Chattanooga 6, Auburn 4

AUBURN, Ala.-- The Chattanooga Lady Mocs softball team (4-5) defeated Auburn (10-1) Sunday evening in the final game of the Auburn University Tiger Invitational in Auburn, Ala. to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season. The win is the first Chattanooga win over the Auburn softball program. The all-time series is now even 1-1.

Taylor Deason (Clarksville, Tenn.) (3-3) went the distance with just six hits allowed, giving up four runs- all unearned. The complete game is the first of the year for Deason and first win in a starting role.

The Lady Mocs fell behind early in the first inning as the defense ran into a couple of miscues. A fielding error allowed Auburn's Brooke Lathan to reach and a wild pitch moved the runner to third. A walk issued to Caitlin Schultze put runners on the corners and another wild pitch from Deason brought Lathan in to score, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Chattanooga got on the board after two scoreless innings as Sam Taylor (Chickamauga, Ga.) led off the UTC fourth with a double to left field. Sarah Beth Roberts (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) put down a sacrifice bunt to move Taylor into scoring position, but a throwing error by the Auburn catcher, Schultze, allowed the freshman to score from first base.

Despite tying the game 1-1 in the top of the inning, the Tigers answered back in the next half inning with three runs to retake the lead. After recording back-to-back strikeouts, a walk and single loaded the bases for Auburn. A fielding error by Taylor at shortstop extended the inning, bringing in an unearned run, and a double off the bat of Lathan in the next at-bat drove in two more.

Down 4-1 going into the fifth inning, the Chattanooga came alive with five hits and four runs to jump ahead of the Tigers 5-4. A single from Alyssa Taylor led off the inning, but a fielder's choice put Poteat on at first in place of Taylor. Sam Taylor walked in the following series and Robles came through with a clutch single to center to drive in Poteat.

Auburn pitcher Hilary Mavromat was chased after the run scored and was replaced by Marcy Harper, but an RBI single from Roberts to the right side drove in the inherited runner, Taylor. A single from Stephanie Rieck (Chandler, Ariz.) extended the inning on two outs and a single two-RBI single to center from Jenny Garcia (Miami, Fla.) gave the Lady Mocs their first lead of the game.

Up 5-4 going into the sixth inning, Roberts added an insurance run with a solo home run over the left field fence. The no-doubter was Roberts first of the season as well as the first Chattanooga home run of the 2013 campaign.

The Lady Mocs return to Chattanooga Friday to host the Frost Classic at Frost Stadium. Chattanooga opens its home slate against Eastern Kentucky at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. UTC will also take on Lipscomb, Miami-Ohio, Boston College and Missouri State during the weekend.

College of Charleston 1, Towson 0

College of Charleston 5, Akron 0

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. –The College of Charleston softball team finished the CofC Classic in style with a pair of wins over Towson and Akron at Patriots Point on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars eked a 1-0 win of a pitcher’s duel with Towson and then brought the bats to life in a convincing, 5-0 win over Akron in the tournament finale.

CofC (2-3) got complete-game shutouts out of Hope Klicker (Walla Walla, Wash.) and Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) who were both extremely effective on the day.

Klicker had to be near perfect in order to earn a win in the Cougars’ first game against Towson, as she and her Towson counterpart Katie Lingmai had complete command over the opposing offenses. CofC was limited to one hit in the contest but fully capitalized on it for the game’s lone run.

Saylors was given a little more breathing room as the Cougars jumped on the Zips early with four runs in the first two frames.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 1, TOWSON: 0

In the Cougars’ first game, neither team had a solution for the quality pitching on display. The Cougars were held hitless until the bottom of the sixth inning, but that didn’t prevent them from creating quality chances.

In the second, Chandler Frisbie (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Lexi Murdock (Clifton, Va.) and Lizzy Vaughn (Placerville, Calif.) all drew walks to load up the bases, but Lingmai worked her way out of the jam to keep the game scoreless.

In the fifth, Vaughn again walked and a throwing error put runners on second and third, but Lingmai again was able to limit the damage.

The Cougars finally broke through in the next inning when Kelsey Hodgson (Woodstock, Ga.) led off with a smash to center which the ballpark was barely able to contain, and the junior trotted in to second for a stand-up double.

Frisbie executed a sacrifice bunt to advance Hodgson to third, and then Rebecca Mueller (Fair Oaks, Calif.) hit a sharp grounder in the direction of the second baseman. Hodgson feigned as if she was going to score to draw a throw to the plate, and then retreated to third to allow Mueller to reach first safely.

Allison Pedigo (Scottsville, Ky.) entered the game as a pinch hitter and drew a two-out walk to load the bases. She was then pinch ran for by Jordan Trgovac (Green Bay, Wisc.).

Another grounder was then sprayed towards second base and Trgovac alertly temporarily screened the second baseman as she passed by which left the second baseman unable to make a play and the game-winning run to cross the plate.

