Iona 2, Samford 1
DELAND, Fla. ---- The Samford softball team dropped another close decision to the Iona Sunday, as the Gaels edged out the Bulldogs, 2-1, to close out opening weekend at the Stetson Invitational in DeLand, Fla.
Like their first meeting on Saturday, stellar pitching from both teams limited offensive production as Samford (2-2) and Iona (3-1) both forced plenty of putouts. The Bulldogs held the slight edge in hits, 6-5, but could not bring runners home as they left eight on base. Kayla Shaffer led the team in hits, going 2-4 from the plate while starting pitcher Misha Aldridge scored the team's only RBI, driving Robyn Harmon home on a two-out double. On the mound, Aldridge earned another tough loss, allowing two earned runs early but limiting the Iona offense to only three hits, all singles, in the remaining five innings pitched.
The Gaels put their runs on the board early, jumping ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff groundout, their second and third hitters both got on base. A popup to Harmon put two outs on the board, but Deanne Algeo drove them both home with a double to left field, giving the Gaels the early edge.
The Bulldogs would cut the deficit in half in the top of the third, bringing home a run to make the score 2-1. Kayla Shaffer would try to score all the way from first off a Robyn Harmon double to left-center, but she would be thrown out at home. That allowed Harmon to advance to third on the throw however and, with two outs, Aldridge brought Harmon home with an opposite-field double to right.
Offense was at a premium for the rest of the game, but the Bulldogs managed to threaten late in the game. In the top of the sixth, Samford had runners on first and second with two out but a popup in foul territory would end that run. With one out in the seventh, Madison Dickey drove a single through the left side and then, with Shaffer up to bat, would steal second to put Samford in a position to tie the game late. Neither Shaffer or Harmon could bring her home however, and the Bulldogs had to take another tough one-run loss to Iona.
Over the weekend's four games, Aldridge certainly gained a lot of respect going 4-6 from the plate, including a double and a home run. Teams quickly caught on, as she earned seven walks as well. Samford out-hit their opponents, 32-23, as Shaffer led the team with seven. Aldridge and Harmon led the team with three RBI each while Arica Dykes led the team in stolen bases going 2-2.
Next up, Samford softball plays in its 2012 home opener against Mississippi State on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.
Virginia Tech 12, UNCG 3 (6 innings)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Virginia Tech scored nine runs over the final two innings to blow open what had been a tie game, and UNCG had some missed opportunities despite a bevy of base-runners in a 12-3 loss to the Hokies in six innings Sunday, the final day of the Wingate by Wyndham Opening Weekend Tournament at Jacksonville University’s JU Softball Complex.
UNCG (0-5), which stranded nine runners in the contest, battled back from a pair of early deficits but saw the Hokies (5-0) score five runs in the fifth inning and four runs in the sixth to take the win.
With the game tied at 3 heading into the fifth, Dani Anderson led off with a single and Courtney Liddle followed with a two-run home run to put the Hokies ahead to stay. One out and two walks later, Kristen Froehlich lifted a three-run homer to left field to make it 8-3.
The following inning, Liddle got things going again with a one-out RBI double. With two down, the Hokies got three straight RBI hits to put the game out of reach.
Virginia Tech opened the scoring with an unearned run in the first inning. The Spartans threatened in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with two outs on a Dominique Madruga walk and back-to-back singles from Ashley Reetz and Toni MacReynolds, but VT starter Isabella Corrao got a groundout to escape unscathed.
The Hokies made it 2-0 in the third when Lauren Gaskill came in on a wild pitch, but this time, UNCG did have the answer in the bottom half of the frame. The Spartans again loaded the bases, this time with no one out, with Aisha Figueroa hitting a leadoff single, Tatiana Alcala reaching on an error and Eileen Horsmon working the count full and fouling off two pitches before drawing a walk.
Katelyn Bedwell knocked in UNCG’s first run of the day with an RBI groundout, and one out later, Madruga’s infield single brought in Alcala to knot the game at 2.
