College of Charleston 3, Charleston Southern 0
College of Charleston 3, Charleston Southern 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston softball team swept its doubleheader against crosstown rival Charleston Southern with 3-0 and 3-1 wins at Patriots Point on Wednesday evening.
Junior pitcher Stephanie Saylors struck out a career-high 12 batters in the opener as she pitched seven innings of scoreless softball in which she held the Bucs to three hits and four total baserunners. Saylors improved to 2-0 with the game-one win and later entered the second game in a jam in the sixth inning and allowed just one base runner in two innings of work to earn a save.
Hope Klicker pitched the first five innings of the second game and earned the win with five strikeouts and no earned runs.
Kelsey Hodgson delivered a two-run home run in both games and had five RBIs on the day.
The first game was a pitchers’ duel through five innings until the Cougars were able to find their offense in the sixth inning. Ashton Jarrett got the bats started with a double to left center and scored later in the inning by way of a Lizzy Vaughn RBI single. Hodgson was the next batter after Vaughn and hammered a 1-1 pitch deep over the fence in left to put CofC up 3-0.
Saylors only allowed the Bucs to reach base in three innings and put 12 hitters down on strikes, besting her previous career high of 11 which she achieved twice last season.
The second game saw Hodgson deliver another two-run shot with Jarrett aboard in the third to take an early 2-0 lead.
The Cougars put themselves in a threatening position again in the fifth with no-out singles by Jarrett and Carly Corthell. Vaughn moved the runners to second and third and Hodgson delivered once more with an RBI single back up the middle to move the score to 3-1.
In the sixth, Charleston Southern plated a run and loaded the bases with no outs before Saylors checked back into the pitching circle. Saylors worked out of the jam with a flyout and pair of strikeouts to preserve CofC’s lead.
The Cougars host another full weekend of softball with the CofC Cougar Classic at Patriots Point this weekend. This Classic brings to town Virginia Tech, Middle Tennessee, Lipscomb, Wagner and Louisiana Monroe. The Cougars open play with a 4 p.m. bout with Middle Tennessee on Friday, Feb. 24.
Louisiana-Monroe 7, Samford 6
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford softball team suffered another heartbreaking loss Wednesday, coming within one run in the seventh inning but ultimately falling, 7-6, to ULM.
Samford (3-5) earned nine hits, but failed to capitalize on the opportunities, leaving 11 runners on base. ULM (5-5) held the slight edge in hits with 12 and made the most of four Samford errors. Haylie Wilson earned the win on the mound (5.0 IP, 5H, 4ER), moving to 2-1 on the season while Robyn Harmon (5.0 IP, 9H, 4ER) suffered her first loss of the season, falling to 2-1.
Madison Dickey, Abby Adams and Shelby Scott each had two hits, with Scott earning two RBI on a two-run homer. Six of Samford's nine starters put a number in the hit column. Rachel Bickert went 1-3 at the plate, and has now earned at least one hit in every game so far this season. It is Samford's third one-run loss this season, as their five losses only come from a combined difference of nine runs.
With one runner on first base in the top of the first inning, the Samford defense allowed the first Warhawk run to cross the plate, committing an error at the putout attempt at first base and then rushing a throw to third, which rolled past allowing the runner to come home and moving the batter to third base. Harmon walked the next batter and then ULM pulled off a double-steal, bringing another run home and putting a runner on second. The runner advanced to third on a groundout and was brought home by a one-out single to right field.