Appalachian State 8, College of Charleston 7
Appalachian State 10, College of Charleston 7
BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University softball took two games from College of Charleston on Saturday afternoon at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium to complete the series sweep.
The Mountaineers defeated CofC, 8-7, in game one, before taking the 10-7 win in game two.
With the wins Appalachian improves to 15-11 overall on the season, while College of Charleston falls to 15-15 overall on the season and 6-5 in the SoCon.
The series sweep of College of Charleston will allow Appalachian to move into a tie for first in the Southern Conference as it has posted a 9-3 record in conference play.
Game One: App State 8, College of Charleston 7
College of Charleston would be the first to light up the scoreboard in game two of the series as they scored two unearned run in the top of the first inning to take the early 2-0 lead over Appalachian.
The Mountaineers loaded the bases in the bottom of the first when Sarah Warnock singled down the right field line, but would get out on a bunt back to the pitcher allowing Cynthia Gomez to reach base. CofC would issue two walks to Lindsay Loudermilk and Allie Cashion to load the bases for Meghan Smith.
Smith would foul off 10 pitches and draw two balls before driving a grand slam over the left field wall to give the Apps the 4-2 lead in the bottom of the first. The home run marks Smith’s fifth of the season, which ties for a team-high.
The Cougars answered right back in the top of the second inning when they loaded the bases with two outs before Allison Pedigo drove a line drive single off the right field wall to knock in two runs and knot the score at 4-4.
The Black and Gold regained the lead in the bottom of the third when Cashion notched her sixth home run of the season over the center field fence.
The Apps extended its lead to 8-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning when they scored three unearned run, capitalizing on two Cougar errors. Loudermilk reached first on a fielder’s choice before Cashion drew her second walk of the contest. Freshman Ellie Manriquez reached first on an error, which would allow pinch runner Raquel Cooke and Cashion to touch home.
Appalachian tacked on its final run of the game when Caroline Rogers singled to left field, plating Ashley Seering.
College of Charleston continued to battle back as it scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning when Lizzy Vaughn hit a two run home run over the center field wall, but it would not be enough as App State was able to retire the final outs of the game to take the 8-7 victory.
Warnock and Rogers led the way for Appalachian offensively as they each tallied two hits, while Smith drove in four RBI with her first grand slam of the season. The Mountaineers out-hit the Cougars 7-5 in game one, while only committing one error compared to College of Charleston’s two.
Sophomore Alissa Schoelkopf (9-6) earned the win in the circle as she went the distance, pitching seven innings with eight strikeouts.
Game Two: App State 10, CofC 7
College of Charleston would take the first lead in the game for the third time as it scored two runs in the top of the first inning off of three hits and one walk.
The Mountaineers broke open the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning with back-to-back hits to right field. Smith led off the inning with a double to right before Ashley Seering singled to the same side, plating Smith and bringing the Apps within one.
Ellie Manriquez touched first on a fielder’s choice, bringing up Rogers who picked up her third straight hit of the afternoon with a single to right center that scored Seering. Manriquez scored the Apps third run of the inning when she crossed home on a wild pitch.
The final run of the second inning came in when Rogers took home on a Cougar throwing error, allowing Appalachian to take the 4-2 lead.
Smith and Seering combined for back-to-back hits for the second time in the contest in the bottom of the third inning as Smith doubled to center field and Seering drove her in with a single to center field.
College of Charleston added its third run of the game in the top of the fourth inning when Pedigo scored off a single from Mackenzie Maples, bringing the Cougars within two.
The Apps responded in the bottom of the fourth inning when Dani Heichen had a leadoff single up the middle and advanced to second on a groundout. Heichen came around to score when Loudermilk drove a single to the center field wall, extending the Appalachian lead to 6-3.
The Cougars continued to battle back as they scored one run on one hit in the top of the sixth inning, bringing the score to 6-4.
Cashion drove her second home run of the day and seventh of the season over the center field wall in the bottom of the fifth inning to allow Appalachian to take the 7-4 lead. The senior outfielder needs just six more to tie the career record set by Katie Boyd (44).