The Hokies reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth when Kelsey Mericka scored on UNCG’s second error of the day, but the Spartans would again tie it up in the bottom half. MacReynolds led off with a double, and Kiah Ruffin’s bunt single put runners on the corners. Figueroa reached on a fielder’s choice that brought in pinch-runner Aubrey Baldwin, and Ruffin advanced to third on the play to again put runners at the corners with no one out.
UNCG missed a chance to take the lead in the inning, with Ruffin getting gunned down at the plate caught stealing for the first out. Virginia Tech reliever Bailey Liddle then got a lineout and a strikeout to keep the game tied at 3.
The Hokies would take the lead for good the following inning.
MacReynolds went 2-for-3 at the plate for UNCG, while Madruga was 1-for-1 with an RBI and two walks.
Courtney Liddle was 3-for-3 with two runs and three RBI, while Froehlich was 3-for-4 with a run and four RBI. Anderson and Mericka scored three runs each.
UNCG starter Josie Felix took the no-decision, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. Erica Navarette (0-2), who appeared in all five of UNCG’s games over the weekend, took the loss after allowing nine runs on seven hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings.
Bailey Liddle (2-0) picked up the win with three innings of one-hit relief, while starter Corrao took the no-decision after allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks in three innings.
UNCG returns to action next weekend at East Carolina’s Pirate Clash in Greenville, N.C. The Spartans will face Fordham and ECU on Friday at 3 and 5 p.m., respectively.
Georgia Southern 5, Coastal Carolina 2
CONWAY, S.C. – Georgia Southern Softball finished the Coastal Carolina Kickin’ Chicken Classic on a winning note with a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over Coastal Carolina. The victory improves the Eagles to 3-2 after the first weekend of the season and hands the Chanticleers their first loss of the season.
Sophomore transfer Kourtny Thomas delivered the victory with a three RBI double to left center in the top of the seventh inning. It was her first hit of the day and capped off a five RBI weekend that included two home runs to open her career at Georgia Southern. Senior Marie Fogle finished the game 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored.
After three and a half innings of scoreless play, Coastal Carolina broke the deadlock in the fourth inning with a pair of runs. Sara Rasley’s two-run homer to left field gave the Chanticleers a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth, the Eagles threatened, putting the leadoff batters on second and third with no outs. Coastal Carolina made a pitching change and retired the Eagle threat in order with two runners stranded on base.
The Eagles, however, would take the lead in the top of the seventh with five runs. Savannah Coon delivered the first run of the game with a pinch hit double to score Tabby Douberley.
Freshman Lexi Allen plated the game-tying run with a single to left field. The Eagles would load the bases, allowing Thomas to clear the bases with her three RBI double. The extra base hit gave the Eagles a 5-2 lead.
Two Chanticleer runners would reach base in the bottom of the seventh, but relief pitcher Sarah Purvis retired the side to earn her second win of the weekend and improve to 2-1. She went three innings in the finale, not allowing a hit with three strikeouts.
The Eagles return to Statesboro for the 2012 home opener on Wednesday afternoon, February 15th, against Georgia State. The rivalry doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. Both games can be seen on Eagle Vision and heard live on 91.9-FM The Buzz across the Statesboro area.
Chattanooga 7, Florida Atlantic 1
CLERMONT, Fla. - Sophomore outfielder Layne Rainey led off the fifth with a triple to right center, igniting the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team to a five-run inning in a 7-1 victory against Florida Atlantic (0-5) at Dot Richardson's National Collegiate Invitational. The inning enabled freshman pitcher Taylor Deason to relax and go the distance in the three-hit complete game, where she struck out five as Chattanooga finished the weekend 3-2.
The Lady Mocs were led on the offensive side with senior shortstop Jessica Traxler who tallied three hits and two RBI. Juniors shortstop Sara Poteat and first baseman Kasey Tydingco each registered two hits and one RBI during the contest.
