Elon 6, Chattanooga 4
Elon 2, Chattanooga 1
ELON, N.C. – Amanda Allen’s walk-off solo home run in game two capped off a pair of much needed victories for the Elon softball team on Saturday, May 4. The Phoenix (20-30, 7-14 Southern Conference) swept Chattanooga (26-25, 10-10 SoCon) in a doubleheader today with the Phoenix winning the opening game, 6-4, before taking game two, 2-1, on Allen’s heroics in the bottom of the seventh at Hunt Softball Park.
The win snapped Elon’s nine-game losing streak to the Mocs dating back to 2011. Both squads return to the diamond tomorrow at 1 p.m. as Phoenix celebrates Senior Day for its 2013 class of Ali Ford, Camille Hill, Kari Pervell and Tomeka Watson.
Game One
Elon 6, Chattanooga 4
The Phoenix offense started very quickly as Watson led off the game with a double down the left field line and advanced to third on a Aly Quintana sacrifice bunt. Carleigh Nester’s sac fly to left on the following at bat enabled Watson to cross home plate and put Elon on the scoreboard. After Grace Eng singled through the left side, Johanna Spencer doubled into left center to drive her in and gave Elon a 2-0 lead after the bottom of the first.
Chattanooga responded with two runs of its own in the top half of the second. Ninjja Suetsugu reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to second after Alyssa Taylor singled to the shortstop. The pair moved into scoring position on a wild pitch before Sam Taylor drove them both in with a two-out double into left center to tie the game at 2-2. Elon starter Chelsea White walked the next batter before striking out Anyssa Robles to end the inning.
Elon regained the lead in the bottom half of the third. Nester hit a solo home run down the left field line to give Elon a 3-2 advantage. The reigning SoCon Player of the Week and the league’s Player of the Month in April hit her 11th homer of the season off a 1-1 pitch.
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth, but the Mocs tied the game on a Robles solo home run in the top of the fifth. Roble took a 1-1 pitch from White into left center that tied the game for a second time.
In the bottom half, Elon took charge and regained the lead for good. Both Watson and Quintana singled to lead off the inning with Watson advancing to third on a stolen base. Watson was called out at home trying to score from third on a Nester fielder’s choice. The bases became loaded after Eng was walked and Spencer cleared them on a two-out single into right field. An error on the right fielder provided all three runs to score and gave the Phoenix a 6-3 advantage.
Chattanooga was able to plate another run in the top of the seventh to cut its deficit to two, 6-4, on a two-out single by Suetsugu before White induced the final out on a pop up.
White (6-14) picked up the complete game win for the Phoenix. The sophomore allowed four runs on 12 hits while striking out five. The loss went to Chattanooga’s Taylor Deason (16-11) who went 6.0 innings and gave up eight hits that led to six runs, five earned.
Watson was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. Spencer added a pair of base hits while Nester, Eng and Quintana added a hit each.
Game Two
Elon 2, Chattanooga 1
Elon again plated the first runs of the game at start the second contest. In the bottom of the second inning, Ford hit a one-out single up the middle and advanced to second after Allen grounded out to the pitcher. Ford crossed the plate for Elon’s first score after Hill reached on an error by the second baseman and the Phoenix took a 1-0 lead.
Phoenix game two starter Kayla Caruso cruised through the first three innings, scattering two hits over that span. The Mocs however were able to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth on a Stepanie Rieck two-out single to right field.
The Phoenix looked to regain the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Spencer singled through the left side to lead off the inning and Lauren Oldham drew a free pass to give Elon two on base. A Ford sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position with only one out, but the Mocs were able to escape the inning after the next two batters went down in order.
The game became a pitchers’ duel after the top of the fifth as neither team recorded a hit until the seventh. Caruso retired seven straight batters and kept the Phoenix in it after she pitched her sixth scoreless inning after the top of the seventh.
The Phoenix did not wait long as Allen took a 3-1 pitch from Chattanooga’s Kaisey Carson over the center field fence to give the maroon and gold the 2-1 win. The one-out solo shot was Allen’s second homer on the year, with both coming in walk-off fashion.
Allen was one of four Elon players who recorded a hit in the second game versus the Mocs. Caruso (10-12) earned the win after going 7.0 innings with one run allowed, unearned, on five hits.
Carson (4-9) took the loss for Chattanooga after giving up four hits and two runs, one earned, on the afternoon.
Appalachian State 2, Georgia Southern 0
Georgia Southern 1, Appalachian State 0
STATESBORO, Ga. – Appalachian State University clinched the program’s first regular season Southern Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon after defeating Georgia Southern 2-0 in game one of the three-game series. The game one win at Eagle Stadium was all the Apps needed to earn the regular season championship.
The game one victory marked a program-best as the Apps now have 30 wins on the season, the best since the 2006 season when the Mountaineers marked 29 wins.
