Samford 4, Elon 3

ELON, N.C. ---- Samford softball split two games on Saturday, March 24, with the Elon Phoenix as they fell 4-1 in game one but bounced back for a 4-3 victory in game two.

Samford (7-23, 1-7 SoCon) earned its first conference win of the season and Shelby Scott earned her first win of the season as well.  Misha Aldridge pitched 6.0 innings in game one and 3.0 innings in game two, allowing only one earned run on the day, striking out seven.  Madison Dickey was the team’s leader in hits, collecting three with Julianne Surane earning two.  Elon (17-6, 6-2 SoCon) was led at the plate by their leadoff hitter, Carleigh Nester, going a combined 5-7 with two RBI.

Game One: Elon 4, Samford 1

 Aldridge (4-11) only allowed one earned run, but took the loss in the circle for the Bulldogs, throwing 6.0 innings with six hits and four strikeouts.  Dickey earned her eighth multi-hit game of the season, hitting two singles, a double and drawing a walk to go a perfect 3-3 at the plate.  Erin O’Shea (10-3) earned the win for Elon and their offense was led by Carleigh Nester, going 2-3 with an RBI.

In the top of the third, Alrdridge got the Bulldogs on the board first, as a misplayed infield pop with two outs gave her an RBI single, scoring Dickey from second. Consecutive hits loaded the bases but the Phoenix pitched out of the jam, forcing a popup to left field and limiting the damage to one run.

Elon tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, as a two-out single up the middle brought the tying run home from third and put runners at the corners.  A slow grounder was misplayed at third, allowing the runner to score on an error and a single to right field brought another home, pushing the Phoenix lead to 3-1.  They scored a third unearned run with a single to right field, but a popup in foul territory to Madeline Baker in right field ended the big inning with Elon up 4-1.

Neither team scored in the remaining innings, as the Phoenix was able to hold onto the three-run lead to earn the win in game one.

Game Two: Samford 4, Elon 3

 Samford bounced back for a tightly-contested game two victory, as the Bulldogs edged out the Phoenix 4-3.  Scott (1-3) earned her fist victory of the season, pitching 4.0 innings with two earned runs on five hits.  Aldridge came in relief in the fifth inning, pitching 3.0 innings to earn the save.  Samford was led at the plate by Surane, going 2-4, while Scott, Frates and Dykes earned the team’s three RBIs.  Kari Pervell (2-1) took the loss for Elon while Nester and Tomeka Watson both earned three hits, combining to go 6-7 with three RBI.

Elon produced the game’s first run in the bottom of the third, as a two-out single with a runner on third gave them the early 1-0 lead.  Samford answered in the top of the fourth, taking a 3-1 lead.  Scott got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing home Abby Adams from third to tie the game.  Madeline Baker, pinch running for Aldridge at first, stole second and an RBI single by Tessa Frates gave Samford the 2-1 lead.  With Frates advancing to second on the throw, the Phoenix catcher made an errant throw into center field, allowing Frates to come all the way home, pushing the Bulldog lead to 3-1.

Arica Dykes blasted a long solo homer to straightaway center in the fifth inning, the first of her Samford career, to put the Bulldogs up 4-1.  An error and a single put runners at the corners with two outs, as Pervell left the game after 4.2 innings of work with four runs, three earned, and six hits allowed.  O’Shea, the starter from game one, came in relief and got the Phoenix out of the inning.

Elon cut the Samford lead to 4-2 with a leadoff single followed by a double in the bottom of the fifth inning.  After the next batter was hit by a pitch, Aldridge came in relief for Scott in the circle.  Aldridge pitched the Bulldogs out of potential trouble, as consecutive groundouts and an infield pop fly ended the inning, stranding the two runners on base and preserving Samford’s two-run lead.

The Phoenix would score a run in the bottom of the sixth, as a bases-loaded infield single cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one run, 4-3.  Surane grabbed an unassisted putout at second to get Samford out of the inning with the lead, as they looked to add some insurance runs in the top of the seventh.  Samford put a runner on base in the top of the seventh but could not get anyone across the plate.  With the potential tying run at second base in the bottom of the seventh, a lineout to Frates at third ended the game, giving the Bulldogs the one-run victory and Aldridge the three-inning save.

Samford concludes the three-game series at Elon tomorrow at noon CT.

College of Charleston 4, Western Carolina 1

Western Carolina 9, College of Charleston 1

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The College of Charleston softball team split its tale-of-two-game doubleheader with Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars produced timely hitting to come away with a 4-1 win in the opener but the Catamounts surged in the later game to thwart the Cougars' sweep with a 9-1 decision.

