Elon 2, Presbyterian 0
ELON, N.C. - Erin O'Shea recorded her second complete game shutout of the season to give the Elon softball team a 2-0 win over Presbyterian College today, Feb. 17, in the first game of the Phoenix Softball Clash. The Phoenix is now 5-0 on the season, while the Blue Hose fall to 1-2.
O'Shea (3-0) gave up only four fits to the 29 batters she faced and struck out four in the shutout. The senior currently owns a season era of 0.37. Leslie Hensley (1-2) took the loss for PC after going four innings and giving up two runs, one unearned, off eight hits.
O'Shea also did her part on offense going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and recording one RBI. Junior Morgan Wright drove in Elon's other run with her one hit of the day.
The Blue Hose loaded the bases with only one out to start the game, putting O'Shea in a tight situation. However, the Kennesaw, Ga., native got Erin Taylor to pop up to second base and struck out Cat Tarvin on a 2-2 pitch to end the inning to keep a run from scoring.
A single to centerfield by O'Shea off an 0-2 pitch started the bottom of the second for the Phoenix. After a double by freshman Cyra Cottrell advanced Charyssa Parent, a pinch runner for O'Shea, to third, Wright singled to left field to push Parent across the plate and give Elon a 1-0 lead.
An error by Blue Hose shortstop Jill McLean let Tomeka Watson reach first safely to being the bottom of the third. With one out, Kaitlyn Piazzolla sent Hensley's 0-1 pitch to right center for a single and advanced Watson to third. Piazzolla's hit brought O'Shea to the plate as she hit a bunt to the shortstop for an infield single that scored Watson, putting the Phoenix up 2-0.
Kensley Loudermelk replaced Hensley in the start of the fifth inning and found the bases loaded in a hurry after giving up two walks and hit with only one out. However, the freshman got Wright to strike out swinging and Danielle Lafferty to ground out to the pitcher's circle to end the inning with three Phoenix left on base.
Mary Ellen Morris got a hit for PC to start the seventh inning, but O'Shea was able to keep all tying runs at bay and end the game, giving the Phoenix the 2-0 victory.
Elon will continue play in the Phoenix Softball Clash tomorrow, Feb. 18, with games against James Madison and Bucknell. The Phoenix play the Dukes in a 11:45 a.m. game and the Bison at 2 p.m.
UNCG 12, Fordham 7
East Carolina 2, UNCG 1
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Eileen Horsmon turned in her first career multi-home run game and UNCG hammered out 11 hits and took advantage of five Fordham errors to take a 12-7 win over the Rams on Friday, the first day of East Carolina’s Pirate Clash. The Spartans fell to the host Pirates in the nightcap, 2-1.
Horsmon went 4-for-4 with four RBI and three runs against Fordham to spark the Spartans (1-6), who scored in each of the first four innings against the defending Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament champions. Fordham (1-1) opened its season with a 2-1 win over Virginia earlier in the day.
UNCG’s offense was in gear from the get-go, as the Spartans had a pair of hits and scored pair of runs in the first inning on a Fordham error and Katelyn Bedwell’s sacrifice fly.
The Rams tied it in the bottom half on a Paige Ortiz RBI single and Brianna Turgeon’s bases-loaded walk, but UNCG would go ahead to stay the following inning.
Sophomore Ashley Reetz got the scoring started with an RBI triple, and Toni MacReynolds followed with a single to score Reetz. Kiah Ruffin’s single kept the rally going, and two outs later, Horsmon ripped a two-run double to right center. She would later score on another Fordham error.
The Spartans added three unearned runs in the third on a pair of Fordham errors and Aisha Figueroa’s sacrifice fly before the Rams got a run back on a UNCG error in the bottom half.
After Horsmon led off the fourth with her third home run of the season and Bedwell was hit by a pitch, Fordham went to its All-American, pitcher Jen Mineau, to stop the bleeding. Mineau did her job, limiting the Spartans to just one hit the rest of the way – Horsmon’s solo homer in the sixth inning.
Fordham got a two-run homer from Jo Krasnisky in the bottom of the seventh to cap the scoring.
MacReynolds and Heather Robb had two hits each for UNCG, which scored more runs in the contest than it did in five games last weekend (10).
Cory Mattson (1-2) picked up the win despite allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and seven walks in six innings of relief. Josie Felix worked the first inning for the Spartans, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.