Game One: App State 2, Georgia Southern 0
Back-to-back home runs to opposite fields in the top of the fourth inning allowed the Mountaineers to take the 2-0 lead over the Eagles. Junior Lindsay Loudermilk drove her seventh home run down the right field line before senior Meghan Smith went opposite field with her team-high eighth home run.
Georgia Southern’s best chance of scoring came in the bottom of the first inning when a leadoff walk and two wild pitches would get Alexa Lewis to third base for the Eagles. Lewis would be retired for the third out of the inning after a well played wild pitch would make a play at the plate for the Apps, allowing no runs to score.
The Eagles saw their first hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Lewis singled up middle with one out. Appalachian would get Lewis out on a hard hit ball back to pitcher Alissa Schoelkopf for the second out of the inning. A fly out to center field retired the final out, allowing no runs to score on the Georgia Southern hit.
The Eagles battled in the bottom of the seventh inning as Shelby Morrill had a leadoff single through the right side of the field before pinch runner Nicole Benton came in for Georgia Southern. A hard hit line drive back to Schoelkopf would allow the pitcher to turn a double play as she threw to second before Smith fired over to first to retire the second out of the inning.
Loudermilk and Smith led the Appalachian offense as they each tallied one hit and one RBI, while Sarah Warnock, Dani Heichen and Ellie Manriquez each notched a hit for the Mountaineers.
Schoelkopf (19-10) pitched her 14th complete game, striking out six and allowing just two hits, while the shutout marks the first complete game shutout of her career.
Game Two: Georgia Southern 1, App State 0
The Eagles scored their first run of the day when Lewis had a leadoff single and advanced to second on a walk. Lewis came around to score when Tabby Douberly doubled with two outs. Appalachian would get the final out of the inning before any more runs were able to cross the plate, as Georgia Southern took the 1-0 lead into the top of the second inning.
App State’s lone hit came in the top of the first inning when Heichen singled to lead off the inning.
In the top of the fourth inning, Cynthia Gomez reached first on a fielding error before advancing to second on an Allie Cashion ground out. Gomez would be the only Mountaineer to reach second for the Apps in game two as they were held to just one hit in seven innings.
Heichen led the Black and Gold in game two as she was the only player to tally a hit, while Shivaun Landeros (11-7) suffered the loss in the circle pitching six innings with one strikeout.
Teams move Sunday’s game-three finale up to 12 p.m.
College of Charleston 7, UNCG 5
UNCG 2, College of Charleston 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The College of Charleston softball team split its Saturday afternoon doubleheader with UNC Greensboro with a 7-5 come-from-behind game-one victory before falling, 2-0, in the second half of the twinbill.
The teams will wrap up the series – and the regular season – on Sunday with a single game at 12 p.m., which is moved up from the original 1 p.m. start due to expected weather conditions.
Tournament fates are still unclear pending Sunday’s results, and CofC (33-18, 14-8 SoCon) could finish as the No. 2 or No. 3 seed for next week’s SoCon Championships.
Valerie Cassell (Edison, N.J.) pitched six innings to earn the game-one win and scattered two hits without allowing an earned run on the outing. Carly Corthell (Reno, Nev.) went 2-for-3 to drive in three runs, and Kelsey Hodgson (Woodstock, Ga.) hit her 15th homerun of the season, a three-run shot to straight-away center which put CofC in front in the sixth inning.
In the second game, the Cougars stranded eight runners en route to their first time being shut out in 32 games dating back to March 14. The Cougars outhit the Spartans, 5-4, with Allison Pedigo (Scottsville, Ky.) leading the way in going 3-for-3 with a double.
Rebecca Mueller (Fair Oaks, Calif.) extended her reaching-base streak to 16 games by getting on in both contests.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 7, UNC GREENSBORO: 5
After a surrendering a four-run first inning, the Cougars bore down and eventually battled back with a six-run sixth inning to seal the win. When the dust settled, the Cougars had outhit the Spartans, 9-6, despite being no-hit through three innings and amounting just two hits through five innings.
UNCG went to work early when Katelyn Bedwell drove a two-run homerun out to left as the Spartans’ third batter of the game. Later in the frame, a Cougar fielding error and a bloop single extended the inning, and Danielle Vega seized the opportunity with a double to the wall in left which plated two more runs.
The Spartans’ 4-0 lead held through the middle innings as the Cougars were unable to capitalize on five base runners in the first five innings, but finally cashed in with a run-scoring rally in the sixth inning.
Mackenzie Maples (Corona, Calif.) led off the frame with a single through the left side of the infield which was only the third Cougar hit of the game to that point. The Cougars proceeded to load the bases with Pedigo drawing a walk and Mueller being hit by a pitch, and Kristy Giragosian (Charlotte, N.C.) placed a grounder on the right side of the infield which she beat out for an RBI infield single. Corthell then singled to centerfield which plated two more runs, and two batters later Hodgson’s homerun blast to centerfield narrowly missed the Spartan statue beyond the outfield and swiftly put the Cougars on top 6-4.
