Presbyterian College 3, Furman 2

Furman 7, Presbyterian College 5

Clinton, S.C. – Freshman Sieara Bishop went 3-for-3, including a two-run homer that broke a 5-5 deadlock in the fifth inning, to lead Furman to a 7-5 victory in game two and doubleheader split versus Presbyterian on Wednesday afternoon in Clinton, S.C.  The Blue Hose claimed a 3-2 victory in game one.

GAME 1

In the opening game, Presbyterian struck for three runs in the bottom half of the first inning against Paladin starter Lauren Collier, and Blue Hose hurler Kensley Loudermelk limited Furman to just a pair of runs to give her team a 2-0 win.

Erin Ruff and Erin Taylor laced back-to-back one-out singles in the first and Cat Tarvin followed with an RBI single to put the Blue Hose in front 1-0.  After a sacrifice bunt for the second out and a walk to load the bases, Collier worked the count to 1-2 against PC's Jennifer Marshall before the Blue Hose's backstop lined a two-run single to right-center field to up the margin to 3-0.

Furman got on the board in the third as Ambree Muller tripled into a the left-center field gap and scored on Stephanie Spain's grounder to shortstop.  The Paladins stranded a pair of runners in both the fourth and fifth innings before Collier hammered a Loudermelk pitch over the left-center field wall to leadoff of the sixth to trim the lead to 3-2.  Hannah Pace singled and Bishop walked to give the Paladins a couple of base runners for the third consecutive inning, but Loudermelk got Natalie Clemmons to fly out to retire the side and set Furman down in order in the seventh to end the game.

Collier (3-1) took the loss for Furman after allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings of work.  She fanned four batters and allowed two walks.

Loudermelk (3-2) held the Paladins to a pair of runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking just one.  Ruff and Marshall each collected a pair of hits for the Blue Hose.

GAME 2

In game two, Furman rallied from a 4-1 deficit to down the Blue Hose in a contest that was halted after six innings due to darkness.

Ruff put Presbyterian in front in the first with an RBI single before Clemmons lined a double over the centerfielder's head to plate Bishop and tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the second inning.  In the bottom of the frame, Morgan Durham laced a two-out triple to center to give the lead back to the Blue Hose and Tera Powell followed with an RBI single to increase PC's margin to 3-1 after two innings.

After Presbyterian (4-6) took advantage of two Paladin errors to up its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third inning, first-year Furman head coach Kyle Jamieson was ejected by the home plate umpire prior to the first pitch of the fourth inning.  The ejection ignited the Paladins as Bishop, Muller and Clemmons combined to delivered three straight singles ahead of Taylor Jenkins' three-run double down the left field line that knotted the game at 4-4.  Jenkins later scored on a wild pitch from reliever Kelsey Barnette to put the Paladins in front 5-4.

Durham pulled PC even by belting the second pitch in the bottom of the fourth over the left field wall off of Paladin starter Meaghan Houston, but Furman provided an immediate answer in the top of the fifth.  Collier reached on a dropped fly ball by the rightfielder and Bishop lined a 2-2 pitch from Barnette over the left field fence for her first collegiate homer to give Furman the 7-5 lead.

Houston, who improved to 3-0 in the circle, worked around a walk in the fifth and stranded two runners in the sixth before the darkness set in to give Furman (6-2) the win.  The freshman lefthander allowed four earned runs on nine hits in six innings.  She struck out five batters and walked just one.

Bishop went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Stephanie Field finished 3-for-4 and Jenkins batted in three runs as part of the Paladins' 10-hit attack.

Barnette, who surrendered two runs on three hits in two and 2/3 innings, suffered the loss to slip to 0-1.  Durham went 3-for-3 with a triple and a homer for the Blue Hose.

The Paladins return to action on February 27, when they visit USC Upstate.

Kennesaw State 3, Samford 2

KENNESAW, Ga. ---- Despite a stellar pitching performance and a late game-tying rally, some untimely Bulldog errors and Kennesaw State hits ultimately made the difference in a close 3-2 loss Wednesday night.

The loss is Samford’s (3-5) third one-run loss of the season.  The Bulldogs were kept in the game by a masterful pitching performance by Mollie Hanson (2-4), as she took the tough loss despite allowing only one earned run off two hits with a career-best 12 strikeouts.  Five Bulldogs earned a hit in the loss, including a sixth-inning single by Madison Dickey to extend her hitting streak to five games.

Kennesaw State (9-1) made both of their runs count, driving in a run off both.  Abbey Mixon (3-0) earned the win in the circle, throwing 6.0 innings with eight strikeouts while Amanda Henderson entered in the seventh inning for her second save of season.

