Appalachian State 3, Samford 2
Appalachian State 9, Samford 1
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University softball took two games from Southern Conference foe Samford on Saturday afternoon. The Mountaineers defeated the Bulldogs 3-2 in game one before taking the 9-1, five-inning victory in game two.
With the wins App State improves to 9-8 overall on the season and 4-1 in the SoCon, while Samford falls to 9-12 overall and 1-4 in the SoCon.
Game One: App State 3, Samford 2
Appalachian State struck early as sophomore Sarah Warnock led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run over the left center field fence.
The Mountaineers took the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Meghan Smith hit her second home run of the season over the left center fence.
Sophomore Cynthia Gomez knocked in what would be the winning run when she singled through the right side of the field to score Dani Heichen, who drew a walk earlier in the inning.
Samford came within one of the Apps when Alex Adams homered to bring in two runs in the top of the fifth inning, but it would not be enough as the Black and Gold went on to a 3-2 victory.
Five different players on the Appalachian roster each recorded one hit as Warnock, Smith and Gomez all tallied a RBI.
Sophomore pitcher Alissa Schoelkopf pitched all seven innings to earn her fifth victory of the season with five strikeouts.
Game Two: App State 9, Samford 1
The Apps struck offensively in the bottom of the third inning as they loaded the bases with no outs. Freshman Ellie Manriquez led off the inning with a single up the middle before Heichen laid down a bunt and Warnock was hit by a pitch. Gomez put the ball in play with a perfectly placed slap up the middle to score Manriquez and give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.
Junior Lindsay Loudermilk dug in with bases loaded and drove a grand slam over the right field fence to extend the Appalachian lead to 5-0. The grand slam marks Loudermilk's first home run of the season.
The Black and Gold put two runners on the base path when Caroline Chambers walked and Heichen tallied her second hit of the game with a hit up the middle.
Warnock hit her second home run of the afternoon and brought in three runs when she hit the ball over the right field fence to give Appalachian the 8-0 advantage in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Bulldogs put their lone run on the board when Caitlin Bice drew a walk and advanced to third on two groundouts. Bice crossed the plate when she came home on a wild pitch, bringing the score 8-1.
The Apps added their ninth run of the game to capture the mercy-rule victory in the bottom of the fifth inning when Whitney Johnson singled up the middle and Manriquez hit a double past the center fielder to plate Johnson.
Loudermilk led the Black and Gold at the plate as she had one hit with four RBI and Warnock added one hit and three RBI.
Freshman Shivaun Landeros (4-3) earned the win in the circle as she went all five innings with two strikeouts and allowing only two hits.
Warnock notched two home runs in the doubleheader as she went 2-for-5 at the plate with four RBI, while six players on the App State roster had at least one RBI on the afternoon.
College of Charleston 7, Elon 3
College of Charleston 4, Elon 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston softball team remained unblemished in Southern Conference play with a doubleheader sweep of Elon at Patriots Point on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars used 22 hits and three home runs to get past the Phoenix by 7-3 and 4-3 outcomes.
Kristy Giragosian (Charlotte, N.C.) hit her second career grand slam to give CofC (13-9, 5-0 SoCon) a comfortable lead in game one. Her first grand slam also came against Elon in last year's series.
The Cougars had to battle from behind in game two and freshman Rebecca Mueller (Fair Oaks, Calif.) provided the heroics with a walk-off RBI single in the seventh inning.
Hope Klicker (Walla Walla, Wash.) and Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) both threw complete games and earned the victories in the circle. Klicker struck out eight hitters and only allowed one earned run in the first game and Saylors didn't surrender any earned runs in her outing.
Every single batter in the lineup got at least one hit in the first game, and nine of ten hitters had at least one hit in the second game.
Kelsey Hodgson (Woodstock, Ga.) was good for four hits on the day and hit a two-run homer in game one. Lizzy Vaughn (Placerville, Calif.) hit her first homerun of the season in game two.
The Cougars were clad in pink jerseys to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The team auctioned off the game-worn jerseys with all the proceeds going to cancer research.
The teams will finish the series with a single game on Sunday at Patriots Point. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
College of Charleston: 7, Elon: 3
The Cougars jumped ahead early with Hodgson's two-run home run to centerfield in the first, and Klicker stayed perfect through three innings, with exception to a Cougar fielding error.
The Phoenix cut the lead in half with an RBI double by Johanna Spencer in the fourth, but a dazzling line-drive catch by Hodgson and an awareness play by Vaughn to erase Elon's lead runner preserved the Cougar lead.
The Cougars put their first three hitters aboard without getting the ball out of the infield to start the fifth inning, and Chandler Frisbie (Lawrenceville, Ga.) lined one back at the pitcher for an RBI single. After an infield fly and strikeout, the Phoenix looked to get out of the inning without any further damaged, but Giragosian erased the hopes of that when she hammered a 2-2 offering out of the park in left.
