UNCG 11, Norfolk State 3
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The UNCG softball team scored 11 runs on 13 hits to take care of Norfolk State 11-3 in five innings Sunday afternoon at Boseman Field.

The Spartans improve to 2-3 on the season while Norfolk State falls to 2-4.

Sophomore Nicole Thomas finished the game 3-for-3 with a three-run home run and career-high six RBI. Senior Katelyn Bedwell went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Junior Tatiana Alcala  had an RBI triple.

Senior Raeanne Hanks earned the victory after throwing three innings, allowing one hit and two earned runs with two strikeouts. Liz Riley suffered the loss after lasting just seven batters, allowing four hits and five earned runs.

UNCG took control with a five-run first inning on four hits, including a two-run triple from Alcala. Junior Dominique Madruga  also had an RBI double. The Spartans started the inning with a single from sophomore Allison Geiner. Classmate Lindsay Thomas worked a walk to setup runners at first and second. Bedwell moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Nicole Thomas singled to center to give UNCG a 1-0 lead. Freshman Tory Wright walked to load the bases. Sophomore Danielle Vega grounded into a fielder's choice for an RBI. Alcala tripled to score two runs and Madruga doubled home another to make it 5-0. 


Norfolk State cut the lead to 5-2 after scoring two runs in the bottom of the first off one hit. Two walks started the inning for the other Spartans. After a wild pitch, Whitney Williams earned an RBI groundout to make it 5-1. Kathy Cortez doubled to right field to make it 5-2 after one inning.

The Blue and Gold would explode for four more runs in the fourth inning thanks to a three-run home run to left center from Nicole Thomas to give UNCG a 9-2 advantage. The inning started with an infield single from freshman Emily Lopez. Geiner picked up her second hit with a bunt single to put runners on first and second. After an out, Bedwell singled home her second RBI of the game to centerfield. With one out, Nicole Thomas launched her first home run of the season to break open the game for the Spartans.

In the fifth inning, UNCG added two more runs after a two out rally gave them an 11-2 lead. With two outs, Lindsay Thomas singled to left field. After an error, sister Nicole Thomas double to left center plating two runs.  

Nicole Thomas finished the game in the circle throwing the final two innings in relief. Norfolk State added a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double from Williams but were down by eight runs after five giving UNCG a run-rule victory.

 

Appalachian State 4, Presbyterian 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Appalachian State University softball was able to salvage one game of the Buffalo Wild Wings Spartan Invitational when they played Presbyterian on Sunday.  The Apps earned their first win of the season beating the Blue Hose, 4-1.

The Mountaineers (1-6) would go down in order of the top half of the first inning. The Blue Hose (0-5) would put runners on first and second after a single and a walk, but Shivaun Landero was able to induce a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

Lindsay Loudermilk would lead off the second inning being hit by the pitch and would be pinch ran for by Kristen Terry. After a Seering sac bunt, Terry would advance to second base. Later in the inning, Landeros would be the second Mountaineer to be hit, however, the Apps would leave two runners stranded.

Big time pitching and fielding came into play in the bottom half of the second inning and the Mountaineers were able to strand one Blue Hose runner at third base to escape the inning.

In the top of the third inning, Cynthia Gomez singled on a rope to center field, but the Apps could not advance her. In the bottom half with two outs, the Blue Hose got a base hit to Ashley Seering in right field who came up ready to throw home with a runner round second. The throw was on line and on the fly to Sarah Warnock who was able to make the tag and end the inning.

Seering continued her momentum into the fourth inning squaring a ball and blasting it to dead center well over the 205 foot sign to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead. For Presbyterian, the Blue Hose would use two singles and a sac bunt to push across the tying run with an RBI groundout from Jordan Ashley in the bottom half.

In the top of the fifth Dani Heichen would single on a bunt and steal second base, but the Mountaineers couldn’t advance her. After surrendering a double to lead off the bottom of the fifth, Landeros would proceed to get a strikeout and two groundouts to keep the score 1-1.

Warnock got the sixth started reaching on an error followed by Seering’s second hit of the game. With two outs, Landeros battled Sydney Seigler in a six-pitch at-bat before absolutely obliterating the next pitch well over the center field wall to give the Mountaineers a 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Landeros followed up by shutting down the Blue Hose in order.

The Mountaineers would go down in order to begin the seventh inning and would send Landeros back out to finish off her gem and would do just that.

Landeros (1-4) pitched a complete game allowing just the one run on seven hits for the Mountaineers.

 

No. 19 Georgia 6, Furman 0
No. 19 Georgia 7, Furman 0
Athens, Ga. – Leadoff hitter Paige Wilson went 6-for-8 with a pair of doubles, a home run and four RBI to lead the 19th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs to a 6-0, 7-0 doubleheader sweep of Furman on Sunday afternoon at Jack Turner Softball Stadium in Athens, Ga.

The sweep improved the Bulldogs to 7-0 on the season while Furman slipped to 0-4.