To open the game, Chattanooga used a two-out rally to load the bases on three-straight walks, but were unable to push the first run across the plate.
The bottom-half of the frame saw the Owls walk twice before Deason settled down to retire the side.
Both teams would be retired in order until the third, when Sarah Howell started off with a Lady Mocs mistake. A groundout moved Howell over to second with two outs. A clutch two-out single up the middle by Stephanie Call scored the first run of the contest for FAU.
Morimoro led off the fourth with a single through the right side, but sophomore pinch runner Stephanie Rieck was eliminated from the base paths on a pickoff. An infield single by Tydingco put a runner at first and a two-out single to left off the bat of Traxler put two runners on base before the Owls retired the side.
In the fourth, FAU had a runner on first following a walk issued to Kimberly Diaz. Whitley Herb hit a sharp grounder to junior third baseman Ninja Suetsugu, who threw the ball to second baseman Poteat for the first out, then as the ball went back to Deason, the runner at first took off, and the Lady Mocs registered a double play as Deason tossed it back to Poteat in time to tag out the runner.
Chattanooga opened the fifth as Rainey tripled to right center and Poteat took first on a throwing error by the pitcher, allowing sophomore outfielder Kaiti Dutton to load the bases on a safety squeeze to the pitcher, who attempted to get Rainey at third.
With the bases loaded, Fuzzard knocked in two on a grounder to the second baseman, who was unable to come up with the ball cleanly and Poteat alertly scored from second, 2-1. A walk drawn by Morimoto loaded the bases again, but the Lady Mocs used two outs without putting a run across. Traxler stepped up and went with the pitch as the ball landed down the right field line and two more runs scored. The fifth run of the frame was plated when Suetsugu reached on an error.
Deason continued to roll in the circle, retiring the side in order during the fifth.
The top of the lineup started the sixth and Poteat singled to left before Dutton used a sacrifice bunt to move her up a base. Fuzzard was plunked by a pitch and Tydingco singled tough the left side extending the Chattanooga lead to 6-1.
Traxler's third hit of the game, a single up the middle, led off the seventh inning. Two quick outs brought Poteat to the plate, who drove in a run with a single to center, 7-1.
The Owls began their last at bat with a single by Diaz to left center. A double play, the second of the game, turned by Poteat eliminated the base runner. Deason ended the game with her fifth strikeout of the contest.
FAU was led offensively by Call with two hits and an RBI. Taylor Fawbush took the loss in the circle tossing seven innings and striking out six.
Chattanooga begins the Georgia State Panther Invitational on Saturday with a doubleheader against IUPUI and Georgia State starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Illinois is set to face the Lady Mocs the next day before bracket play determines the final game.
Georgia State 7, Western Carolina 5
Western Carolina 11, ETSU 10 (9 innings)
PANTHERVILLE, Ga. – Western Carolina softball (2-2) placed third at the Georgia State First Pitch Classic Sunday, falling 7-5 to the host Panthers before bouncing back to defeat ETSU (0-4) 11-10 in extra innings.
After dropping a close game to host Georgia State, 7-5, the Catamounts moved into bracket play to face ETSU for the second time in the tournament. Western Carolina defeated ETSU the day before 5-4.
Just like all weekend, Western Carolina battled. The Catamounts scored in seven of the nine innings played, going into extra innings for the first time in the infancy of the season.
Amber Steinhardt got the start on the mound for Western Carolina, holding ETSU scoreless for two innings. This allowed the Catamounts to build a quick 4-0 lead.
The Catamounts trailed 8-6 in the bottom of the fourth inning, after ETSU exploded for six runs in the top of the fourth. Steinhardt was replaced by Katie King, who went 0.2 innings in the fourth before being replaced by freshman Jordan Garrett.
Shemekia Scotton’s first homerun of the season, a solo shot to left field, pulled Western Carolina within one run, 8-7, at the end of the fourth. Garrett held ETSU in the top of the fifth allowing Western Carolina to battle back in the bottom of the fifth.