The teams conclude the series with a single game on Sunday, March 24 starting at 1 p.m.

In the opener, Kelsey Hodgson  blasted her sixth home run of the season and five different Cougars got base hits while Stephanie Saylors shut down the Catamounts from the pitching circle to earn the win.

In the second game, however, the Catamounts' bats sprung to life as they accumulated seven hits and benefitted from two Cougar errors to claim the second half of the twinbill.

GAME ONE: CofC: 4, Western Carolina: 0

Saylors limited the Catamounts to four hits - three of which did not leave the infield - while the Cougars made the most of their base runners and came away with the win.

Hodgson's first-inning homerun which exploded off the bat and carried over the fence in right center was the only offensive output for either team in the first five innings.

In the sixth, the Cougars drew three walks to load up the bases with two outs in the inning. Courtney Clark entered the game in a crucial pinch-hit situation and delivered for the Cougars with a two-RBI single over the head of the shortstop which made the score 3-0.

The Cougars struck once more in the top of the seventh when Carly Corthell reached on a hard-hit ball up the middle which was ruled an error then stole both second and third base. Amanda Lonergan brought her home with a squeeze-bunt single to make the score 4-0.

Saylors faced the minimal nine batters through the final three innings with the help of one of the two double plays the Cougars turned on the afternoon. Saylors struck out four batters and walked just one in the game.

GAME TWO: CofC: 1. Western Carolina: 9

The Catamounts scored three runs in the first two innings with a pair of homeruns, a two-run shot by Erin Foster and a solo ride from Amber Steinhardt.

The Cougars claimed one back in the third when Mackenzie Maples (Corona, Calif.) got on board by way of a blooper to left which was ruled an error. Ashton Jarrett (Hanahan, S.C.) brought her to the plate with an RBI single to cut the score to 3-1.

WCU stretched the lead back out in the bottom of the third after they loaded the bases with two singles and an empty fielder's choice before Morgan Wyatt cleared them all with a double down the leftfield line.

The Catamounts put two runners on with two outs in the fourth inning and a Cougar fielding error allowed both runners to cross and left runners on the corners. WCU then maneuvered a double steal to make the score 9-1, the eventual final. 

Furman 3, UNCG 0

Furman 6, UNCG 5

Greenville, S.C. – Senior Hannah Bradley tossed a complete-game shutout in game one and freshman Natalie Clemmons drove in four runs on the day, including the decisive hit in game two, as Furman claimed a 3-0, 6-5 doubleheader sweep of UNCG in Southern Conference softball action on Saturday at Pepsi Stadium.

The sweep improved Furman to 12-17 overall and 3-5 in the SoCon while UNCG slipped to 11-21 overall and 3-5 in league play.

Game 1

Bradley scattered five hits and fanned five batters in the series opener and Clemmons went 2-for-2 at the plate with three RBI as the Paladins downed the Spartans, 3-0.

Clemmons, a native of Summerfield, N.C., put the Paladins in front in the bottom of the second with a single to center field to plate Emily Boyer who opened the frame with a double.  In the fourth inning, Lauren Collier lined a leadoff single off of the pitcher and Boyer drew a base on balls.  After an infield single by Sarah Eidt, Clemmons laced a single past the second baseman to drive in two runs and up the lead to 3-0.

Bradley, who improved to 4-5 in the circle, got some help to work out of trouble in the top of the sixth.  The Spartans loaded the bases on an Eileen Horsmon walk, a single and a hit batter, but centerfielder Nikki Legg made a diving grab to end the inning on a pop fly off of the bat of Tatiana Alcala.

Cory Mattson suffered the loss for UNCG to fall to 8-11.  She allowed three runs, all earned, on six hits in six innings of work.

Game 2

In game two, Furman scored two runs on a wild bases loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to rally for a 6-5 victory.

With Furman trailing 5-4 entering the last half inning, Ambree Muller drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Legg.  After Taylor Jenkins popped out, Jessie Homesley was plunked by a Erica Navarette pitch to put runners at first and second.  Collier lined a shot towards left field that Spartan third baseman Aisha Figueroa got a glove on to keep the ball on the infield and load the bases with two outs.  

Facing a 2-0 count, Clemmons punched a hard grounder up the middle that second baseman Dominique Madruga knocked down.  Madruga attempted to flip the ball to the shortstop covering the second base bag, but the runner was called safe and the ball bounced away from UNCG’s Heather Robb allowing Homesley to score all the way from second with the winning run.

The Furman rally made a winner of freshman Lakyn Shull (5-5) who allowed three runs on three hits in five innings of relief after starter Shelby Parker surrendered  a pair of runs on three hits in two-plus innings in the circle.