Klicker held the Tigers to four hits and struck out seven. She displayed impeccable control as she limited herself to a highly-efficient 87 pitches with an astonishing 72 (82.75 percent) finding the strike zone.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 5, AKRON: 0

The Cougars rolled the momentum of the win over to their next game and enjoyed early success at the plate.

Carly Corthell (Reno, Nev.) led off the game with a single up the middle and Mackenzie Maples (Corona, Calif.) doubled to left which allowed the speedy Corthell to come around to score, marking the first time the Cougars scored before the third inning this season. Hodgson then singled up the middle to score Maples and put the Cougars up 2-0.

The Cougars then benefitted from some sloppy Akron fielding in the second inning. Thanks in part to a pair of Zip errors, a Maples single allowed Kristy Giragosian (Charlotte, N.C.) and Ashton Jarrett (Hanahan, S.C.) to score in the inning.

In the fifth, Hodgson led off with a stand-up triple to the right-field fence, and Mueller singled back up the middle to make the score 5-0, the ultimate final.

Saylors struck out four in the game while walking just two in seven innings of work to earn a win in her first decision of the season.

NEXT UP

The Cougars return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 19 when they play host to South Carolina State in an afternoon doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.

CofC hosts another full slated-tournament at Patriots Point next weekend.

Georgia Southern 4, Florida Gulf Coast 2

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Georgia Southern Softball finished the FGCU/LaQuinta Inn at the Airport Tournament on a winning note with a 4-2 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday afternoon. GSU won the battle of the Eagles with four runs in the final two innings to secure a 3-2 record on the weekend and improve to 6-3 on the campaign.

Florida Gulf Coast took an early lead with a bases loaded single in the first for a 1-0 lead and added a home run in the fifth frame to lead the Eagles 2-0.

Back-to-back singles by Alexa Lewis and Lexi Allen gave the Eagles their first run on the game in the sixth inning. A Kourtny Thomas single with two outs in the inning brought Allen in to score and tied the game at 2-2.

In the top of the seventh, Georgia Southern got the inning started with a pinch hit single by Savanah Coon followed by a single up the middle by A.J. Hamilton, forcing a pitching change by FGCU. Coon was replaced by pinch runner Breanna McLendon and Alexa Lewis worked a walk to load the bases with just one out.

The Eagles were reduced to their final out of the seventh as McLendon was cut down at the plate as Allen reached on the fielder’s choice. Tabby Douberley, however, pounded a two-run single to left, giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

Junior Sarah Purvis pitched the final inning and a third to pick up her fifth win of the season in the circle. Allie Miles had a solid outing allowing two runs through five and two-thirds innings of work.

Georgia Southern will travel to Orlando, Fla. to play in a tournament next weekend against Wisconsin and Boston University at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Savannah State 2, Western Carolina 1

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Western Carolina softball sophomore (5-4) pitcher Jordan Garrett had a career-high 14 strikeouts, but a walk-off RBI double by Antonette Smith lifted Savannah State to a 2-1 victory over the Catamounts in the final day of the Lipton Florida Invitational Sunday at KSP Stadium.

Garrett sat down the first 12 batters she faced and Western Carolina clung to a one-run lead for almost the game. The Catamounts scored their only run in the first inning when Amelia Griffin led off with a walk and Jordan Fulton singled. An RBI groundout by freshman Taylor Sigmon scored Griffin.

Western Carolina had its chances to add it its run total but just couldn’t push anyone else across. In the top of the seventh inning the Catamounts had bases loaded and one out after a single by pinch hitter Sarah Perrine and a single and a walk by Griffin and Fulton. Sigmon struck out and sophomore catcher Heather Chastain was called out due to batter’s interference to end the inning.

Savannah State set up its game winning run when Madison Hedderly led off with a single and advanced to second off a wild pitch by Garrett and moved to third off a sacrifice bunt. Garrett got her 14th strikeout of the game when she fanned Rachel White but a passed ball allowed White to reach first. Runners on second and third, after White stole second, set up the RBI double by Smith.

Western Carolina had six hits in the game with two coming from Kayla Myers. Garrett falls to 3-3 on the season.

The Catamounts return to action February 22-24 participating in the 49ers Invitational hosted by Charlotte.

Wichita State 2, Appalachian State 1

FT. MYERS, Fla. - Appalachian State softball fell 2-1 in eight innings to Wichita State in its final game of the FCGU/LaQuinta Inn & Suites Invitational.

Wichita State got off to a quick start over the Mountaineers as leadoff hitter Ali Vandever doubled to left center and came around to score on a sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the first inning.

After the first inning hit, pitcher Alissa Schoelkopf settled in and struck out 11 batters in eight innings with two looking strikeouts and allowing only four hits.

Junior Lindsay Loudermilk drove a single through the infield in the bottom of the fifth before freshman Alex Sohl put down a bunt to advance pinch runner Racquel Cooke to second. Cooke would be left stranded on second, as the Apps were unable to get her across the plate.

Sophomore Sarah Warnock drove a ball to right field and advanced to third on an error by Wichita State with two outs but was unable to cross home as the final out was retired.

