooks slapped her second base hit of the game, followed by a soft liner up the middle by Tarashuk to put runners on first and second. Burnett ripped a ball off the left field fence with one out, but Brooks was thrown out at home for the second out of the inning. The Bulldogs retired the Eagle side with a ground out.
Georgia Southern returns home this weekend for its final home regular-season series of the season. The Eagles play host to UNC Greensboro on Friday (April 22nd) at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday (April 23rd) at 1 p.m. Georgia Southern will honor its seniors Kelly Burnett, Bethany Crenshaw, Megen Smith and Brianna Streetmon.
North Carolina 11, Elon 4
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Elon softball team cut a seven-run lead by the North Carolina Tar Heels down to just three runs in the top of the fifth on Wednesday night, April 20, at Anderson Stadium in Chapel Hill, but a trio of errors in the bottom half of the inning snowballed into a four-run inning for UNC en route to a 11-4 setback for the Phoenix.
Elon falls to 20-20 with the setback, while UNC improves to 28-19 and snaps a four-game losing skid.
The Phoenix offense loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth after Camille Hill reached on an error following a hard hit ball to short and back-to-back singles from Danielle Lafferty and Jackie Gonzalez. Elon made it a 7-2 game and put runners on the corners on the next at-bat after Carleigh Nester reached first on a fielder's choice at short for the first out of the inning. Caitlin McGowan pulled the Phoenix within three after smoking a two-run double down the left field line to plate pinch-runner Hannah Shelton and Nester to make it a 7-4 game and force UNC starter Lori Spingola back in the game for reliever Sara Buchholz.
But the Tar Heels capitalized a trio of Elon fielding miscues in the bottom half of the inning, as three throwing errors allowed two runs to cross the plate, giving UNC a 9-4 advantage. North Carolina tacked on two more runs in the inning following a two-run single up the middle from Brittany McKinney to make it an 11-4 game and all but seal the win.
Tomeka Watson went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run and a stolen base, while McGowan finished 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
Erin O'Shea took the loss for the Phoenix in the circle and falls to 7-10 on the year after going one and a third inning. O'Shea gave up seven runs on five hits, three walks and two hit batters.
Senior Lauren Taylor struck out seven Tar Heels in four and two-thirds innings of relief, giving up four runs, none of them earned, on six hits and two walks.
After Elon went scoreless in the top of the first, despite a two-out single from Watson, the Tar Heels capitalized on two free passes, including a bases loaded walk, and four hits to plate five runs to take a 5-0 lead. North Carolina received a two-run single from Dani Manko in the first, as well as an RBI single to right field from McKinney.
UNC tacked on two more in the bottom of the second to take a 7-0 lead after a bases loaded walk to Ally Blake and an RBI single to center from Brittany Robinson.
The Elon offense got a spark from Watson in the top of the fourth after the sophomore roped a Spingola offering over the head of left fielder Kelli Wheeler for a leadoff double, her second hit of the game. Watson scored shortly thereafter after stealing third and scoring on a throwing error by UNC catcher McKinney to make it a 7-1 game.
After the Phoenix cut UNC's lead to three in the top of the fifth, the Elon defense recorded three errors in the bottom half that allowed the Tar Heels to score four runs and reclaim a seven-run lead, 11-4.
Elon returns to East Field on Friday and Saturday, April 22-23, to host the Western Carolina Catamounts. The Phoenix and Catamounts will play a single game on Friday at 4 p.m. before wrapping up the series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.