The Mountaineers would add three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Heichen was hit by a pitch and Warnock singled up the middle. A bunt single from Gomez would load the bases for Loudermilk who would be hit by a pitch to bring in one run.
Cashion reached first on a fielder’s choice that would allow Warnock to score from third and extend the App lead to 9-4. Appalachian scored its final run of the contest when Smith hit a deep groundout to second that would allow Gomez to cross home.
College of Charleston did not surrender as it scored three runs on four hits in the top of the seventh inning, but it was not enough as the Apps went on to a 10-7 victory taking the series sweep.
Loudermilk, Smith and Seering each had two hits for App State, while Loudermilk, Cashion and Seering all drove in two runs.
Smith led the Apps through the entire series as she went 4-for-10 at the plate with a grand slam, a two-run home run and seven RBI, while Loudermilk was 4-for-10 with a walk-off home run and five RBI and Cashion went 4-for-9 with two home runs and four RBI. Warnock would add six hits on the weekend, while Seering added four hits.
Between Appalachian and College of Charleston, 11 home runs were hit in the series with App State tallying five. Smith and Cashion each had two for the Black and Gold, while Loudermilk had one.
Furman 5, Georgia Southern 4
Furman 3, Georgia Southern 2
Statesboro, Ga. – Furman rallied from a 4-1 deficit to top Georgia Southern, 5-4, in game one and completed the doubleheader sweep of the Eagles with a 3-2 victory in game two of Saturday's Southern Conference softball twinbill at Eagle Field.
The sweep improved the Paladins to 17-14 overall and 6-5 in the SoCon while giving Furman its first series win over the Eagles since 2004. Furman's 17 wins matched the program's season win total from 2012. Georgia Southern dropped to 16-20 overall and 5-3 in league play.
Game 1
Furman plated four runs in the top of the seventh in game one to erase a 4-1 Georgia Southern lead and claim a 5-4 win.
Stephanie Field opened the seventh with a bunt single and scored from first on Taylor Jenkins' double into the left field corner. Hannah Pace reached base and Jenkins sprinted to third when Allie Miles' third strike to the Paladin catcher sailed to the backstop. Pinch runner Alexis Galinski took second on another wild pitch before Stephanie Spain drilled a two-run double into the right-center field gap to tie the game at 4-4.
After Spain moved to third on relief pitcher Brooke Red's wild pitch, senior Emily Boyer lifted a sacrifice fly down the left field line to drive in Spain with the go-ahead run.
Freshman Meaghan Houston came on in relief of starter Shelby Parker in the bottom of the seventh and worked around a leadoff single to record her league-leading fifth save of the season. Parker, who limited the Eagles to just one earned run on six hits in six innings, took the victory to improve to 3-2 in the circle. She struck out three and walked four batters.
A dropped fly ball opened the door for Georgia Southern to get on the scoreboard first with two runs in the second inning and the Eagles added third on Andrea Tarashuk's sacrifice fly in the third inning. Furman answered in the fourth on Jenkins two-out, RBI double off the center field wall before the Eagles scored another unearned run in the sixth.
Miles (3-5) absorbed the loss for GSU after allowing five runs on seven hits in six-plus innings of work. She struck out seven Paladins without issuing a walk.
Jenkins went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a pair of RBI while Spain went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs batted in.
Game 2
In the rubber game of the three-game series, Houston held Georgia Southern to just two runs over seven and 2/3 innings in the circle and the Paladins scored twice in the top of the eighth to clinch the series with a 3-2 triumph.
The Paladins jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth as Spain bounced a one-out single up the middle, moved to third on a pair of passed balls and scored on Sieara Bishop's single to center field. Georgia Southern pulled even in the bottom of the sixth as shortstop Kourtny Thomas lined the first pitch of the inning over the left field wall for her eighth homer of the campaign.
In the eighth inning, Bishop worked a one-out walk and moved to second on Natalie Clemmons single to right. Ambree Muller followed with a walk to load the bases forcing the Eagles to bring Sarah Purvis out of the bullpen. The right-hander hit Lauren Collier with a pitch to force in Bishop and plunked Jenkins two batters later to drive in Clemmons.
