UNCG 8, North Carolina Central 0 (6 innings)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG pitcher Cory Mattson allowed just a fifth-inning single and Katelyn Bedwell was 3-for-3 with a home run as the Spartans rolled past North Carolina Central at the UNCG Softball Stadium on Wednesday, 8-0 in six innings.
Mattson (4-4) cruised from the start, facing the minimum the first time through the order. Andrea Searls broke up Mattson’s no-hit bid with a clean single up the middle to lead off the fifth inning.
Shakemia Edwards sacrificed Searls up a base, but that would be the Lady Eagles’ lone runner to reach second in the contest. Mattson struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Bedwell, meanwhile, staked Mattson to the only runs she would need in the bottom of the first, hitting a mammoth two-run home run to dead center.
The Spartans (6-11) added a run in the fourth to make it 3-0, with Tatiana Alcala coming on Toni MacReynolds’ suicide squeeze.
UNCG blew it open with a five-run sixth to put the mercy rule into effect. The Spartans batted around in the frame, with Aubrey Baldwin and Eileen Horsmon hitting back-to-back two-run doubles to make it 7-0. After a walk and an error loaded the bases, Alcala hit a fielder’s choice to first. Amanda Bullock threw home to try to get Horsmon at the plate, but her throw was off the mark, allowing Horsmon to score and ending the game.
Bianka Molina (1-7) took the loss for NCCU (1-16), allowing three runs on three hits in four innings. Kayla McPeek was tagged for five runs (four earned) on four hits in an inning and a third.
Mattson walked two and struck out a season-high eight.
Baldwin, Horsmon and Bedwell had two RBI each for the Spartans, who picked up seven hits. Bedwell had a sixth-inning walk to go with her three hits as she reached base all four times she came to the plate.
Three Spartans were playing positions for the first time their collegiate careers. Senior Alex Emeterio made her first career start in left field, while junior Heather Robb started at shortstop and freshman Dominique Madruga started at second. Alcala, a freshman, made her 15th start at third base, a position she had never played before coming to UNCG in the fall.
UNCG returns to action Thursday at Charlotte for a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.
NC State 2, College of Charleston 1
College of Charleston 3, NC State 2 (11 innings)
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston softball team split its Wednesday afternoon doubleheader with NC State at Patriots Point. The Cougars were downed, 2-1, in the opener but bounced back to claim the second in thrilling, come-from-behind, 11-inning fashion.
Hope Klicker was the second-game hero in more ways than one as the Cougars grinded out a 3-2 11-inning thriller. The freshman pitched all 11 innings and held the Wolfpack to nine hits while striking out five. She helped herself earn the win in the pitching circle when she homered off the foul pole in left in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.
Kristy Giragosian drove in the winning run with two outs in the 11th when she sent a ball deep into the gap in right center with a runner on third.
GAME ONE: CofC: 1, NC State: 2
The Wolfpack claimed the early game behind strong pitching offered by Morgan Peeler who went the distance and limited the Cougars to one run and three hits.
Neither team could solve the opposing pitcher until NC State broke through in the fourth with a two-run home run off the bat of Bethaney Wells.
The Cougars cut the deficit in half in the sixth when Mackenzie Maples sent a hard-hit ball through the right side of the infield with Giragosian on third to cut the lead to 2-1 but the Cougars couldn’t get any closer.
Stephanie Saylors was tagged with the loss for the Cougars despite only surrendering three hits and striking out eight in seven innings of work.
GAME TWO: CofC: 3, NC State: 2 (11 innings)
The Cougars had to battle back from another two-run deficit in the second game but this time managed to do so when they were down to their second to last out in the final inning.
Both teams’ bats were mostly silent until the fifth inning when NC State put itself in a threatening position with an infield single and fielding error and Toni Ann Williford dropped a Texas-league bloop single into right field to score the run.
One inning later, the Wolfpack struck again when Landon Warren doubled to the wall in left field with two runners aboard to make the score 2-0.
That score held until the Cougars faced their final at bats in the seventh. Lonergan drew a walk to set the Cougars up and Klicker then crushed a high-fly ball down the leftfield line which eventually dinged off the foul pole to tie the game.
The teams virtually mirrored each other’s production through the eighth, ninth and tenth with neither team able to plate a run. The teams applied the international tie breaker in the 10th which places a runner on second base to start each inning.
After holding NC State scoreless in this fashion twice, Ashton Jarrett was placed on second to start the 11th. After two quick outs, Jarrett took third on a wild pitch before Giragosian hammered a pitch into right center to bring the winning run to the plate.
No.1 Alabama 7, Samford 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ---- The No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide were looking for an easy victory Wednesday against Samford, but timely Bulldog hitting made the game competitive, as Samford ultimately fell, 7-3. Samford is only the sixth team this season to score at least three runs against Alabama.
Samford (4-13) put together six hits for the game, as Madison Dickey and Shelby Scott led the way with two hits each. Alabama (18-0) starting pitcher Leslie Jury (6-0) pitched 6.0 innings, throwing seven strikeouts en route to her sixth win. Misha Aldridge earned the start on the mound for Samford, as her record falls to 2-7.
The Crimson Tide took the early lead in the bottom of the first, as Cassie Reilly-Boccia hit a two-run homer. The Bulldogs would look to threaten in the top of the second, with consecutive one-out singles by Dickey and Scott would put two on. The Crimson Tide pitched out of the jam however, as they forced an inning-ending double play.
