Georgia Southern 6, Chattanooga 2
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Softball earned its first series victory over Chattanooga since 2008 with a 6-2 victory on Sunday at Eagle Field. The Eagles broke open an early pitcher’s duel with a three-run home run in the fourth and added three more in the fifth to take control of the game. With the win, the Eagles improve to 22-12 overall and 8-1 in the league, strengthening their hold on first place. Chattanooga falls to 19-13 with a 5-2 SoCon mark.
Chattanooga’s starting pitcher, Taylor Deason took a no hitter into the fourth inning, but it was Hanna Ennis that broke up the no-no bid with a single to left center. A walk to Marie Fogle put runners on first and second for Mackenzie Williams. The Eagle catcher crushed her third home run of the series, a three-run job, to left center, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead and chasing Deason from the game in the fourth inning, she was relieved by Michelle Fuzzard.
Eagle starting pitcher Sarah Purvis continued her yeoman’s work in the circle for the Eagles. She kept the Mocs hitless for the first four and two-thirds innings with a double in the fifth ending her no hit bid.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles struck again for three runs. Lexi Allen earned a one-out single with a line over the first baseman and got into scoring position with a stolen base. She scored the Eagles’ fourth run of the game on an RBI double from Alexa Lewis. Later in the frame with two outs, Fogle went downtown with her fifth home run of the season off the foul pole in left, giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead through five complete innings.
Chattanooga got on the board in the seventh, posting two runs off a pair of two doubles in the inning. Purvis, however, got out of the late jam to finish the afternoon with seven strikeouts, allowing just three hits and five for the entire series. She improves to 12-6 in the circle this season with the win.
Williams finished the afternoon 2-for-2 as she hit .667 (6-for-9) in the series. Three of the hits were home runs, giving her a stratospheric 1.778 slugging percentage in the three game series. Fogle was no slouch herself, hitting 5-for-9 against the Mocs (.556) with a stolen base.
Georgia Southern goes back on the road next weekend with a three-game series at UNCG. Play begins on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. with a single game. The series concludes on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Furman 7, Western Carolina 3
Greenville, S.C. – Freshman Shelby Parker tossed her first career complete game and Furman pounded out 10 hits en route to a 7-3 victory over Western Carolina in the series finale of a three-game Southern Conference series on Sunday afternoon at the Catamount Softball Complex.
The win improved Furman to 13-22 overall and 4-8 in SoCon play while Western Carolina dipped to 13-22 overall and 3-6 in league play.
Parker, making her sixth start of the season, held the Catamounts to just one earned run on six hits while improving to 3-2 in the circle. The Cherokee, N.C., native issued only one walk and fanned five Catamounts in the seven-inning outing.
Furman jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top half of the third inning on freshman Natalie Clemmons’ bases clearing double to the right-center field gap after Alexis Galinski opened the frame with a base on balls and Nikki Legg and Jessie Homesley recorded back-to-back singles to load the bases with one out.
The Catamounts trimmed the margin to 3-2 in the bottom of the frame when Amber Steinhardt clubbed a two-run homer to left field after Emily Boyer’s two-out error extended the inning.
Furman took advantage of a Western Carolina error to tally two runs of its own in the top of the fourth. Alex Bimonte singled to open the inning, and after Ambree Muller reached first base on a two-out error, Legg laced a double into the left field corner to drive in two runs.
Clemmons walked and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth before Western Carolina’s Haley Pace belted a solo shot to left field to cut the Paladin lead back to 6-3. Leading off the seventh, Clemmons capped the scoring with a line drive home run, the first of her career, to straightaway center field to boost the Furman lead to 7-3.
Legg went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI while Clemmons finished 2-for-3 with a double, homer and four RBI after missing Saturday’s twinbill due to illness. Lauren Collier added a pair of hits for the Paladins.
Jordan Garrett (5-11) suffered the loss for the Catamounts allowing six tuns, four earned, on six hits in four innings of work. She walked two batters and struck out three.