Georgia Southern cut the lead in half in the bottom of the eight as Tabby Douberley drove in Shelby Morrill with a two-out single to right, but Collier entered the game and got Tarashuk to pop out to Jenkins to end the game.
Houston upped her record in the circle to 6-5 while Collier notched her first save.
Red (4-3) took the loss for Georgia Southern after surrendering two earned runs on five hits in seven and 1/3 innings.
Elon 8, UNCG 5
UNCG 10, Elon 2
ELON, N.C. – The Elon softball team split its doubleheader with local rival UNCG on Saturday, March 30, on the final day of the series. The Phoenix (12-19, 2-7 Southern Conference) won game one, 8-5, before losing the series finale, 10-2, to the Spartans (25-7, 7-4 SoCon) at Hunt Softball Park.
Game One
Elon 8, UNCG 5
The Phoenix used a two-run bottom of the first inning to take control in game one. Carleigh Nester singled to right field to lead off the game and advanced to third after Camille Hill reached on an error. Hill moved to second on the errant throw and the bases were loaded after Tomeka Watson was intentionally walked. After a double play on the next at bat, Grace Eng lined two-run single to left center to give Elon an 2-0 lead after one.
Elon plated three more runs in the bottom half of the second to up the lead to five. Emilie Rowand drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a Caitlin O’Shea single to the shortstop. Nester drove in Rowand on a single to center to make the score 3-0. Watson was intentionally walked again with two outs, but Emily Cameron made the Spartans pay with a single to left center as O’Shea and Nester crossed home plate making the score 5-0.
UNCG finally got on the board in the top of the third on a Danielle Vega single to right, scoring Allison Geiner, who reached earlier on a single through the left side. The Spartans added two more runs in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to two, 5-3.
In the bottom half, the maroon and gold answered with two runs of its own. Cameron reached on an error by the shortstop to start off the inning and advanced to second. She would move over to third on an Eng sacrifice bunt and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. Sarah Little drew a free pass on the next at bat and advanced to third after Lauren Oldham doubled into left center. Nester drew a bases loaded two-out walk to score Little and push the lead back to four, 7-3.
Watson helped the Phoenix add an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. The senior doubled to right center to lead off the inning and stole third with one out. A wild pitch by UNCG’s pitcher brought her home to increase Elon’s advantage to five runs, 8-3.
UNCG rallied to add two in the top of the seventh, but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Phoenix held on for the 8-5 victory.
Kayla Caruso (6-7) pitched a complete game for the Phoenix, giving up five runs off 11 hits. She also had two strikeouts. The Spartans’ Erica Navarette (4-4) took the loss for UNCG after going 6.0 innings and allowing eight runs (four earned) on eight hits. She also walked eight batters.
Nester went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI for the Phoenix. Cameron and Eng also had two RBI for Elon.
Game Two
UNCG 10, Elon 2 (5)
The Phoenix looked to add to its momentum from the first game to earn the series victory over the Spartans in game two. After both teams went scoreless in the first two and a half innings, Elon got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third. O’Shea singled to left to lead off the inning for Elon and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She would cross home plate after Hill reached on an error by the third baseman to make to score 1-0.
A big fourth inning by the Spartans shifted the momentum as UNCG plated six runs in the frame. Elon was able to get an out to start the inning, but had trouble with the next two. Heather Robb would tie the game on a Katelyn Bedwell bunt single and UNCG added the following five runs to push past the Phoenix and hold a 6-1 lead after the top half of the fourth.
Elon answered with a single run in bottom to keep the maroon and gold within distance. Nester hit a two-out single to right field to score Oldham, who reached earlier on a single to left. Nester moved into scoring position after stealing second, but was stranded as the Spartans induced the final out of the inning.
UNCG added another four runs in the top of the fifth to give itself a comfortable 10-2 advantage. The Phoenix could not respond with another run in the bottom half and the fell to their local rival, 10-2.
Watson went 2-for-2 while drawing a walk. Nester had Elon’s lone RBI for the maroon and gold as the junior went 1-for-3.
