Furman 4, College of Charleston 3

Greenville, S.C. – Jessie Homesley lined a walk-off, RBI single to right-center in the bottom of the 10th inning in game two as Furman claimed a 4-3 victory over the College of Charleston and a doubleheader split with the Cougars in Southern Conference softball action on Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.  The Cougars rallied from a 2-0 deficit to top the Paladins 6-4 in game one.

The victory, Furman's 10th in 11 home games this season, improved the Paladins to 12-19 overall and 6-5 in the SoCon while the Cougars fell to 24-16 overall and 4-9 in league play.

Katie Michaels started the bottom half of the 10th inning on second base via the international tiebreaker rule and moved to third on Lauren Collier's sacrifice bunt.  Homesley, a junior from Acworth Ga., followed with a line drive into the right-center field gap to plate Michaels with the decisive run.

Sophomore Kayla Suskauer earned the victory for Furman to improve to 7-6 in the circle.  The Tampa, Fla., native limited the Cougars to just three runs on nine hits over 10 innings of work.  She fanned three batters and walked three in the complete-game effort.

In the top of the 10th, Charleston sacrificed Kaitlyn White to third, but Suskauer got Katie Pesature to pop up and fanned Kristi Woodall to strand the international tiebreaker runner and retire the side.  Suskauer stranded 10 Cougar runner on the day.

Woodall got the Cougars started with a two-out, two-run double in the first.  Furman answered with three runs in the bottom of the second.  Homesley singled to open the frame and scored when Morgan Hughey laced a double into right-center to cut the lead in half.  Hannah Pace drilled a single down the left field line to score Hughey and tie the score before Nikki Legg singled to left with two outs to dive in Pace with the go-ahead run.

Charleston tied the score in the top of the seventh on Katie Forbes' RBI single to center field that forced extra innings.

Stephanie Saylors (7-6) took the loss for the Cougars allowing four runs, two earned, on 11 hits over 9.1 innings.  She walked just one batter and struck out four.  Leadoff hitter Carly Corthell paced the CofC offensive going 4-for-5 with two runs.

Five different Paladins notched a pair of hits, including Hughey who went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.

In game one, Katie Nutaitis belted a three-run homer to help Charleston rally past the Paladins, 6-4.  

Collier staked the Paladins to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run blast to left-center.  Charleston put its first two runners on base and advanced them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt in the top of the second.  After Furman cut down a runner at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch, Woodall drew a walk and Nutaitis hammered a Collier pitch over the left field wall to put the Cougars on top.

The Cougars added single runs in the third, sixth and seventh to hold off the Paladins and snap Furman's nine-game home winning streak.  Alexa Datko (12-5) earned the victory in the circle after allowing three earned runs on just three hits in 5.1 innings.  Saylors tossed 1.2 scoreless innings to pick up the save.

Collier (5-12) absorbed the loss for Furman surrendering five earned runs on seven hits in seven innings.  She walked five batters and struck out two.

The series will conclude on Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m.

Western Carolina 4, Appalachian State 0

Appalachian State 11, Western Carolina 0

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Each team earned a shutout as Western Carolina softball (18-24, 3-11 Southern Conference) and Appalachian State (14-17, 7-5 SoCon) split the doubleheader Saturday at the Catamount Softball Complex. The Catamounts won game one, 4-0 and the Mountaineers took the second game 11-0.

Sophomore Catamount hurler Amber Steinhardt tossed a dandy in the first game, earning her second shutout of the season. She allowed seven hits, recorded four strikeouts, and improves to 9-8 on the season.

Steinhardt got some clutch play behind her to assist in the win against Appalachian State. The defensive effort included a double play in the first inning to end an Appalachian State threat.

The Mountaineers looked poised to strike first in the opening inning, with back-to-back singles. Steinhardt forced a fly-out to right field for the first out and got out of the jam thanks to a heady play by centerfielder Erin Foster. Allie Cashion hit a rope to centerfield, forcing Foster to dive for the out, and she quickly tossed the ball to the second baseman Robyn Burnette to get the runner at second for the double play.

