Furman 3, Western Carolina 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Western Carolina softball (15-26, 5-10 Southern Conference) dropped the final game, of the three-game series, with Furman 3-0 (19-17, 7-7 SoCon) Sunday at Pepsi Stadium. The Catamounts do claim the series after sweeping the doubleheader on Saturday.
After three scoreless innings, Furman broke open the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. With a two out rally, including a pair of walks by Catamount starting pitcher Taylor Sigmon, the Paladins scored three runs and all but put the game out of reach for Western Carolina.
Western Carolina let a prime scoring chance slip through its fingers in the top of the fourth inning. Senior Jordan Fulton led off with a single through the left side and moved to second on a ground out by Taylor Sigmon. A Furman error allowed Haley Pace to reach first and the Catamounts had runners at the corners with one out. Pace attempted to steal but was called out and Shemekia Scotton ground out to end the threat.
Again, Western Carolina squanders a scoring chance this time in the top of the third. Heather Chastain led off the fifth with a double, her eighth of the season. Amber Steinhardt ground out but allowed pinch runner Morgan Blanton to reach third. Junior Makenzi McAteer hit a beauty of a shot to right field that was caught but was set up for a sacrifice but Blanton couldn’t tag up and get home. Karley Harkey ground out to end the scoring chance.
Sigmon had a strong three innings pitching before she hit a snag in the fourth. She tossed 3.2 innings and struck out four, allowing five hits and three runs. She also issued two costly walks.
Jordan Garrett entered the game in the bottom of the fourth with two outs and bases loaded. She got Western Carolina out of the jam and pitched the remainder of the game. She went 2.1 innings not yielding a hit and struck out three.
Western Carolina had two hits in the game and Furman had five.
Appalachian State 7, Elon 1
BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University softball improved its home record to 9-0 and stayed atop the Southern Conference standings by finishing off a series sweep of Elon on Sunday at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
With the win the Mountaineers improve to 18-13 overall on the season, while the Phoenix fall to 12-24 overall.
App State continues to lead the conference with its sweep over Elon as it improves to 12-3 in the SoCon, while the Phoenix drop to 2-10 in league play.
The Apps were the first to score for the third-straight game when Meghan Smith and Ashley Seering laced back-to-back singles to put two runners on for Ellie Manriquez.
Manriquez singled to the right field wall, knocking in two RBI in the bottom of the second inning.
The Black and Gold took a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, scoring five runs on four hits and capitalizing on two Elon errors.
Lindsay Loudermilk led off the bottom of the inning with a single down the right field line and would move to second on an error by the Elon right fielder before Racquel Cooke came in to run for Loudermilk.
Senior Allie Cashion lined her 12th double of the season to right field, scoring Cooke to give the Apps the 3-0 advantage.
Smith was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second before Seering dug in and laced her fifth home run of the season over the left field fence to extend the Mountaineer lead to 6-0.
Appalachian continued to put offensive pressure on the Phoenix as Manriquez reached on an error before two walks and another hit batter would load the bases with one out. Elon would earn the second out of the inning on a strikeout, but would be unable to retire the final out of the inning without allowing another run to cross the plate.
Loudermilk would notch her second hit of the game with a single to right field that scored pinch runner Kristen Terry and gave App the 7-0 advantage.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Elon’s Carleigh Nester hit her third home run of the series over the left field fence to score the Phoenix’s lone run of the contest.
Three Mountaineers recorded multi-hit games as Seering led the way with two hits and three RBI. Manriquez added two RBI as Cashion and Loudermilk knocked in one apiece. The App State offense forced Elon to make three pitching changes as no pitcher threw more than three innings for the Phoenix.
Sophomore pitcher Alissa Schoelkopf (12-7) picked up her third win of the weekend as she pitched her tenth complete game with five strikeouts and allowed only seven hits.
Georgia Southern 7, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. – Georgia Southern Softball atoned for a pair of losses on the opening day of the 2013 Chattanooga series with a 7-1 win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Frost Stadium. The Eagles never trailed in the finale and benefited from Kourtny Thomas’ second home run of the series en route to the win. GSU improves to 19-22 overall and 6-5 in SoCon play.