UNCG’s Raeanne Hanks (14-3) earned the win after going 5.0 innings and allowing only one earned run on six hits. Elon’s Chelsea White (2-9) took the loss after going 3.2 innings with six runs (four earned) allowed on eight hits.
LSU 4, Samford 0
LSU 8, Samford 0
BATON ROUGE, La. ---- Samford had a weekend off from conference play, facing #12 LSU in a Saturday doubleheader. The Bulldogs held on in a 4-0 loss in game one but the potent LSU offense flexed its muscle in game two, winning 8-0 in six innings.
Samford (10-20) would struggle in both games against a formidable LSU (30-7) bullpen, only earning a combined five hits with 18 strikeouts. Megan Dowdy and Alex Adams earned a hit in each of Saturday’s games, while A.J. Andrews led the LSU lineup, going a combined 3-5 with two RBI.
GAME ONE: LSU 4, Samford 0
Rachele Fico (17-5) led the way for LSU with a standout performance in the circle, retiring 16-straight Bulldogs and allowing only two hits en route to the shutout victory. The top four in LSU’s order each earned a hit while the top three each drove in a run.
Shelby Scott (1-8) allowed the game’s opening run off a bases-loaded walk, taking the tough loss while Caitlin Bice threw 4.2 relief innings with three earned runs crossing the plate.
Any hopes of an LSU no-hitter was erased quickly as Dowdy dropped the 2-2 pitch into shallow right field for a leadoff single in the top of the first. Samford would eventually load the bases with two away in the half-inning but a popup to the LSU third baseman would strand the bases as LSU held the Bulldogs scoreless in the opening frame.
Back-to-back walks to lead off the bottom of the second had LSU threatening early and, following an infield popup, Simone Heyward was hit hard on an inside pitch leaning in to bunt, putting a runner at first to load the bases. A.J. Andrews was walked in the following at-bat which brought a run home for LSU. That ended the day for Scott in the circle as Bice entered to pitch. Bice came back after a 3-0 count to strike out Jacee Blades and a runner left early for the third out as the Tigers were only able to get one run out of the inning.
LSU’s Lauren Houston would lead off the bottom of the fourth with a single, eventually advancing to third with two away. Blades just beat out an infield single to the right side in the next at-bat as Houston crossed the plate to put LSU up 2-0. A fly ball to Dowdy in left field would end the inning with the Tigers now holding a two-run lead.
A leadoff walk would come back to bite the Bulldogs in the fifth, as she was moved to third with two away and came home off a wild pitch to push LSU ahead 3-0. A walk and hit batter put two runners on for LSU but Samford got out of trouble after Alex Boulet took the first pitch of the at-bat back at Kayla Shaffer in center field for the third out as the Bulldogs now trailed 3-0.
LSU would tack on another run as Bianka Bell hit a one-out RBI single through the left side, scoring the runner from third to put the Tigers up 4-0. Callie Brister would draw a one-out walk in the top of the seventh but two strikeouts would end the game as LSU held on for the 4-0 shutout in game one.
GAME TWO: LSU 8, Samford 0 (6 Innings)
Ashley Czechner (8-0) threw 5.0 shutout innings for LSU behind a potent offense to earn the run-rule win in game two. A.J. Andrews and Bianka Bell earned a pair of hits with Bell driving in three of LSU’s eight runs.
Samford’s starter was roughed up early in game two as well, with Misha Aldridge (2-3) taking the loss while allowing five runs, four earned, over the opening 1.1 innings. Bice made a second-straight relief appearance, throwing 4.1 innings with three runs, two earned, off six hits.
LSU’s Andrews would slap a high single over the head of Abby Adams at short for the first hit of the game in the bottom of the second and would score later all the way from first off a throwing error with one away. The Tigers would have two in scoring position later in the inning but a groundout would end the threat as Samford was able to get out of the inning only trailing 1-0.