The Phoenix tacked on two runs on four hits in the sixth to cut the led to 7-3, but Klicker iced them the rest of the way to preserve the victory.
College of Charleston: 4, Elon: 3
In game two, the Phoenix seized the early lead after Cougar fielding errors extended the second and third innings. The Phoenix cashed in on both frames, and an RBI double for Carleigh Nester and RBI single for Johanna Spencer made it 3-0 in the top of the third inning.
The momentum shifted in the bottom half of the inning when Vaughn put life back into the Cougar dugout with her solo homerun to left center. Hodgson batted next and slapped a single to right field, and Chandler Frisbie (Lawrenceville, Ga.) doubled to left center to plate a run.
With runners on first and second, Mueller reached on a fielder's choice which left runners on the corners. Mueller broke towards second base and craftily got herself caught in a rundown and staved off being tagged long enough to allow Frisbie to cross the plate and tie the game.
The teams remained deadlocked at 3-3 until the seventh inning, when two Elon errors put runners on the corners with no outs for the Cougars. With the infield drawn in, Mueller slapped a single through the right side of the infield and Chloe Fletcher (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) crossed the plate in the form of the walkoff winning run.
Furman 4, Chattanooga 0
Chattanooga 6, Furman 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Chattanooga Lady Mocs softball team opened Southern Conference play Saturday with a split to the Furman Paladins in Greenville, S.C. at Pepsi Field. The Paladins shut the Lady Mocs down 4-0 in the first game, holding UTC to six hits, while freshman Rachel Albritton (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) shined in the circle with a 6-1 victory in the second game.
Chattanooga 0 - Furman 4
The Paladins nearly struck first in the second inning on a high fly ball off the bat of second baseman Taylor Jenkins to left field. With the wind behind it, the ball was set to sail over the fence but the last-minute outstretched glove of freshman Sam Taylor (Chickamauga, Ga.) reeled in the would-be home run to end the inning.
An offensive Paladin outburst followed in the third inning on five hits and four runs. A leadoff single and stolen base from catcher Hannah Pace led off the inning and an RBI single from centerfielder Nikki Legg put Furman on the board. A two-run home run from shortstop Sieara Bishop extended the lead to 3-0 and back-to-back hits capped the third inning scoring with a fourth run scored.
The Lady Mocs collected six hits over seven innings, but weren't able to string them together. Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) doubled to lead off the game and Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.) led off the second inning with a single. Ninjja Suetsugu (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Taylor recorded two hits, but all four came in separate innings.
Taylor Deason (Clarksville, Tenn.) was charged with the loss, giving up 10 hits and four earned runs over six innings. The sophomore struck out three batters and walked two while Furman starter Lauren Collier fanned three without walking a batter. The win is Collier's fifth of the season while Deason falls to 10-7.
Chattanooga 6 - Furman 1
Furman was able to get on the board first in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly to left, but Chattanooga retaliated in the top of the second for three runs on two hits and two errors.
Suetsugu singled to lead off the inning and a groundout advanced the senior to second. Poteat walked on five pitches and an error charged to Bishop off the bat of Sam Taylor allowed Suetsugu to score ffrom second. In the following at-bat, Robles singled through the left side to drive in Poteat and Roberts reached on an error by second baseman Jenkins to plate Taylor.
The Lady Mocs added a fourth run in the third inning after back-to-back walks put Suetsugu and Tydingco on first and second. Junior Kaiti Dutton (Tulsa, Okla.) walked to load the bases and a fielder's choice off the bat of Alyssa Taylor (Orange, Calif.) allowed Suetsugu to score from third, pushing the Chattanooga lead to 4-1.
Poteat went on to drive in two more runs in the top of the fifth on a single to right-center. Tydingco and Suetsugu reached again, this time on a walk and hit by pitch, and a sacrifice bunt from Alyssa Taylor advanced the runners to second and third to set up Poteat's two-RBI hit.
Albritton walked away with the win, pitching seven innings and allowing just three hits to the Paladins. It's the freshman's third win of the season and her first career SoCon win.
UNCG 5, Western Carolina 1
UNCG 7, Western Carolina 3
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (8-16, 1-4 Southern Conference) held tough against visiting UNCG (20-4, 4-1 SoCon) but was swept by the Spartans 5-1, 7-3 Saturday at the Catamount Softball Complex.
The Catamounts peppered 12 hits across both games and combined for four runs. The high-octane Spartans pushed across 12 runs on 19 hits and had two homeruns in the contest. Western Carolina had its five-game streak of hitting a homerun snapped in the first game against UNCG but did bounce back in the second game with a homerun by senior Amber Steinhardt, her second of the season.