Freshman catcher Heather Chastain’s double, with one out, set up the tying score for the Catamounts. After Megan Taylor pinch ran for Chastain, she scored when junior Jordan Fulton hit an RBI double to tie the game at eight.
This is when things got interesting. Both teams buckled down on the scoring, holding each respective club to zero runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Starting in the eighth inning, the international tie-breaker rules were put into effect. An ETSU runner was placed on second to start the eighth inning. The Buccaneers capitalized with a pair of runs to reclaim the lead, 10-8.
Western Carolina proved it would not go quietly. Griffin was placed on second, and with one out, she motored to third on a wild pitch. Erin Foster’s RBI single to left field platted Griffin. A wild pitch and a passed ball, by ETSU, allowed Foster to move to third and set up the tying run. Taylor grounded out to second base, but it was just hit hard enough to send Foster home to tie the game at 10.
After Garrett held ETSU scoreless in the ninth, she would take the win in the game and move to 2-2 on the season, Western Carolina had a chance to end the game and take the win. The Catamounts got a little help in that department from the Buccaneers, as after McAteer was placed on second and moved to third on a sacrifice from Megan Crowe, an error by the Buccaneers allowed McAteer to score and end the game.
Fulton, who had struggled in the games on Saturday at the plate, led the Catamounts against ETSU with three hits, an RBI and two stolen bases.
Georgia State 7, Western Carolina 5
Western Carolina had its chances in the game against the host team Georgia State. The Catamounts used the word of the weekend, battle.
King got the start in the game for the Catamounts and went five innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits and struck out three. King held the Panthers scoreless in the first inning before giving up a run at the top of the second inning.
Western Carolina tied the game in the bottom of the third. Crowe recorded the first triple of her career and scored when Fulton hit an RBI single up the middle.
The Catamounts had a huge fourth inning, scoring four runs, to take their first lead of the game. A single by Scotton and Kelly Braman reaching on an error set up a huge three-run bomb by Foster, hitting her first homerun of the year, over the right field wall. After Crowe singled, she made her way around the bases and stole home for the Catamounts’ fourth run of the inning.
A homerun by Georgia State in the fifth inning cut the Catamounts’ lead to 5-2. It was the Panthers’ five-run sixth inning that was the catalyst for Georgia State’s win, as the Catamounts’ were held scoreless in the final two frames of the game.
Fulton and Crowe had a pair of hits in the game. Six of the nine starting batters for Western Carolina got at least one hit in the game.
Western Carolina returns to action on Friday, February 17, in Tallahassee, Florida at a tournament hosted by Florida State.
Elon 8, North Carolina Central 2
ELON, N.C. – Freshman Cyra Cottrell sent two home runs over East Field’s left field fence to lead the Elon softball team to an 8-2 win over North Carolina Central in the final game of the Elon Invitational. The win makes the Phoenix a perfect 4-0 on the season after opening weekend, while the Eagles fall to 1-5.
Kari Pervell (1-0) earned the win in her first appearance of the year, going six innings and allowing one earned run off five hits while also striking out four. Karen Berna relieved Pervell in the seventh inning, facing the final four batters of the game and striking out one. The loss went to NCCU’s Aurora Baker (0-3) who gave up all eight runs, four earned, off eight hits.
Cottrell went 2-for-3 on the day with both her hits coming in the form of home runs. Carleigh Nester drove in three runs off her two hits of the game and stole two bases, while Camille Hill scored two runs and recorded two RBI off one hit.
The Phoenix struck early, putting two runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Hill, the first batter up for the maroon and gold, was hit by a pitch to reach base and then advanced off a passed ball and sacrifice bunt by Tomeka Watson. Nester drove home Hill with a single to center field to score Elon’s first run of the day. After stealing second, a single up the middle by Kaitlyn Piazzolla helped bring home Nester for a 2-0 Phoenix lead.
