No.9 Georgia 1, Georgia Southern 0
ATHENS, Ga. – A walk with the bases loaded in the first inning was the difference as Georgia Southern Softball fell, 1-0 to No. 9 Georgia on Wednesday evening at Turner Softball Stadium. The Eagles got a tremendous outing from Sarah Purvis to stymie the Bulldog batters, allowing just two hits and keeping the bases clear after the run scored in the first. The Eagle bats, however, couldn’t match the performance by Purvis, registering just two hits on the night.
The Lady Bulldogs got on the board first with one run in the first inning. UGA posted a pair of hits in the opening frame, but earned a two-out walk to take the early 1-0 lead. After allowing the run, Purvis settled down to retire the next 16 batters, finishing the game with five strikeouts.
Georgia Southern got two hits in the first two innings, the first coming off the bat of Alexa Lewis who celebrated her 21st birthday with a leadoff single. The Eagles, however, would not put a runner on base until the top of the seventh inning when Marie Fogle reached on a fielding error by the shortstop.
Fogle went to second on Mackenzie Williams’ sacrifice bunt. That, however, would be as far as the Eagle outfielder would go. Two more outs would end the game and hand the Eagles their 11th loss of the season.
The game timed in at 1:17, tying the shortest game of the season for the Eagles.
The Eagles return to conference play this weekend with a three-game set against Chattanooga at the friendly confines of Eagle Field. Saturday’s doubleheader starts from 1 p.m. with a single game starting at the same time on Sunday. It is Alumni Weekend with stars of the past returning to Statesboro this weekend.
East Tennessee State 1, Western Carolina 0
East Tennessee State 8, Western Carolina 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Western Carolina softball (11-21) was swept by ETSU 1-0, 8-0 (10-16) Wednesday at Betty Basler Field
In the first game, starting Catamount pitcher Katie King sat down 12-of-13 ETSU batters, over the first four innings, before ETSU got something going in the fifth inning.
King had given up just one hit, and had sat down the lead-off batter in the first four innings, before yielding a lead-off single to Alex Everett. It would be the first of two hits in the inning and lead to pinch runner Lilly Robins scoring the first run of the game.
Western Carolina’s best scoring chance came in the top of the sixth inning. Amelia Griffin led off with a single up the middle. With one out, Kelly Braman got the second hit of the inning with a single past the short stop. Amber Steinhardt popped up to shallow left center and the second baseman dropped it. Western Carolina looked to be sitting pretty with bases loaded and one out, but the infield fly rule was invoked and Steinhardt was out. With runners at second and third, WCU was looking for a scoring chance, but Shemekai Scotton struck out to end the Catamount threat.
For the second straight inning, Western Carolina had a lead-off runner aboard when Robyn Burnette led off the top of the seventh with a single. Burnettte was out at second on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt by Heather Chastain and Makenzie McAteer got the second out when she hit a fly ball out to right field.
King gave up just four hits in the game, struck out two and yielded the one ETSU run. It was a solid performance by the senior lefty hurler, who just couldn’t get the offensive support. Fulton ground out to the pitcher to end the Catamount threat, in the seventh, and the game.
Both teams had four hits in the game, it was just ETSU’s hits came at just the right time – to score a run.
A pair of Western Carolina errors accounted for two ETSU runs in the bottom of the second inning in the second game.
Catamount staring pitcher Jordan Garrett was cruising, having sat down five straight batters when she hit a snag. Tara Hartnet reached on a Catamount fielding error and Jackie Baird followed with a single. Marlina Delisa hit an RBI single to score the first Buccaneer run of the game. Western Carolina’s second fielding error of the game scored Baird. The inning ended on the same play when Delisa tried to go home an score the Bucs third run of the inning, but nothing downing, as Griffin threw a strike from right field to home to get Delisa out.
ETSU scored five runs in the third inning, which included a grand slam from Jackie Baird.
Garrett falls to 5-10 on the season. She allowed seven runs on seven hits and struck out six.
The Catamounts had just two hits in the game, one from Griffin and one from Burnette.
Western Carolina returns home this weekend to host a three-game Southern Conference series with Furman. First pitch in the doubleheader Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m.