Furman 8, UNCG 0
Furman 10, UNCG 5
Greensboro, N.C. – Furman doubled six times and belted three home runs en route to an 8-0, 10-5 doubleheader sweep of UNCG in Southern Conference softball action on Saturday afternoon at UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
The Paladins, who have won five straight games and seven of their last nine, improved to 15-13 overall and 4-4 in the SoCon with the sweep of the Spartans. UNCG, which was swept in a twinbill for the first time this season dropped to 23-7 overall and 5-3 in the league.
GAME 1
In Saturday's series opener, junior Lauren Collier tossed a five-hit, five-inning shutout and drove in three runs to power the Paladins to an 8-0 victory over UNCG.
The Maineville, Ohio, native staked Furman to a 2-0 lead in the first inning by following singles from Sieara Bishop and Ambree Muller with a two-run double into the gap. Stephanie Field singled up the middle to drive in Collier for the third run of the frame.
Four consecutive walks by UNCG pitching in the top of the second helped the Paladins push across two more runs and Taylor Jenkins upped the margin to 8-0 with a three-run blast in the top of the fourth. Muller laced a one-out double to left-center and Collier was plunked by a pitch to set the table for Jenkins, who drilled a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence for her fifth homer of 2013.
Collier scattered five hits and did not walk anyone as the Paladins claimed the victory via the eight-run mercy rule after innings. The right-hander fanned two batter.
Muller went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs and Furman scored eight times on just six hits.
Raeanne Hanks (12-3) took the loss for UNCG after allowing five runs on four hits in two innings. Allison Greiner collected two hits for the Spartans.
GAME 2
Furman sent 10 batters to the plate and totaled six runs in the first inning of the night cap as it cruised to a 10-5 win.
Bishop opened the six-run first with a double and scored on Collier's double to left field. After Field drew a walk to loaded the bases and Jenkins forced in a run with a bases loaded walk, junior Hannah Pace hammered a 1-0 pitch from Spartan starter Erica Navarette over the left field fence for a grand slam.
Katelyn Bedwell drove in a pair of runs with single in the bottom of the first and pulled the Spartans to within 6-3 with a solo homer in the third, but Jenkins answered for Furman with a three-run double to right-center with two outs in the top of the fourth. Bishop and Clemmons reached base to start the innings and Field drew a two-out base on balls ahead of Jenkins extra-base hit to extend the Paladin advantage to 9-3.
Muller capped the scoring in the sixth with her team-leading sixth home run of the season, a solo shot to center field, to give the Paladins the 10-5 win.
Collier improved to 8-6 in the circle with her second win of the day. After relieving starter Meaghan Houston in the third inning, Collier limited UNCG to just two runs on six hits in four and 2/3 innings. She struck out six Spartans without allowing a walk.
Bishop, Muller, Collier and Nikki Legg each collected two hits apiece to lead Furman's 10-hit attack. Jenkins and Pace both batted in four runs.
Navarette (4-3) was charged with nine runs on seven hits in four innings of work while absorbing the loss. Bedwell and Eileen Horsmon each totaled three hits for UNCG.
Furman and UNCG conclude the three-game weekend series with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday
Chattanooga 8, Appalachian State 3
Chattanooga 5, Appalachian State 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Lady Mocs softball team (18-14, 3-2 SoCon) claimed a double-header from Appalachian State (11-11, 5-3 SoCon) Saturday as sophomore Taylor Deason (Clarksville, Tenn.) carried UTC with a 2-0 record in 8.2 innings pitched. Along with solid pitching, the Lady Mocs offense also delivered with 13 runs in support of the staff.
Chattanooga 8 – Appalachian State 3
The Lady Mocs were off to a quick start in the first inning of the first game Saturday, finding four runs after a scoreless top of the frame. Chattanooga’s only hit of the inning, a single from Anyssa Robles (Lawrenceville, Ga.), loaded the bases as Sara Poteat (Thomaston, Ga.) and Sam Taylor (Chickamauga, Ga.) both walked to lead off the inning. Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to drive in the game’s first run and a walk issued to Sarah Beth Roberts (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) gave UTC a 2-0 lead.
Shivaun Landeros was brought on to relieve the Mountaineers’ Alissa Schoenlkopf, but Chattanooga was able to score two more in the inning as Stephanie Rieck (Chandler, Ariz.) sacrificed one runner home and Tyler Templet (Woodstock, Ga.) drove in another on a sac fly to center, giving UTC a 4-0 lead.