Furman had taken a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Collier’s two-run double off of the left field wall.  The Spartans pulled even with single runs in the second and third innings before erupting for three in the top of the fourth to claim a 5-2 lead.  A pair of walks and an infield single began the rally as UNCG scored on a hit batter with the bases loaded, a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly.

The Paladins trimmed the lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the frame as Hannah Pace belted her first home run of the season, a solo shot, down the left field line.

Collier went 2-for-4 with a two RBI while Pace also notched two RBI.

Navarette, who allowed five earned runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings, suffered the loss for UNCG to fall to 2-7.  She issued four walks and struck out two Paladins.  Katelyn Bedwell collected two hits to pace the Spartan offense.

Georgia Southern 5, Kennesaw State 1

Georgia Southern 10, Kennesaw State 4

KENNESAW, Ga. – Georgia Southern Softball opened its trip to Kennesaw State with a pair of victories over the Owls at Bailey Park. GSU won the opener, 5-1, behind a two-hitter from starting pitcher Sarah Purvis. The Eagles slugged out 13 hits in the second game, five for extra bases to earn the 10-4 win and improve to 19-10 on the year. Marie Fogle went 6-for-8 in the doubleheader, raising her team-high batting average to .484 on the year

-GAME ONE-

The Eagles opened the series in style with a run in the first inning off a rocket-shot double to the wall in center by Marie Fogle.  Her shot to the gap allowed the speedy Alexa Lewis to score from first base after her leadoff single to open the contest. Fogle, however, would be stranded at second after consecutive strikeouts ended the Georgia Southern threat in the first frame.

Kennesaw’s Lindsay Vollmer leveled the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the second with a leadoff home run to centerfield.

Lewis scored a run on her own to open the fifth inning with a leadoff home run to centerfield. The ball left the park with a ding, hitting the flagpole in center for Lewis’ second career home run. Another two runs scored in the inning as a result of a fielding error with two outs in the inning. Pinch runner Breanna McLendon and Hanna Ennis each crossed the plate to give the Eagles a 4-1 lead.

With one out in the seventh inning, Fogle added an insurance run with a home run to left field. It was her fourth four-bagger this season and 22nd in her illustrious career at Georgia Southern. GSU would strand two more runners in the frame, finishing the offensive phase of the game with five runs off nine hits and one KSU error to lead 5-1 into the bottom of the seventh.

Starting pitcher Sarah Purvis dismissed the Owls with no trouble in the seventh, holding Kennesaw State to the one run off two total hits. She fanned eight batters while throwing 100 pitches to get the win. The victory also lowers Purvis’ ERA to 1.96 on the season.

-GAME TWO-

The Owls took an early advantage in game two, stringing together three-straight singles before a bases loaded hit by pitch brought in the game’s opening run, giving Kennesaw State the early 1-0 lead. They added another run to the lead in the second inning to lead 2-0.

After a leadoff hit by Lewis in the third, Ennis skied a high fly ball down the right field line for a game-tying two-run home run. It was her third bomb of the season and 13th career homer. Ennis’ hit sparked the Eagle bats as Fogle hit a double down the right field line, reaching third soon after on a fly out to right. A wild pitch brought Fogle home to give Georgia Southern a 3-2 lead.

With two runners aboard in the top of the fifth, Andrea Tarashuk (Flemington, N.J.) launched her first career home run over the fence in left field. Tarashuk is the ninth Eagle this season to hit a home run. Her blast gave the Eagles a 6-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Kennesaw State drew back a pair of runs with a two RBI single to the gap in left center from Kaylee Williams. The runs made the score 6-2 through five complete innings.

Georgia Southern extended the lead back to four runs in the top of the seventh on Mackenzie Williams’ two RBI double to centerfield. Her liner scored Fogle and Ennis from first and second bases, respectively. Williams came home from second later in the inning on Tarashuk’s RBI double to the gap in left for her fourth RBI of the game to match both her career high and the most for an Eagle batter this season.

Later in the inning, Douberley’s infield single with two outs allowed Tarashuk to score from second thanks to alert base running from the Eagle third baseman. The run gave Georgia Southern a 10-4 lead going into Kennesaw’s final trip to the plate.

Relief pitcher Marla Thompson nailed down the save, her first career save by going the final two and two-thirds of the victory. She allowed just two hits in the appearance with no runs charged against her. Freshman Brooke Red improved to 8-0 in the circle with the victory. She went the first four and a third innings and was saddled with four runs, three earned in the outing.

The Eagles wrap-up the three-game series against Kennesaw State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The game will close out Kennesaw State’s first three-game series in program history.