Alabama added a third run in the bottom of the third inning, as a leadoff triple was followed by a double to bring the runner home from third. The Bulldogs fielded an impressive double play to end the inning, as a line drive caromed off the glove of Aldridge right into the mitt of Robyn Harmon at second, who then shoveled the ball to Abby Adams covering second base to tag up the runner.
Alabama would score four more in the bottom of the fourth, going up 7-0. The Bulldogs would avoid the five-inning run rule loss in the bottom of the fifth, as consecutive ground balls stranded the potential winning run at third.
With two out in the top of the sixth, consecutive two-out hits and a walk to Robyn Harmon would load the bases for Dickey. She would knock a ball through the right side under the glove of a diving first baseman, plating one to put the Bulldogs on the board and prevent the shutout. Scott followed with another single just out of reach of the shortstop ranging to her left, adding two more runs to bring Samford within four, down 7-3.
In the top of the seventh, the Crimson Tide brought in a new pitcher, Amanda Locke, who closed out the game for Alabama to secure the 7-3 victory.
Next up, the Bulldogs open the conference slate, hosting Georgia Southern for a three-game series. The action kicks off with a double-header on Saturday, March 10 beginning at 1 p.m., with the third game on Sunday, March 11 at 1 p.m.
Chattanooga 4, SIU Edwardsville 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Chattanooga Lady Mocs softball team rebounded after a 2-3 weekend with a 4-1 victory over SIU Edwardsville (7-11) on Wednesday at Frost Stadium in the squads final preparation for beginning Southern Conference action on Saturday. Freshman third baseman Sarah Beth Roberts registered two hits, while senior designated player Vivian Morimoto and freshman outfielder Cheyenne Willisconnected on home runs.
In the circle, senior pitcher Michelle Fuzzard improved to 4-3 on the season with one strikeout in four innings of work. Earning Chattanooga's (11-8) first save of the season was freshman pitcher Taylor Deason, who logged three innings, while fanning three batters.
The Lady Mocs notched nine hits during the contest as senior pinch hitter Jessica Traxler and sophomore outfielder Layne Rainey each drove in a run.
SIUE was able to plate the first run of the game following a leadoff walk to Lindsey Barron. The runner stole second and advanced to third with two outs on a fly ball to right center. Alex McDavid singled home the run with shot just over the out-stretched glove of Roberts at third into left field.
After the Cougars left two on in the top of the second, Morimoto dilled the second pitch she saw over the bleachers in right. A Roberts doubled to left center continued the offensive momentum and after stealing third, Rainey beat-out an infield single with two outs to put the Lady Mocs up, 2-1.
Chattanooga's defense came to play as junior shortstop Ninija Suetsugu made a couple of fantastic plays during the contest, none better than the diving catch she made going away from the infield in shallow center during the third.
The leadoff spot during an inning continued to produce as Willis sent a drive that cleared the fence in center. It was her third of the season and increased the Lady Mocs lead to 3-1.
Following a couple of quick innings, the offense returned in the sixth as coach Reed altered the lineup with a series of pinch hitters. Sophomore Stephanie Rieck started it off with a one-out single up the middle. A single by Roberts to center put two runners on, then Traxler came through with a clutch RBI-single to left center, 4-1.
Deason would close the door on SIUE in the seventh, notching two of her three strikeouts during the frame.
The Cougars were led by McDavid, who tallied two of the team's three hits along with the lone RBI. Pitcher Amanda Lambrecht went the distance and struck out seven, yielding four earned runs.
Chattanooga opens its Southern Conference schedule against College of Charleston on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. The contest will serve as youth day with the Lady Mocs conducting a post-game autograph session. Sunday's finale of the series is set for a first pitch at 2 p.m.
No.7 Georgia 8, Furman 0
Athens, Ga. – Seventh-ranked Georgia totaled six extra-base hits, including five doubles, and right-hander Tess Sito fanned 10 batters as the Bulldogs downed Furman, 8-0, in non-conference softball action on Wednesday evening at Jack Turner Stadium.
The loss dropped the Paladins to 7-10 on the season while Georgia improved to 19-2.
Sito, scattered five hits and did not allow a walk in a six-inning, complete-game effort to improve to 5-0. The Bulldogs leadoff hitter also went 2-for-2 at the plate with two stolen bases and scored three runs.
Sito put UGA ahead in the first as she singled, swiped second and scored on Ashley Pauly's double into the gap. Pauly scored on Kristin Sandberg's ground out to second to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead after one inning.
After Sandberg upped the Georgia lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice fly in the third, Gracie Goulder belted a two-run homer off of Paladin reliever Lauren Collier in the fourth inning to increase the margin to 5-0. In the fifth, Sitto walked to open the frame and scored on Pauly's RBI double. Pauly came around to score on Paige Wilson's double to up the lead to 7-0.
Pinch hitter Shelby Altman ended the game by the eight-run mercy rule with an RBI double with one out in the bottom of the sixth.
Pauly went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a pair of RBI while Goulder doubled, homered and batted in two runs for UGA.
Hannah Bradley (1-5), who allowed one earned run on two hits in two innings of work, suffered the loss for Furman.
Collier went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Paladins while Stephanie Spain notched a double.
Furman opens Southern Conference play on Saturday when it begins a three-game series at Elon with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.