Corthell would add another RBI single in the seventh after back-to-back fielding errors put runners in scoring position, and she once again singled back to the middle to bring in a run.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 0, UNC GREENSBORO: 2
SoCon Pitcher of the Month Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) pitched well for the Cougars and tossed a complete game and limited the Spartans to four hits, but was tagged with a loss for the first time in nine outings.
The Spartans again scored in the first inning with a leadoff single by Aisha Figueroa followed by a walk and an RBI single by Katelyn Bedwell.
UNCG got an insurance run out of Lindsay Thomas’s 15th homerun of the season, a solo shot to left which set the UNCG all-time record for homeruns in a single season.
Samford 5, Furman 3
Furman 6, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- On Senior Day with tournament seeding implications on the line, Samford came out and got a solid 5-3 win over Furman in game one before the Paladins bounced back to win game two, 6-1.
Samford (14-32, 6-14 SoCon) and Furman (26-25, 9-11 SoCon) were both hot offensively, combining for 31 hits with the Bulldogs holding the slight 16-15 edge. Key sixth-inning runs by both teams made the difference in each game. Five different Bulldogs would earn at least one hit in each game with senior Misha Aldridge leading the charge on Senior Day, going a combined 3-5 including a home run and a double with four RBI.
GAME ONE: SAMFORD 5, FURMAN 3
A three-run sixth inning ultimately made the difference in the opening game of the series, as the Bulldogs held off a Furman rally in the seventh to earn a 5-3 victory. Abby Adams and Aldridge each earned a pair of hits in the game batting in the bottom of the order while Shelby Scott (5-13) pitched the full 7.0 innings to win her fifth game of the season. For the Paladins, starter Lauren Collier (13-11) took the loss while Stephanie Field drove in two of their three runs.
Samford fired the opening shots in the bottom of the second as Aldridge drove in a pair off a double to the left-field gap. Samford eventually loaded the bases with only one out but a flyout and strikeout limited the lead to 2-0. In the top of the third, Furman looked to tie it off a double by Field as the lead runner scored but the trailing runner was tagged out at home off a good cutoff throw by Abby Adams. Collier would drive home Field in the next at-bat however to tie the game at 2-2. A walk and single would load the bases but a popup to Rachel Bickert at first would limit the damage as the teams were still tied.
The game would remain tied until the bottom of the sixth. Callie Brister led off the inning with a single and Alex Adams followed with a walk. Following a strikeout, Bickert would poke a double into the right-field gap to score Brister and move Adams to third, giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. Aldridge would advance them both off a single into right field, pushing Samford up 4-2 and ending the day for Collier in then circle as Meaghan Houston entered in relief. Abby Adams welcomed Houston to the game by reaching off an infield single back at the circle, scoring Bickert and moving Aldridge to second. A single by Caroline Seay would load the bases but a groundout and strikeout would end the rally with Samford holding a 5-2 lead heading into the top of the seventh.
Scott struck out the leadoff batter in the seventh but Field looked to start a comeback with a one-out solo homer to straightaway center, cutting the Samford lead to 5-3. After a groundout, Furman would get a two-out double but Megan Dowdy tracked down a ball in foul territory to end it as Samford earned its sixth SoCon win this season.
GAME TWO: FURMAN 6, SAMFORD 1
One swing off of Ambree Muller’s bat turned the tide in game two, as her sixth-inning grand slam helped propel the Paladins to a 6-1 victory in game two to even the series. Missed opportunities haunted the Bulldogs as they left six runners on base, only scoring one run off seven hits. Offensively, Dowdy earned her second three-hit performance of the season while Aldridge drove in the Bulldogs’ lone run of the game off a solo home run. Scott (5-14) took the loss in the circle while Shelby Parker (5-7) threw 105 pitches in 7.0 innings to earn the win.
Samford was again the first team to score in game two, as Aldridge lifted a high home run over the left-field fence to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. Aldridge would hold the slim lead until the top of the fifth as Sarah Eidt evened the score with her own solo homer.
Scott entered to pitch for Samford in the top of the sixth and was in a troublesome spot early. A single, double and walk would load the bases for Furman with nobody out and Muller would come through with the huge at-bat, clearing the bases with a grand slam as the visitors now led, 5-1. Aldridge re-entered to pitch but the Paladins continued to cause problems, eventually loading the bases again with one out. An infield single would add to their lead but a strikeout and groundout would stop the bleeding with the Bulldogs now trailing, 6-1.
Samford would get a hit in each of the remaining two innings but could not climb out of the five-run hole as Furman held on to win, 6-1.