Taylor Pirone (0-1) took the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Michelle Daubman surrendered four runs (one earned) on three hits in 1 1/3 innings, while Mineau allowed a run on one hit and struck out eight in four innings.
Horsmon’s two homers give her four on the season, surpassing her total from all of last year (three) in just six games. Friday’s outburst marked the second time in her career she had multiple homers on the same day, as she hit round-trippers in both games of a doubleheader against Furman on March 26 of last season.
Horsmon also pushed her career home run total to 13, moving her into a tie for 10th place in school history with Leslie Furness (2006-09).
UNCG’s second game of the day stood in stark contrast to its first, as the Pirates escaped with a 2-1 win in contest in which runs were at a premium.
ECU (4-2) threatened often in the contest but couldn’t push across a run until the sixth inning, when Suzanne Riggs hit a two-run homer out to center field to rally the Pirates past UNCG.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, when Alex Emeterio reached on a two-base error and came in on a Bedwell single.
Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, UNCG got something going when Dominique Madruga singled with one out. ECU pitcher Sarah Christian induced a lineout double play to end the game, however.
Emeterio, a senior making her first-ever collegiate start in right field, gunned down a runner at the plate to keep the game scoreless early, hosing Jill Jelnick to end the third.
Bedwell threw out Jordan Lewis trying to steal second to end the second inning.
Erica Navarette (0-3) took the loss for UNCG, allowing two runs and scattering nine hits and three walks. Christian (3-0) picked up the win, allowing only an unearned run on four hits.
Emeterio was 2-for-3 with a run scored and reached base in all three of her plate appearances. Riggs was 2-for-3 to lead ECU.
The Spartans resume play at the Pirate Clash with a contest against No. 21 Louisville on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Florida State 9, Western Carolina 1
Western Carolina 5, Florida A&M 4 (8 innings)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Western Carolina softball (3-3) earned a split in day one action of the Seminole Classic No. 2 Friday. The Catamounts fell to host Florida State 9-1, in five innings, before bouncing back to defeat Florida A&M (2-6) 5-4 in eight innings.
Freshman hurler Jordan Garrett was superb for Western Carolina when she came into relief against Florida A&M. With the Catamounts trailing 4-3, Garrett entered the contest, replacing starting pitcher Amber Steinhardt. She entered after the Rattlers rallied from 3-1 down to take a 4-3 advantage.
Garrett finished out the game tossing a shutout in 3.2 innings of work allowing just one hit. She also recorded three strikeouts in the game to earn the win, improving to 3-2 on the season.
Down 4-3, Western Carolina answered Florida A&M’s three run fifth inning by tying the game at four in the top of the sixth.
With one out, senior centerfielder Erin Foster singled up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Back-to-back walks by Shemekia Scotton and Heather Chastain loaded the bases for the Catamounts. Makenzi McAteer hit into a fielder’s choice but Western Carolina’s scoring chance was squelched when Foster was called out at home. Western Carolina didn’t let the next opportunity slip by when FAMU relief pitcher Ashle Minter threw a wild pitch allowing Scotton to motor home and tie the game.
After a scoreless seventh inning, Western Carolina played in its second extra inning game in three contests. Foster hit a lead-off single, her third hit of the game, to start the eighth inning. Scotton attempted a sacrifice bunt to push Foster over, but a Rattler miscue allowed Scotton to reach first and Foster to move to third. Western Carolina took the lead on a sacrifice fly RBI by Chastain sending Foster home.
Garrett kept things interesting for the Catamounts in Florida A&M’s bottom half of the eighth inning. After striking out lead-off batter Tenish Dixon, Garrett walked Tera Gainer to put the tying run at first. Aria Stewart popped up to Garrett for the second out, but back-to-back walks by Garrett loaded the bases with Rattlers. There was a sigh of relief when Garrett got Alyss Weaver to ground out for the final out of the inning and end the game.
Western Carolina got the early lead when the Catamounts scored three runs in the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded, after a pair of two out singles by Jordan Fulton and Amelia Griffin and Haley Pace reaching on a FAMU error, Foster hit a three RBI double to left field to give the Catamounts an early 3-0 lead.
Florida A&M drew one run in the bottom of the fourth before taking a short-lived 4-3 lead in the fifth inning.
Western Carolina had seven hits in the game, three coming from Foster while Amelia Griffin added two. The Catamounts were flawless in the field, ending the game without an error.