The Lady Mocs added on three more in the bottom of the second, going ahead 7-0, as Sam Taylor singled and Tydingco walked to put two on. An error off the bat of Roberts allowed for Taylor to score and a two-RBI single to center from senior Ninjja Suetsugu (Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored Tydingco and Roberts.
Appalachian State answered back with three runs in the top of the third on three hits off starting pitcher Rachel Albritton (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), but the freshman was able to work out of the tough inning with a 7-3 lead intact.
Deason was brought on in the fourth in relief of Albritton and Chattanooga scored a final run in the fourth to push the UTC lead to 8-3 on a fielder’s choice. Rieck was credited with the RBI, scoring pinch-runner Yoshi Hooks (Cleveland, Tenn.), while Deason allowed just four hits and struck out two through the next 3.2 innings to shut the Mountaineers down in 6.5 innings.
Robles was 2-for-4 in the first game against ASU while both Rieck and Suetsugu were to blame for two runs on the board. Deason walked away with the win, her 11th of the season, while Albritton tossed 3.1 inning and struck out a game-best six batters.
Chattanooga 5 – Appalachian State 3
The Lady Mocs finished up the double-header with a 5-3 win in game two behind a five-inning outing by Deason and some timely hitting. Both teams found themselves on the board in the second as Appalachian State scored two in the second off starting pitcher Kaisey Carson (Indianapolis, Ind.), but UTC answered back in the bottom half of the frame as Back-to-back hits from Roberts and Rieck opened the inning and Suetsugu walked to load the bases. Freshman Jenny Garcia (Miami, Fla.) drove a sac fly to the outfield to score one and a failed pickoff attempt in the following at-bat allowed Rieck to trot home from third. UTC scored its final run of the inning off of an Alyssa Taylor (Orange, Calif.) batted ball that was mishandled by the ASU second baseman, scoring Suetsugu.
Leading 3-2, a solo home run from Appalachian State’s Lindsay Loudermilk tied the game at 3-3, but the Lady Mocs were able to find two runs in the fourth and fifth innings to lift them over the Mountaineers on Saturday.
An error and a hit in the fourth inning led to a 4-3 advantage for Chattanooga as Poteat reached on an error to score Suetsugu from third, who walked and advanced on a ground out and a wild pitch, but Garcia helped put ASU away in the bottom of the sixth inning on a solo home run to left field, stretching the score to 5-3. The shot is Garcia’s first career home run and served as a clutch hit for the Lady Mocs.
Samford 5, Western Carolina 1
Western Carolina 6, Samford 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Western Carolina softball (10-19, 2-6 Southern Conference) split its Saturday doubleheader with Samford (10-16, 2-6 SoCon), dropping the first game 5-1 and winning the second game 6-2 at the UAB Softball Complex.
Samford 5, Western Carolina 1
Two costly errors in the first inning, by Western Carolina, accounted for three Samford runs and the Catamounts seem to never recover.
Samford hurler Shelby Scott sat down the first nine Western Carolina batters before Amelia Griffin beat out a single to start the fourth inning. It was one of five hits for the Catamounts.
Western Carolina avoided the shutout when senior Shemekia Scotton blasted a homerun, the only homerun by either team in the game, to right field.
With one out Griffin and Megan Crowe hit back-to-back singles to give Western Carolina its best scoring chance. However Haley Pace hit into a fielder's choice to erase Griffin at third and Heather Chastain flew out to left field to end the inning.
Samford added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Freshman Taylor Sigmon tossed her second consecutive complete game and takes the loss falling to 0-5 on the season. She had five strikeouts, allowed nine hits and just one earned run.
Western Carolina 6, Samford 2
Western Carolina jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the second all off a Samford error. Amber Steinhardt led off the inning with a single up the middle and Scototn followed with a doubled to center field. With runners on second and third, Jordan Fulton hit shot to the Samford shortstop and the ball rolled through her legs. Steinhardt and Scotton scored on the Bulldog miscue.
The Catamounts tacked on three runs in the top of the third inning. Crowe led off the inning with a single and with one out Heather Chastain singled to right center to place runners at the corners. With two outs, Steinhardt sent a shot to left field, it dinged off the foul poll and went over for the three-run homerun.
Samford scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Alex Adams led off with a single and with one out, Abby Adams singled. Relief pitcher Misha Aldridge sent a shot to centerfield and Alex Adams attempted to go home. Catamount catcher Heather Chastain made a beautiful sweeping tag but the Samford runner was called safe. Caroline Wilder's RBI was the second run of the inning for the Bulldogs.