After going scoreless in the first two innings, Western Carolina got on the board in the third inning. Burnette led off the inning with a double down the left side and moved to third off a sacrifice bunt by Amelia Griffin. With two outs, sophomore Jordan Fulton chopped a single over the third baseman's head to score Burnette and earn an RBI.

Steinhardt cruised through the second and third innings but found her self in a bit of a pickle in the fourth inning. With two outs, she yielded three straight singles to load the bases. She got out of the inning when Steinhardt forced Michelle Lighton to ground out for the third out.

Western Carolina added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

With two outs, junior centerfielder Erin Foster started a rally with a double to the left side in the fifth inning. Foster scored off an RBI single by Haley Pace past the third baseman.

The Catamounts tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning. Morgan Wyatt hit the third double by a Catamount, in the game, to start the sixth. Shemekia Scotton followed with a single to left centerfield which scored Wyatt. Scotton scored off an error by the Mountaineers after Kelly Braman hit a single.

A close game went south for the Catamounts in the second game. Starting pitcher for WCU Katie King, gave up one run in the first inning, but held tight for three innings before the Mountaineers exploded.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, after Wyatt hit a lead-off single, the game was delayed due to lightning in the area. The inning halted with Scotton at the plate and a 1-2 count. Scotton struck out and Steinhardt hit into a double play to end the inning.

It seemed the delay was just what Appalachian State needed as the Mountaineers scored five runs in the fifth and sixth innings. The five spot in the pair of innings shortened the game to six innings.

King was replaced by Bekah Burkett in the fifth inning. King took the loss and falls 8-11 on the season.

Western Carolina and Appalachian State will play the rubber game at 1 p.m. Sunday. 

Chattanoooga 9, UNCG 5

Chattanooga 3, UNCG 0

CHATTTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team swept the Saturday twin bill on Breast Cancer Awareness Day at Frost Stadium against UNCG 9-5 in game one and 3-0 in game two. Senior Nikki Waters pitched a complete-game two hitter and tied her career high in strikeouts with 10 in game two.

The victories improved Chattanooga's record to 28-9 overall and 10-0 in the Southern Conference. The Spartans fell to 17-19 and 6-5 in conference play.

Junior catcher Vivian Morimoto led the team for the day with five hits. Sophomore designated player Michelle Fuzzard had four hits including two doubles and her eighth home run of the year.

Also at the plate, senior third baseman Tiffany Baker drove in four runs on the day, three of them on her team leading 11th home run of the year in game one. Fuzzard and sophomore second baseman Sara Poteat each drove in two runs apiece.

Registering her first career hit and RBI was freshman right fielder Stephanie Riek (Chandler, Ariz.), who went 2-for-3 in the first contest.

The UNCG series continues tomorrow afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at Frost Stadium.

Game One: CHATTANOOGA 9, UNCG 5

Chattanooga fell behind early in the first, but used the long ball to pick up an 8-5 victory over UNCG.

Fuzzard picked up the win for the Lady Mocs to improve her record to 13-5 allowing four hits and strucking out six batters. Senior Kandice Irwin finished the game by fanning all three batters she faced.

Morimoto lead the team with three hits, while Stiles and Fuzzard both scored twice. Baker, Fuzzard and Poteat all recorded a multi-RBI game.

The Spartans began the game with a bloop single to left field from Kristen Gabel. A throwing error by the pitcher on a sac bunt from Aisha Figueroa put two runners in scoring position.

Senior Lauren Flores made a diving catch in left field to temporarily save a run. UNCG got on the scoreboard after a fielding error by the right fielder allowed both runners to score providing a 2-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the inning, senior center fielder Lyndsey Stiles walked and then stole second. Poteat followed with another walk to put two runners on the base path.

Both runners got into scoring position after Stiles advanced to third on a fly out to right field and Poteat stole second. The inning ended when the Spartans center fielder Gabel made a diving catch running towards the infield to prevent any runs from crossing the plate.