Pitching dominated the early portion of the game, with neither team earning a hit until Caroline Seay’s one-out single in the top of the third, though she was eventually left stranded.  In the bottom half of the third, the Kennesaw State leadoff batter was walked, sacrificed to second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.  The Owls’ first hit of the game brought her home, making it 1-0 after the RBI single up the middle.  The next batter reached on a fielder’s choice and an errant throw to second allowed the leading runner to score while the trailing runner moved to second with the score now 2-0.  Hanson struck out two in a row to end the inning with the Bulldogs facing a two-run deficit.

Leading off the top of the fifth, Callie Brister poked a double into the right-field gap, eventually advancing to third off a one-out groundout to the pitcher.  Seay hit a groundout to the shortstop and was beaten out on the throw by less than half a step, holding the Bulldogs scoreless.

Samford looked to put a number in the run column again in the top of the sixth.  Arica Dykes led off the inning with a hard-hit single to center field and Megan Dowdy followed that up with a fielder’s choice into shallow left field just out of reach of the outfielder’s glove, though Dykes was tagged out at second on the play.  Dickey followed with a single through the left side and the runners were moved over into scoring position off a groundout to the second baseman.  Kayla Shaffer came up with a huge at-bat with two away, knocking the first pitch into center field for a two-run single that tied the game, advancing to second off the throw.  A strikeout ended the rally but it was now a whole new ballgame with the score tied at 2-2.

Kennesaw State stole the momentum back in the bottom of the sixth, putting two runners on base with one out after an error and a walk.  A  hard-hit single that just stayed fair down the first-base line scored the go-ahead run, giving the Owls the 3-2 lead with runners at the corners and still only one away.  A strikeout and a popup ended the inning with Samford needing to overcome a one-run deficit in the next half-inning.

The Owls turned to their number-one pitcher, senior Amanda Henderson, in the top of the seventh as she shut down the Bulldogs in order to earn the save and hand Samford another tough one-run loss.

Up next, Samford will be one of 12 teams competing in the Memphis Classic this weekend, playing four games over two days.  The Bulldogs open action with two games on Saturday, Feb. 23 facing Wright State (1 p.m. CT) and SEMO (4 p.m. CT).  On Sunday, Feb. 24, Samford will play Wichita State (9 a.m. CT) and Belmont (2:30 p.m. CT).

Campbell 7, Elon 5

ELON, N.C. – Tomeka Watson hit her 23rd career home run, but the Elon softball team suffered a 7-5 setback to Campbell on Wednesday, Feb. 20, spoiling the Phoenix’s first game in its new stadium at Hunt Softball Park. The Camels improved to 7-2 while Elon falls to 1-4.

Watson hit her third homer of the season with a solo shot down the left field line that was originally ruled foul. After a brief discussion with Phoenix head coach Kathy Bocock, the umpire overturned the call pulling the Phoenix within one, 2-1. The next two batters were walked, but Campbell was able to maneuver out of the inning clinging to its one-run lead.

After a scoreless top of the second, Elon added two runs in the bottom half. Grace Eng homered over left center to tie the game at 2-2 and ending the day for Camels’ starter Courtney Roberts, who was relieved in the circle by Olivia Scarborough.

Lauren Oldham hit a two-out single then stole second to move herself into scoring position with Camille Hill coming to the plate. Hill was able to reach on an error by the second baseman enabling Oldham to score after the catcher could not control the ball on the tag at the plate. Hill would be called out in a rundown between second and third, but the Phoenix went into the top of the third ahead 3-2.

The Camels plated four runs in the top of the fourth to pull back ahead 6-3. Stephanie Jones singled to drive in Ericka Nesbitt to tie the score at 3-3. Raven Lee added a three-run homer over right center to push Campbell ahead 6-3. Karen Berna relieved starter Kayla Caruso and was able to get out of the remainder of the inning.

Elon would threaten in the bottom of the third with runners in scoring position, but was unable to muster any runs on the board. Both squads will go scoreless in the fourth, but Campbell plated its final run in the top of the fifth after Shaela Churchill earned a two-out walk with the bases loaded, scoring Kerstine Womack. Nesbitt would ground out to end the inning, with Campbell ahead 7-3.

The Phoenix would answer with Watson leading off the bottom with a double and then was driven home by Johanna Spencer’s home run over center field to pull Elon within two, 7-5. Emily Cameron earned a free pass on the next at bat, forcing Campbell to make a pitching change with Julia Callicutt relieving Scarborough in the circle.

The Phoenix would add another runner on the base paths after Aly Quintana walked, but Callicutt would retire the next three batters to end the inning.

Elon’s last chance came in the bottom of seventh with two on and one out, but Calicutt would sit down the next two batters to end the game.

Scarborough (3-0) would earn the win after 3.0 innings of work while Calicutt recorded her first save of the season.

Caruso (0-2) took the loss for Elon after pitching 2.2 innings. Berna allowed only one earned one in 4.1 innings of action with two strikeouts.

The Phoenix return to the field to host the Phoenix Softball Clash beginning on Friday, Feb. 22, at 4:30 p.m. versus Saint Peter’s.