Steinhardt went 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead WCU at the plate.
Furman returns to Pepsi Stadium on Wednesday when it hosts the Georgia State Panthers in a 3 p.m. doubleheader.
College of Charleston 3, Appalachian State 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston softball team completed a Southern Conference series sweep of Appalachian State on Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 victory at Patriots Point to earn their third-consecutive SoCon series win.
Stephanie Saylors once again pitched the entirety of the game and allowed just three hits while striking out four. She carried the shutout into the final inning before the Mountaineers could manage a run. The junior has now dealt eight consecutive complete-game appearances.
Saylors got run support by way of RBIs from Lizzy Vaughn, Carly Corthell and Kristy Giragosian.
Vaughn was 2-for-4 in the game to lead the Cougars’ offense which was good for eight hits.
After three scoreless innings, the Cougars opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth when Allison Pedigo clobbered a one-out double into the gap in right center. After a base on balls put runners on first and second, Vaughn and Corthell delivered back-to-back singles which brought two runs across the plate.
In the fifth, Amanda Lonergan properly struck a ball into left center for a leadoff double and later scored on Giragosian’s sacrifice squeeze play.
The Mountaineers thwarted the shutout in the seventh with a leadoff double from Caroline Rogers who scored on an RBI groundout by Cynthia Gomez.
The Cougars return to action on Wednesday, April 4 when the Cougars host North Carolina Central in a doubleheader at Patriots Point. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
UNCG 13, Samford 8
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Junior Eileen Horsmon drove in a career-high six runs that included her second career grand slam as UNCG notched a season high in runs with a 13-8 win over Samford on Sunday at Bulldog Field.
The Spartans (14-22, 6-6 Southern Conference) emphatically won the rubber game of the series, with Horsmon’s grand slam highlighting an eight-run third inning.
UNCG already led 3-1 at that point, as the Spartans put up a trio of runs in the second on a bases-loaded wild pitch and a two-run single by Aubrey Baldwin.
Samford (9-27, 3-9 SoCon) got a run back in the bottom half on Caroline Seay’s RBI single, but the Spartans were about to blow the game open.
UNCG sent 11 batters to the plate in the third. Horsmon led off the frame with a walk and later came in on Toni MacReynolds’ bases-loaded walk. Two more runs came in on a Samford error before Baldwin had another RBI hit. One out later, Horsmon hit the first pitch she saw out to right center to make it 11-1.
The Bulldogs didn’t go away, getting one of those runs back in the bottom half on Shelby Scott’s RBI single and putting up a five-spot in the fourth to make it interesting.
Alex Adams had an RBI single in the frame, but the big blow came from Misha Aldridge, who hit a grand slam of her own to pull Samford within four runs at 11-7.
Horsmon quelled any thoughts of a Samford comeback the following inning, hitting a two-out, two-run single to make it 13-7.
The Bulldogs scored a run in the bottom half on Julianne Surane’s RBI single, but that was as close as they’d get.
UNCG starter Cory Mattson left with an 11-2 lead but didn’t factor into the decision, as she fell two outs shy of the minimum number of innings to qualify for the win. She was charged with five runs on seven hit and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. Reliever Erica Navarette (3-8) picked up the win, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.
Scott (2-5) took the loss for the Bulldogs, as she surrendered four runs on three hits and two walks in two innings. Aldridge allowed nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and a walk in five innings.
Horsmon, Baldwin and Aisha Figueroa had two hits each to lead UNCG at the plate, with Horsmon’s six RBI falling one short of the school record. Horsmon’s big day vaulted her into the team RBI lead with 35 on the season, while her eighth homer of the year moved her into a tie for the team lead in that category with Katelyn Bedwell.
Surane was 4-for-5 to lead Samford, while Scott was 3-for-4.
UNCG is back in action Wednesday in Lynchburg, Va., when it steps out of conference for a doubleheader at Liberty. Game one is set for a 2 p.m. start.