UNCG 5, Western Carolina 1
Western Carolina took an early 1-0 lead, in the first game, scoring a run in the bottom of the second inning. Haley Pace hit a lead-off single up the middle and moved to second and third on wild pitches by UNCG pitcher Raeanne Hanks. Pace scored when freshman first baseman Taylor Sigmon laced a shot to centerfield. The RBI single was Sigmon's 10th of the season.
After three solid innings, Catamount sophomore pitcher Jordan Garrett gave up runs in three of the remaining four innings. The Spartans plated two runs in the fourth and fifth inning and a run in the sixth to seal the game.
Garrett tossed a complete game, her eighth of the season, giving up four earned runs, 10 hits, had four walks and struck out four. She falls to 6-8 on the season.
After the lone run in the second inning, Western Carolina had just one true scoring threat through the remainder of the game. With two outs, in the bottom of the sixth, sophomore catcher Heather Chastain doubled to left center; it was her team-leading sixth double n the season. Sigmon ground out to third base to end the threat.
Amelia Griffin, Chastain and Sigmon each had two hits in the game accounting for six of the seven hits in the contest by the Catamounts. UNCG's Hanks took the win and improves to 11-1.
UNCG 7, Western Carolina 3
The Catamounts were held scoreless for six of the seven innings, in the second game, before a homerun by Steinhardt sparked a rally attempt in the bottom of the seventh.
Western Carolina's pitching staff struggled as Mallory Broome started the game, taking the loss, before she gave way to Steinhardt and finally Garrett closed out the game. Broome falls to 1-6 on the season after going two innings and giving up three runs on four hits and striking out one. Steinhardt went 2.1 innings allowing four runs on five hits and striking out one as well. Garrett entered in the third inning, and in her 3.1 innings of work, she held the Spartans scoreless and struck out three.
UNCG jumped on board early when Lindsay Thomas homered to right field in the first inning. The Spartans tacked on three runs in the third and fourth before being held scoreless the final three innings of the game.
Western Carolina had just two hits over the course of the first six innings. UNCG pitcher Erica Navarette sat down seven straight Catamount batters after giving up a walk to Chastain in the fourth inning.
Navarette's consecutive batters retired was snapped in a big way in the bottom of the seventh inning when Steinhart led off the inning with a homerun to avoid the shutout.
Steinhardt's homerun was a spark for Western Carolina. After her long ball Sigmon hit a one out double and scored off an RBI double by Makenzi McAteer. It was McAteer's first double and RBI of the season.
The game got even more interesting when Sigmon scored off a UNCG error allowing freshman Amber Kimrey to reach first with one out. After Griffin ground out, Jordan Fulton and Shemekia Scotton drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. This set up a scoring chance for WCU homerun leader Haley Pace and prompted a pitching change by UNCG. The Spartans put in Kelly Lupton who got Pace to ground out to end the game and earned Lupton a save in the game.
UNCG had nine hits in the game and Western Carolina had five. Three of Western Carolina's hits five hits came in the seventh inning.
Minnesota 5, Georgia Southern 0
Florida State 4, Georgia Southern 0
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - Georgia Southern Softball opened the 2013 FSU Sunshine Classic with a pair of losses to Minnesota and Florida State on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles fell 5-0 to the Gophers in the opener and 4-0 to the Seminoles in game two. GSU returns to play at Dr. JoAnne Graf Field on Sunday morning, facing Minnesota at 10 a.m. before playing FSU at 2 p.m.
- GAME ONE -
Minnesota took the 5-0 win over Georgia Southern to open the weekend for the Eagles. A first inning solo home run followed by a two-RBI double Kari Dorle in the second inning gave the Gophers a 2-0 lead. One run in both the fourth and fifth innings gave Minnesota their run total.
Allie Miles took the loss for Georgia Southern in the pitching circle to fall to 3-3 on the year while Marla Thompson worked the final two innings. Thompson allowed just one hit in her appearance as the sophomore closed out the game.
- GAME TWO -
Florida State took the second game of the day, 4-0 behind 13 strikeouts by Monica Perry. The Eagle offense had three hits in the game off a number of hard hit balls.
The Seminoles got their first run after earning three-straight walks to load the bases in the third inning. An infield ground out followed by an infield error gave FSU a 2-0 lead. Florida State added to that lead in the fifth inning with a two-run home run down the left field line, giving the hosts a 4-0 advantage.
Sarah Purvis went the distance and struck out eight batters as the junior was handed the loss to fall to 7-7 on the year.
Georgia Southern faces the same two teams on Sunday morning beginning with Minnesota at 10 a.m. GSU takes on the Seminoles at 2 p.m. in the weekend finale.