In game one on the day, host Florida State jumped on the Catamounts early, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Senior pitcher Katie King got the start but was pulled in the first inning and took the loss falling to 0-1. Garrett replaced King and went four innings.
Western Carolina picked up a run in the top of the second inning. With one out, Scotton was hit by a pitch. McAteer’s RBI double to left field scored Scotton for the Catamounts lone run in the game. McAteer’s double was Western Carolina’s only hit in the game.
The Catamounts return to action on Saturday in day two of the Seminole Classic No. 2. Western Carolina will face North Dakota State at 4:45 p.m. and Mercer at 6:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern-Arkansas: Cancelled
UNCG 12, Fordham 7
East Carolina 2, UNCG 1
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Eileen Horsmon turned in her first career multi-home run game and UNCG hammered out 11 hits and took advantage of five Fordham errors to take a 12-7 win over the Rams on Friday, the first day of East Carolina’s Pirate Clash. The Spartans fell to the host Pirates in the nightcap, 2-1.
Horsmon went 4-for-4 with four RBI and three runs against Fordham to spark the Spartans (1-6), who scored in each of the first four innings against the defending Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament champions. Fordham (1-1) opened its season with a 2-1 win over Virginia earlier in the day.
UNCG’s offense was in gear from the get-go, as the Spartans had a pair of hits and scored pair of runs in the first inning on a Fordham error and Katelyn Bedwell’s sacrifice fly.
The Rams tied it in the bottom half on a Paige Ortiz RBI single and Brianna Turgeon’s bases-loaded walk, but UNCG would go ahead to stay the following inning.
Sophomore Ashley Reetz got the scoring started with an RBI triple, and Toni MacReynolds followed with a single to score Reetz. Kiah Ruffin’s single kept the rally going, and two outs later, Horsmon ripped a two-run double to right center. She would later score on another Fordham error.
The Spartans added three unearned runs in the third on a pair of Fordham errors and Aisha Figueroa’s sacrifice fly before the Rams got a run back on a UNCG error in the bottom half.
After Horsmon led off the fourth with her third home run of the season and Bedwell was hit by a pitch, Fordham went to its All-American, pitcher Jen Mineau, to stop the bleeding. Mineau did her job, limiting the Spartans to just one hit the rest of the way – Horsmon’s solo homer in the sixth inning.
Fordham got a two-run homer from Jo Krasnisky in the bottom of the seventh to cap the scoring.
MacReynolds and Heather Robb had two hits each for UNCG, which scored more runs in the contest than it did in five games last weekend (10).
Cory Mattson (1-2) picked up the win despite allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and seven walks in six innings of relief. Josie Felix worked the first inning for the Spartans, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.
Taylor Pirone (0-1) took the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Michelle Daubman surrendered four runs (one earned) on three hits in 1 1/3 innings, while Mineau allowed a run on one hit and struck out eight in four innings.
Horsmon’s two homers give her four on the season, surpassing her total from all of last year (three) in just six games. Friday’s outburst marked the second time in her career she had multiple homers on the same day, as she hit round-trippers in both games of a doubleheader against Furman on March 26 of last season.
Horsmon also pushed her career home run total to 13, moving her into a tie for 10th place in school history with Leslie Furness (2006-09).
UNCG’s second game of the day stood in stark contrast to its first, as the Pirates escaped with a 2-1 win in contest in which runs were at a premium.
ECU (4-2) threatened often in the contest but couldn’t push across a run until the sixth inning, when Suzanne Riggs hit a two-run homer out to center field to rally the Pirates past UNCG.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, when Alex Emeterio reached on a two-base error and came in on a Bedwell single.
Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, UNCG got something going when Dominique Madruga singled with one out. ECU pitcher Sarah Christian induced a lineout double play to end the game, however.
Emeterio, a senior making her first-ever collegiate start in right field, gunned down a runner at the plate to keep the game scoreless early, hosing Jill Jelnick to end the third.
Bedwell threw out Jordan Lewis trying to steal second to end the second inning.
Erica Navarette (0-3) took the loss for UNCG, allowing two runs and scattering nine hits and three walks. Christian (3-0) picked up the win, allowing only an unearned run on four hits.
Emeterio was 2-for-3 with a run scored and reached base in all three of her plate appearances. Riggs was 2-for-3 to lead ECU.