The bottom of the second saw Chattanooga take the lead. Morimoto line a single up the middle and on the next pitch junior shortstop Jessica Traxler doubled to left center field.

With two outs, Stiles beat out a ground ball to the shortstop for an infield single that also allowed Morimoto to score. After Stiles stole her second base of the game and conference leading 23rd, Poteat doubled to right center to give the Lady Mocs a 3-2 advantage.

Fuzzard added to the lead with a two-run home run to dead center field. It was her eighth homer of the season and gave Chattanooga a 5-2 advantage after two innings.

In the third, Rieck, who entered the game defensively in the top-half, singled over the first baseman's head for her first career hit. Morimoto continued her hitting tear with double to right center that Rieck attempted to score on, but was thrown out at the plate.

UNCG cut into the Lady Mocs lead in the fourth that began with Jordan Jewett doubling to left center and advancing to third on a ground out. Eileen Horsmon brought her home with a single up the middle and cut the Chattanooga lead at 5-3.

April Langley tied the game at five with a two-run home run just over the fence down the left field line during the fifth.

In the bottom of the inning, Stiles leadoff with a single to center field. After getting one out, the Spartans walked Fuzzard on four-straight pitches. Baker took advantage by blasting the first pitch she saw off the scoreboard to give the Lady Mocs a three-run advantage, 8-5.

The bottom of the sixth began with Fuzzard doubling to right center field and advanced to third on a groundout to the first baseman. Rieck singled through the left side to bring Fuzzard home and pick up her first career RBI to give Chattanooga a 9-5 lead.

For UNCG in the circle, Cory Mattson started, throwing 4.2 innings, while striking out three. Raeanne Hanks came in to pitch the final 1.1 innings.

At the plate, the Spartans were lead by Langley with a home rune and two runs batted in. On the base path, Figueroa stole her 18th base of the year in the fifth inning

Game Two: CHATTANOOOGA 3, UNCG 0

The Lady Mocs used a complete game two hitter from Waters to record a 3-0 victory against the Spartans at Frost Stadium. She tied her career-high in strikeouts with 10 and also gave up a walk.

Morimoto and Fuzzard both recorded two hits each to lead the team in the batting box. Both Baker and Morimoto drove in a run each, too.

Chattanooga began the scoring in the first when Fuzzard doubled to left center field with two outs in the inning. Baker followed with a double of her own to right center to bring Fuzzard home for a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, Baker began the bottom of the inning with a walk. She was pinch ran for by freshman outfielder Kaiti Dutton, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore first baseman Kasey Tydingco.

Harrison singled through to left field to advance Dutton to third. Dutton was able to score when the left fielder missed played the ball, which also allowed Harrison to move up to second. A throwing error by the left fielder to second base permitted Harrison to take third.

On the next pitch, Morimoto knocked a double into left center to plate one run and give Chattanooga an advantage of 3-0 after four innings.

The Lady Mocs threatened in the sixth with Morimoto singling up the middle with two outs. Traxler followed with a double to right center to put two runners in scoring position, but a groundout ended the threat.

Beginning the game for UNCG in the circle was Josie Felix who lasted 3.1 innings. She gave up five hits and three earned runs. Hanks pitched the final 2.2 innings and surrendered three hits and struck out one.

Kaitlin Merkt and Langley led the Spartans at the plate with one hit each.

Georgia Southern 3, Elon 2

Elon 1, Georgia Southern 0, Bottom 6^th Play Suspended

ELON, N.C. - Sophomore Alexa Lewis drove in the go-ahead run with two outs in the sixth inning to lift Georgia Southern Softball to a 3-2 win over Elon on Saturday (April 9th). A third-inning home run by Mackenzie Williams and a Hanna Ennis homer earlier in the sixth tied the score at 2-2. Pinch runner Bethany Crenshaw slid into home, knocking the ball out of the catcher's mitt to give the Eagles their first lead and eventual victory in game one of the three-game Southern Conference series.