In the bottom of the second with the bases loaded and one away, Blades would slap a hard infield single, moving everyone over a base to score a run as LSU now lead 2-0. Bell would bring all three runners home with a hard double down the left-field line, standing up at second with a 5-0 lead. That would end Aldridge’s outing in the circle as Bice made a second-straight relief appearance. Two groundouts would get Samford out of the inning but they now faced a 5-0 deficit heading into the third.
With one out in the top of the third, Shaffer would get Samford’s first hit of the game, dropping a single into shallow left field. Dowdy would follow that with a single back up the middle and, following a strikeout, Alex Adams would get an infield single courtesy of a bad hop at short but Shaffer was tagged out at home trying to score on the play for the final out of the half-inning.
LSU would add another run in the bottom of the fourth, as an RBI single by Allison Falcon would score Bell from second to move the Tigers up 6-0 with one away. With two outs and runners at the corners, Falcon would be thrown out at home off a double steal attempt as the Tigers could only add one run to their lead in the inning as it was 6-0 heading into the fifth.
The Tigers would look to earn the run-rule victory in the fifth, moving ahead 7-0 off a two-out RBI single through the right side by Andrews. Andrews would advance to second off the throw home but was left stranded off a groundout as the Bulldogs held on to fight another inning.
With one away in the sixth, Allison Falcon would reach off an infield single and Boulet, pinch-running, would steal second. An RBI single by Kellsi Kloss would end it as LSU earned the 8-0 run rule victory.
Next weekend, Samford resumes conference play hosting the College of Charleston (15-15, 6-5 SoCon) in a three-game series beginning on Saturday, April 6 with a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Game three will be Sunday, April 7 at 1 p.m.
Chattanooga 11, Western Carolina 8
Chattanooga 10, Western Carolina 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Lady Mocs softball team (21-16, 6-3 SoCon) completed the three-game sweep of Western Carolina (11-24, 3-10 SoCon) with an 11-8 victory in game one and a 10-1 win in game two of the Saturday double-header in Cullowhee, N.C.
Chattanooga 11 – Western Carolina 8
The Lady Mocs began the day with a run in the top of the second inning as senior Kasey Tydingco (Fairfield, Calif.) lifted a solo home run to put Chattanooga up 1-0.
Western Carolina added four runs in the second to take a 4-1 lead but Chattanooga answered back with three runs in the top of the third on two hits and an error. Back-to-back walks with the bases loaded issued to Sarah Beth Roberts (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) and Tydingco walked in two runs. The third run of the inning came on a single from Ninjja Suetsugu (Sao Paulo, Brazil) as UTC tied the game at 4-4.
Western Carolina scored two more runs in the third inning to take another lead, 6-4, but the Lady Mocs rallied back with a seven-run fifth inning, capped off by a Tydingco double to left center field to put Chattanooga on top 11-7.
The Cats scored a run in the fifth and a run in the sixth, but sophomore Taylor Deason (Clarksville, Tenn.) slammed the door to hand Chattanooga an 11-8 win in seven innings.
Chattanooga 10 – Western Carolina 1
Chattanooga completed the sweep in the third game of the series with a 10-1 win as freshman Rachel Albritton (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) ended the Catamounts day in six innings. The freshman pitch six complete innings, allowing eight hits and one earned run.
The Lady Mocs struck first in the third inning with five runs as UTC smacked five hits. Kaisey Carson (Indianapolis, Ind.) singled and Poteat singled to the pitcher to put two runners on. Sam Taylor (Chickamauga, Ga.), who collected three hits in the game, drove in a run. Sarah Beth Roberts (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) drove a single to left to drive in another and Tydingco delivered the knockout punch with a three-run blast over the right-center fence.
Leading 5-0, UTC scored two in the fifth inning as Alyssa Taylor led off the inning with her first career home run to dead center. Up 6-0, Sam Taylor singled up the middle, stole second and was driven in by Tydingco on a single to take a 7-0 advantage.
Chattanooga tacked on three runs in the sixth on three hits and an error as Sam Taylor tripled to dive in the final run of the game for UTC, giving the Lady Mocs a 10-0 lead. WCU added a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Albritton held on to complete the game in six innings to give Chattanooga the sweep.