Crowe was 3-for-3 in the game with a run scored and an RBI. Steinhardt had two outs including her three-run homerun.
Garrett evens her overall record to 8-8 with the win tossing her 10th complete game. She gave up eight hits, two runs and struck out six.
Dartmouth 4, Elon 3
Iowa State 12, Elon 1
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Tomeka Watson hit her 12th home run of the season to tie the program’s single-season record, but the Elon softball team fell in a couple of games today, March 23, at the FAU Parents Weekend Tournament. The Phoenix had a 4-3 setback in the first game of the day versus Dartmouth and loss to Iowa State in its final contest of the afternoon, 12-1, to fall to 11-13 at the FAU Softball Stadium.
Dartmouth 4, Elon 3
Dartmouth plated the first run of the game in the top of the second inning. The Big Green’s Brianna Lohmann drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a Kristen Rumley single to right field. Alex St. Romain singled through the left side to score Lohmann and make the score 1-0.
After three scoreless innings, the Phoenix was able to place a runner into scoring position in the bottom of the fifth. Sarah Little earned a one-out walk and advanced to second on a Caitlin O’Shea bunt single to the pitcher. The two were stranded on the next two at bats however as Dartmouth induced to final two outs to end the inning.
The Phoenix would finally answer and get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. Watson led off with a solo home run into left center to tie the score at 1-1. Watson took a 0-1 pitch off Rumley to tie Emerald Graham (2010-11) for the program’s single-season record. The maroon and gold could not build on that momentum as the next three batters went down in order to move into the top of the seventh.
After Phoenix starter Chelsea White went 1-2-3 in the top half, the Phoenix had an opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the seventh. Rumley prevented that from happening as she struck out the side to send the game into extra innings.
With the international tiebreaker rule in place, Dartmouth took advantage to retake the lead in the top of the eighth. Kara Curosh was placed at second to begin the inning and advanced to third after Hillary Hubert reached on a fielder’s choice. Curosh would cross home plate on a Morgan McCalmon one-out single up the middle to give the Big Green a 2-1 lead.
Elon responded by plating a run of its own in the bottom of the eighth. Camille Hill’s one-out single to center scored O’Shea from second to tie the game at 2-2. Watson was intentionally walked on the next at bat to give Elon two on with one out, but Dartmouth was able to record the next two outs to escape the inning.
Dartmouth would plate the go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth. Rumley singled to left field and advanced to second while Lohmann, who was placed on second to begin the inning, moved over to third. St. Romain walked to load the bases with no outs. Lohmann would score on a Katie Adams’ sacrifice fly to center field to give the Big Green a 3-2 advantage. Dartmouth plated another run to move ahead 4-2 after the top of the ninth.
Elon would rally to cut the deficit to one in the bottom half. After being placed on second to lead off the inning, Johanna Spencer advanced to third on a wild pitch then scored on another wild pitch to pull the Phoenix closer at 4-3 with one out and a runner at second. Rumley struck out the final two batters to end the Phoenix’s threat.
Rumley (9-3) earned the win after pitching all 9.0 innings and allowed three runs off seven hits and four strikeouts.
White (2-5) also went the distance for Elon as the sophomore pitcher allowed only one earned while holding the Big Green offense to six hits. She also fanned four batters on the afternoon.
Hill and Oldham led the Phoenix with two hits each and a RBI apiece. Watson also had a hit and moved three shy of tying the all-time career hits record at Elon.
Iowa State 12, Elon 1
Elon got itself into some early trouble in the bottom half of the first versus Iowa State. The Cyclones Brittany Gomez led off with a single up the middle and then stole second to move into scoring position. After Maddie Reese reached on an error by the third baseman, Erica Miller drove them home with a three-run home run to left field to give the Cyclones an 3-0 lead after one.
Iowa State plated three more runs in the bottom of the second. ISU’s Sara Rice reached on an error to lead off the inning. Amber Ewert pinch ran for Rice and stole second to move into scoring position followed by Gomez reaching on a walk. After Reese singled on the next at bat to load the bases, Miller singled up the middle to drive in Ewert and Gomez. Iowa State added another run to the scoreboard to push its lead to 6-0 after two.
Elon starter Kayla Caruso was relieved in the circle by Eve Clausen to begin the bottom of the third, but Iowa State continued to pull away from the Phoenix and added six more runs in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 12-0 going into the fourth.
Karen Berna, who induced the final out of the third inning in relief of Clausen, was able to pitch a scoreless fourth to give Elon a chance to get on the board in the top half of the fifth. Spencer reached on an error and advanced to second leading off the fifth, but was thrown out advancing to third on Little’s fielder’s choice. Little moved into scoring position at second on the next at bat and advanced to third on a passed ball.