Allie Miles had a very good outing in the circle, going the distance in the circle for her second complete game of the series against the Mocs. Miles held the Mocs to just one run while scattering seven hits and striking out five. She improves to 4-6 on the season.
Georgia Southern opened the series finale in the same way as the series opener by scoring two runs in the first inning. GSU loaded the bases with one out on a pair of walks plus a hit batter for Tabby Douberley. She dropped a bloop single into left for the first run. GSU’s second run came in as Andrea Tarashuk hit a pop up in the infield that dropped between three converging fielders for an RBI single.
Kourtny Thomas ended a three-inning scoreless run for both teams in the top of the fifth when she lifted her second home run of the series to left field. It was her 10th home run of the season and 17th of her career at Georgia Southern. She now sits in a tie for fifth on the single season home run list and in a tie for eighth on the career home runs chart.
Later in the inning, Tarashuk dropped a soft liner to into centerfield which plated Shelby Morrill from second base for the second Eagle run of the inning. Those runs gave the Eagles a 4-0 lead through five innings.
Chattanooga opened the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run off the bat of Sam Taylor. She pulled the ball down the line in right for her first career homer and cut the Eagle lead to 4-1.
Douberley earned a bases loaded walk in the top of the seventh for Georgia Southern’s fifth run of the game. Later in the inning, Kaitlyn Johnson delivered a one-out double down the line in left to score two runs and make the lead 7-1 entering the bottom of the seventh.
Miles allowed one runner to reach in the seventh, but finished off the Mocs as the Eagles took the 7-1 win.
Samford 3, College of Charleston 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- After two disappointing losses yesterday, Samford bounced back to avoid the series sweep with a 3-1 win over the College of Charleston Sunday at Birmingham Southern Softball Field.
The win snaps a seven-game losing streak for Samford (11-22, 3-9 SoCon) and gives the Bulldogs their third conference win of the season. An efficient Samford offense only left two runners on base, their lowest total in a victory this year since the season-opening win against Florida Atlantic on Feb. 8. Shelby Scott (2-7) threw the opening three frames with only one earned run for the win, while Caitlin Bice pitched 4.0 shutout relief innings for the save. The defense made great plays behind them with no errors and two crucial turned double plays.
The Bulldogs jumped the College of Charleston (19-16, 8-6 SoCon) on ace lefty Hope Klicker (4-3) early, as she allowed three runs over one-plus innings to earn an early exit. Valerie Cassell only allowed one hit over 5.0 relief innings for the Cougars but the offense fell short, only earning four hits after tallying 14 over yesterday’s two games.
Samford got on the board right away in the first inning as Alex Adams drove in Megan Dowdy from second with a single to center field, putting the ‘Dogs up 1-0. Adams advanced to second on the throw home and Callie Brister headed for third but was thrown out for the first out of the inning. A pair of groundouts ended the inning but the Bulldogs were now playing with their first lead of the weekend.
Leading off the second inning, Abby Adams was hit by a pitch and Shelby Scott made a home run bid that fell just short, hitting the wall in left center for a double as two runners were now in scoring position with no outs. That double ended the day for Klicker in the circle as Cassell entered in a pressure spot. With Caroline Seay at the plate, Cassell skimmed a pitch in the dirt that ran to the backstop as Adams scored off the wild pitch and Scott advanced to third. Seay grounded out to the shortstop, holding Scott at third, but Kayla Shaffer drove her home off a groundout to the right side, giving Samford the 3-1 lead with two outs. An infield popup ended the inning with Samford holding a three-run lead.
The Cougars would avoid the shutout in the top of the third off an Aston Jarrett RBI single but the visitors would not get a hit again until the seventh inning. Courtney Clark, pinch hitting for Allison Pedigo, took the first pitch of the at-bat to left field to bring the potential tying run to the plate. Rebecca Mueller lined out to Seay at second, who made a quick throw to Rachel Bickert at first, catching Clark off the base for a clutch double play. Kristy Giragosian briefly kept the Cougars’ hopes alive with a two-out single but an easy fly ball to center field would end it as Samford held on for the 3-1 conference win.