N.C. Central closed the gap to one run in the top of the third, 2-1, with a score by Mae’Risha Watts. Watts reached base on a bunt, moved to second off another bunt by Nadia Jeffries and scored as Naria Moreta reached on a throwing error.
With one out in the fourth inning, Cottrell got another run on the board for the Phoenix with her first home run of the day. Hill would later drive in Sarah Little and McKenzie Harrelson off a single to third to move the Phoenix advantage to four, 5-1. After Watson reached on a fielding error by Eagles’ third baseman Sarah Kaiser and Hill had advanced to third, Nester sent her second hit of the day up the middle for a single that scored two more runs. Elon came out of the inning with five runs off four hits and a six-run lead, 7-1.
Cottrell started the bottom of the fifth off where she left off the previous inning, sending Baker’s pitch to left field for another home run and Elon’s eighth run of the day.
The Eagles added a run in the top of the sixth off a sacrifice fly to right field by Kaiser that scored Martha Batie, who pinch ran for Andrea Searls after she had singled up the middle to start the inning. The Phoenix lead was too much for NCCU to overcome as the game ended in favor of the maroon and gold, 8-2.
The Elon softball team will return to East Field on Friday, Feb. 17, for a 2 p.m. game against Presbyterian in the first game of the Phoenix Softball Clash.
Wright State 2, Appalachian State 1 (8 innings)
Auburn 6, Appalachian State 2
AUBURN, Ala. – Appalachian State University softball fell to Wright State, 2-1, and to Auburn, 6-2, on Sunday on final day of the Tiger Invitational.
In the Mountianeers’ first game against Wright State senior Megan Rembielak singled and advanced to third on a throwing error by the thrid baseman. Caroline Williams singled to left field to score Rembielak, which would turn out to be Appalachians only run of the game in the bottom of the first-inning.
In the top of the third the Raiders’ Angie Clark reached base on a fielding by Sarah Warnock. Clark advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kristi Boreing. Wright State would tie the game up (1-1) when Clark scored on a throwing error by Caroline Rogers.
Appalachian had a prime opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the seventh when Rembielak recorded a one-out double to left. ASU was unable to capitalize on the one-out double as WSU’s Krystian DeWitt earned a pair of groundouts to force the contest in to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth-inning Wright State scored the eventual game-winning run on a throwing error by Warnock on a sacrifice bunt.
DeWitt sealed the win for the Raiders (2-2) with two of her six strikeouts in the bottom of the eighth.
ASU’s Caitlin Wainwright only allowed one hit, which came in the fifth-inning and struck out seven in her eight-innings of work.
In the Mountaineers second game, ASU struck first against Auburn in the second-inning. Caroline Rogers tripled to right field and scored on ground out to second by Meghan Smith.
The Tigers tied the game up (1-1) when Elizabeth Eisterhold hit a RBI single through the left side to score Amber Harrison in the third-inning.
Auburn took the lead on a Hilary Mavromat home run. Eisterhold tallied two more RBIs on a single to left field to score Harrison and Maris Medina to give AU a 4-1 advantage in the fourth-inning.
The Tigers extended their lead to 5-1 on a RBI triple by Medina in the fifth.
Allie Cashion opened the sixth-inning for the Apps with a home run to center to cut ASU’s deficit to 5-2.
Auburn’s Baylee Stephens brought the Tiger lead back to four runs (6-2) on a solo home run to center.
The Tigers’ Lauren Schmalz struck out nine with three hits in four innings, while Angel Bunner threw three innings with four stikeouts and five hits to earn the save.
ASU’s Caroline Wainwright allowed two earned runs with one strikeout in three-innings. Caitlin Wainwright pitched four innings with a pair of strikeouts in relief.
Cashion led Appalachian with two hits, a run and a RBI, while Rogers, Smith and Michelle Gorzelle each recorded a hit.
The Mountaineers (1-3) travels to Charlotte, N.C. for a double-header versus the Niners at 2 p.m.