Little would score after Emilie Rowand reached an error by the second baseman to give Elon its first run of the game and make the score 12-1. Rowand advanced to second on a wild pitch, but was stranded as Iowa State recorded the final out to end the game.
Caruso (5-6) took the loss after going 2.0 innings and allowed six runs, four earned, on four hits. ISU’s Tori Terrescano (7-7) pitched a no-hitter, going all five innings and allowed one run and a walk. The last time Elon was held without a hit came on March 6, 2009 at then-15th ranked North Carolina.
The Phoenix return to action tomorrow to take on host FAU at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow followed by its tournament finale against Bethune-Cookman scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern 2, College of Charleston 1
College of Charleston 4, Georgia Southern
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston softball team split a defensively-oriented doubleheader with Georgia Southern on a weather-adjusted Saturday afternoon at Patriots Point. The Eagles eked out a 2-1 win in a nine-inning first game, but Chandler Frisbie drove in three runs and scored twice to account for all the runs in CofC’s bounce-back 4-3 victory.
Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) earned the game two victory after going six innings and striking out eight. Valerie Cassell (Edison, N.J.) earned her first career save after entering the game in the seventh and working the Cougars out of a jam.
Frisbie (Lawrenceville, Ga.) belted her second career homer to put CofC up early in game two, and later scored again in the fourth and drove in her third RBI in the fifth to add to the Cougar lead. The insurance runs would prove necessary as the Eagles mounted a comeback effort late, but Cassell – with the help of some strong defensive plays – thwarted the effort.
Kelsey Hodgson (Woodstock, Ga.) went long in game number one, and the Cougars got several dazzling run-preventing plays out of shortstop Lizzy Vaughn (Placerville, Calif.) who ended the day with 10 assists and three putouts.
The loss marked the first Southern Conference loss for the Eagles this season, and also their first in their last 10 regular season SoCon contests.
CofC (14-11, 6-2 SoCon) is in sole possession of second place behind the Eagles presently. Weather permitting, the teams will conclude the series with a single game at Sunday slated for 1 p.m.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 1, GEORGIA SOUTHERN: 2 (9 INNINGS)
The first game was predictably a pitchers’ duel between two of league’s most dominant pitchers. Hope Klicker (Walla Walla, Wash.) was in the circle for the Cougars and was tagged with the loss despite pitching nine innings and only allowing two runs and striking out four.
Her counterpart, preseason SoCon Pitcher of the Year Sarah Purvis, also went the distance and held the Cougars to one run on six hits.
The Eagles first took the lead in the third inning when Alexa Lewis singled for GSU’s first hit of the game and Kaitlyn Johnson doubled to plate the run.
Hodgson (Woodstock, Ga.) erased the lead with one swing of the bat in the bottom half of the inning with her eighth homerun blast of the season, a carrying ball to straightaway center.
The teams stayed deadlocked at one for the rest of the contest until the top of the ninth, when Andrea Tarashuk singled to start the inning and later scored on an RBI single from Lewis.
Allison Pedigo (Scottsville, Ky.) drew a walk to give the Cougars life in their half of the ninth, but would ultimately become the Cougars eighth stranded runner in the loss.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 4, GEORGIA SOUTHERN: 3
Frisbie’s moonshot granted CofC the early game two lead, and the Cougars would ultimately never relinquish it to split the doubleheader. Her blast came on a 1-2, two-out pitch with Vaughn aboard in the bottom of the first inning.
The freshman walked to lead off the fourth inning, and moved up on a Pedigo groundout before scoring on an RBI single by Mackenzie Maples (Corona, Calif.).
Down 3-0 in the fifth, the Eagles began to fight back and Shelby Morrill doubled to left center to score two runs and cut into the deficit.
The Cougars tacked on a vital insurance run when Carly Corthell (Reno, Nev.) and Hodgson singled and Frisbie hit a groundball to the shortstop which allowed Corthell to score in the fifth.
The Georgia Southern seventh saw Kaitlyn Johnson walk and Kourtny Thomas double to put the tying run on second base with no outs. Tabby Douberley then singled on a ball which went up the middle and was fielded by second baseman Ashton Jarrett (Hanahan, S.C.). Johnson scored easily on the play, and Thomas appeared to assume Jarrett had gone to first base to get Douberley and rounded third to score. Jarrett had actually held the throw, and instead fired home to gun down Thomas and end the threat.