Megan McCracken knocked a single to center field for the Shockers before pinch runner Layne Greenlee stole second. Kaitlyn Carey dug in for Wichita and singled through the infield as Greenlee would try and score from second but would be thrown out by Allie Cashion at the plate to record the final out of the inning.

In the top of the seventh inning senior Meghan Smith reached first on an error by the third baseman to start a rally for Appalachian. Freshman Pepper Butler came in to pinch run for Smith and would advance to second on a single by Sohl to put runners on first and second for App State with two outs.

Sophomore Cynthia Gomez came up with a clutch hit with two outs and two on as she knocked a single over the shortstops head, allowing Butler to score from second, knotting the game at 1-1 and sending the game into extra innings.

Wichita State capitalized on international tiebreaker rules as Carey advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and would come around to score on a deep fly ball, giving the Shockers a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.

Gomez was placed on second for the Black and Gold and advanced to third when Whitney Johnson put down a sacrifice bunt. Dani Heichen reached first on a throwing error by the pitcher and Cashion would be intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs as the Apps trailed by one.

App State was unable to push the final run across the plate, as they would fall 2-1 to the Shockers in eight innings.

With the loss Appalachian falls to 1-4 overall on the season, while Wichita State improves to 3-6 overall. Schoelkopf suffered the loss in the circle as she pitched eight innings for her first complete game of the season, making her 0-2 overall.

The Apps tallied five hits, while keeping the Shocker offense to only four hits on the afternoon. Five different players on the Mountaineer roster recorded a hit on the day as Gomez notched one run batted in.

Warnock led the entire Black and Gold roster on the weekend as she recorded seven hits with two runs batted in, while Loudermilk had six hits, going four-for-four in her first game in an App State uniform on Friday afternoon and drove in four runs.

In the circle for App, Shivaun Landeros finished the weekend with a 1-2 record, pitching 16.2 innings with 11 strikeouts and Schoelkopf pitched 16.1 innings with 23 strikeouts. Katherine Johnson pitched two innings in relief with one strikeout.

Appalachian will have a week break before they take on USC Upstate on Tuesday, Feb. 26 in Spartanburg, S.C. for its first double-header of the 2013 season. Game one is slated to start at 4 p.m.

UNCG 5, Eastern Illinois 1

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The UNCG softball team used 10 hits and a key four-run first inning to defeat Eastern Illinois, 5-1, Sunday afternoon at the Barbara Williams softball complex. The Spartans went 4-1 to win the 2013 Hornet Invitational.

The Blue and Gold won four-straight games after dropping the opening game against Belmont, 1-0, in eight innings. The Spartans jumped on Eastern Illinois with a four-run first inning and cruised to a 5-1 victory.

Redshirt junior Raeanne Hanks (Rainier, Ore./Rainier Senior) improved to 5-1 on the season after throwing six innings, allowing just one earned run with seven strikeouts. Hanks finished the tournament with 27 innings pitched with a 0.26 ERA and 35 strikeouts.

Freshman Danielle Vega (Rialto, Calif./Aquinas) paced the Spartans with a 3-for-4 effort, including a double and an RBI. Vega finished the tournament with a .588 batting average on 10 hits, four doubles, three runs scored and an RBI.

In the top of the first, Eastern Illinois had a chance after an error put Melise Brown on second with no outs. An illegal pitch moved Brown to third followed by a great play from senior Heather Robb (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) to nail the runner at the plate. Reynae Hutchinson reached on a fielder’s choice and was picked off first by freshman catcher Lindsay Thomas (Irvine, Ca./Northwood) to end the inning.

UNCG broke the game open with a four-run bottom of the first inning. The Spartans quickly put runners on first and second after back-to-back singles from junior Aisha Figueroa (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes) and Vega. Thomas roped an RBI double to right center to give UNCG a 1-0 lead. After a fly out, senior Eileen Horsmon (Dunkirk, Md./Northern) laced a RBI double off the left field wall to make it 2-0 Spartans. Freshman Chelsea Strandlund (Victoria, B.C./Lambrick Park) loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch. Classmate Allison Geiner (Raleigh, N.C./Middle Creek) worked a walk, followed by a wild pitch to give UNCG a 4-0 advantage after one inning.

Eastern Illinois cut the lead to 4-1 in the top of the fourth after a two-out RBI single from Hannah Cole. Hutchinson reached base with a one-out single then stole second base. Cole singled up the middle to put the Panthers on the board.

The Spartans answered in the bottom of the fourth with three-straight singles from sophomore Tatiana Alcala (Oxnard, Calif./Pacifica), Figueroa and Vega. Vega picked up her second hit with the RBI single to score Alcala. 

In the top of the seventh, freshman Nicole Thomas (Irvine, Ca./Northwood) came in relief to finish the game. Thomas worked out of a jam by getting a groundout and a lineout to third base to end the inning.

UNCG returns home to host the 2013 Spartan Classic next weekend at the UNCG Softball Stadium.