The Spartans resume play at the Pirate Clash with a contest against No. 21 Louisville on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Western Carolina 5, Florida A&M 5
Florida State 7 9, Western Carolina 1
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Western Carolina softball (3-3) earned a split in day one action of the Seminole Classic No. 2 Friday. The Catamounts fell to host Florida State 9-1, in five innings, before bouncing back to defeat Florida A&M (2-6) 5-4 in eight innings.
Freshman hurler Jordan Garrett was superb for Western Carolina when she came into relief against Florida A&M. With the Catamounts trailing 4-3, Garrett entered the contest, replacing starting pitcher Amber Steinhardt. She entered after the Rattlers rallied from 3-1 down to take a 4-3 advantage.
Garrett finished out the game tossing a shutout in 3.2 innings of work allowing just one hit. She also recorded three strikeouts in the game to earn the win, improving to 3-2 on the season.
Down 4-3, Western Carolina answered Florida A&M’s three run fifth inning by tying the game at four in the top of the sixth.
With one out, senior centerfielder Erin Foster singled up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Back-to-back walks by Shemekia Scotton and Heather Chastain loaded the bases for the Catamounts. Makenzi McAteer hit into a fielder’s choice but Western Carolina’s scoring chance was squelched when Foster was called out at home. Western Carolina didn’t let the next opportunity slip by when FAMU relief pitcher Ashle Minter threw a wild pitch allowing Scotton to motor home and tie the game.
After a scoreless seventh inning, Western Carolina played in its second extra inning game in three contests. Foster hit a lead-off single, her third hit of the game, to start the eighth inning. Scotton attempted a sacrifice bunt to push Foster over, but a Rattler miscue allowed Scotton to reach first and Foster to move to third. Western Carolina took the lead on a sacrifice fly RBI by Chastain sending Foster home.
Garrett kept things interesting for the Catamounts in Florida A&M’s bottom half of the eighth inning. After striking out lead-off batter Tenish Dixon, Garrett walked Tera Gainer to put the tying run at first. Aria Stewart popped up to Garrett for the second out, but back-to-back walks by Garrett loaded the bases with Rattlers. There was a sigh of relief when Garrett got Alyss Weaver to ground out for the final out of the inning and end the game.
Western Carolina got the early lead when the Catamounts scored three runs in the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded, after a pair of two out singles by Jordan Fulton and Amelia Griffin and Haley Pace reaching on a FAMU error, Foster hit a three RBI double to left field to give the Catamounts an early 3-0 lead.
Florida A&M drew one run in the bottom of the fourth before taking a short-lived 4-3 lead in the fifth inning.
Western Carolina had seven hits in the game, three coming from Foster while Amelia Griffin added two. The Catamounts were flawless in the field, ending the game without an error.
In game one on the day, host Florida State jumped on the Catamounts early, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Senior pitcher Katie King got the start but was pulled in the first inning and took the loss falling to 0-1. Garrett replaced King and went four innings.
Western Carolina picked up a run in the top of the second inning. With one out, Scotton was hit by a pitch. McAteer’s RBI double to left field scored Scotton for the Catamounts lone run in the game. McAteer’s double was Western Carolina’s only hit in the game.
The Catamounts return to action on Saturday in day two of the Seminole Classic No. 2. Western Carolina will face North Dakota State at 4:45 p.m. and Mercer at 6:30 p.m.
College of Charleston 3, Akron 0
Morehead State 7, College of Charleston 2
The College of Charleston softball team split its pair of games in the opening day of the College of Charleston Classic at Patriots Point on Friday evening. The Cougars opened with a 3-0 victory over Akron in the opener but fell, 7-2, to Morehead State.
Stephanie Saylors pitched the entirety of the first game and kept Akron off the scoreboard while striking out 11 and limiting the Zips to five hits.
She received run support through a pair of RBIs by Allison Pedigo as well as one by Amanda Lonergan Kelsey Hodgson was 3-for-3 in the game with three well-struck balls back up the middle.
In the second game, the Cougars suffered their first loss of the season when Morehead State put seven runs across the board. Freshman Kaitlyn Yerby was tagged with the loss despite throwing three strong innings and not surrendering an earned run.
The Cougars’ runs came off of RBIs by Lizzy Vaughn and Lauren Pasquale
The Cougars resume play in the Classic on Saturday with a 10 a.m. showdown against Kennesaw State.