With game one scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning, Wilson ignited a five-run outburst with an RBI double before belting a solo homer to left field to extend the lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the sixth.  Maeve McGuire delivered the big blow in the fifth inning rally with a two-out bases clearing double to put the Bulldogs in control.

Geri Ann Glasco earned the win in the circle by holding the Paladins to just two hits over seven innings.  The righthander fanned a career-best nine batters and issued just two walks to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Wilson and Anna Swafford each went 3-for-4 at the plate while Glasco collected two hits in four trips to the plate.

Lauren Collier (0-2) suffered the loss for Furman after giving up six runs on 10 hits in 5.2 innings of work.  She walked three batters and struck out five.

In game two, UGA’s Chelsea Wilkinson limited the Paladins to one hit in six innings of work while striking out 12 to earn the victory.  She walked the bases loaded in the opening inning and walked five batters on the day, but worked out of trouble to improve to 5-0.

After Georgia took a 1-0 lead when Glasco scored on a wild pitch in the first, the Bulldogs exploded for four second inning runs to open up a 5-0 lead.  Glasco capped the four-run frame with a two-out, two-run single to center field off of Furman starter Shelby Parker.

Parker (0-2) allowed seven runs, five earned, on nine hits in three innings to suffer the loss.  Alex Sappington came on in relief to limit Georgia to just one hit over the final three innings.

Wilson paced the Georgia offense going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.  Glasco and Kaylee Puailoa collected two hits apiece.

 

Florida International 2, Georgia Southern 0
MIAMI – Georgia Southern dropped a 2-0 decision to Florida International in the finale of the FIU Classic Championship Game on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles out-hit the Panthers on the day, but two runs in the fifth gave the home side the 2-0 victory.

Offensively it was a tale of missed opportunities for the Eagles with six hits including a pair of doubles. Georgia Southern stranded six runners on base and had a runner in scoring position in four of the seven trips to the plate. Kaitlyn Johnson went 3-for-3 on the day and had a double in the first inning.

FIU scored the game’s only runs in the fifth inning with the first coming on a one-out home run. Three-straight hits following the home run plated the Panthers’ second run of the game and gave the home team a 2-0 advantage.

Georgia Southern stranded a pair of runners in the seventh when Morgan Robinson opened the inning with a single down the left field line. A walk to Lindsey Wilcox put runners on first and second with no outs. FIU brought in a relief pitcher that extinguished the Eagle threat and ended the game.

Sarah Purvis went the distance in the circle for the Eagles, falling to 3-2 on the year and 2-1 on the weekend, allowing two runs off five hits and striking out seven batters.

Next weekend the Eagles travel to Gainesville, Fla., site of last season’s NCAA Tournament trip. Georgia Southern faces Coastal Carolina, Troy, Indiana and undefeated Florida in the Lipton Invitational.

 

Fordham 1, Western Carolina 0
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - Junior hurler Jordan Garrett broke Western Carolina softball's (0-5) career record for strikeouts in a 1-0 losing effort to Fordham (5-3) Sunday in the final day of the College of Charleston Classic at Patriots Point.

Garrett needed four strikeouts, heading into the game with Fordham, to snap the career strikeout record of 382 held by former Catamount Mendy McKenzie. In six innings of work, Garrett fanned seven and now holds the record with 386.

It was a solid outing for Garrett except for the fifth inning when Fordham squeezed out a run. Garrett gave up a walk to lead off the fifth and it came back to haunt her. After Kayla Lombardo drew the walk for Fordham she wound around all the bases off a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single by Lauren Quense.

Western Carolina was plagued by missed opportunities starting with the bottom of the first. Senior right fielder Amelia Griffin hit a lead-off single and with one out moved to second on a single by freshman Kara Salvo. Back-to-back ground outs by Catamount heavy hitters Heather Chastain and Taylor Sigmon ended the scoring chance.

The Catamounts had base runners again in the third inning. Freshman Whitney Haywood led off with a single and moved to second on a passed ball but was erased at third when she was caught trying to steal for the first out. Griffin logged her second hit of the game when she singled to center field but that scoring chance ended when sophomore Karley Harkey hit into a double play.

In the fourth the Catamounts had runners on base again starting with a lead-off single by Salvo but she was erased at second when Chastain hit into a double play, Fordham's second of the game. With two outs Sigmon singled, her third straight game with a hit, but it was nothing doing when Courtney Buchanan flied out.

After Fordham scored, Western Carolina was set down in order in the bottom of the fifth but found its fourth key scoring chance in the bottom of the sixth. A Fordham error allowed Griffin to go to first base, and moved to second on a wild pitch with one out. Griffin was stranded at second courtesy of a ground out and a fly out.

The seventh inning brought Sigmon to the mound. In Sigmon's three appearances, in relief as pitcher, she has yet to yield a run. It was no different with Fordham. Sigmon gave Western Carolina a chance, heading to the bottom of the seventh when she tossed a one hit shutout.

In total, Sigmon has allowed just three hits in five innings pitched and struck out six.

For the fourth time in the game, Western Carolina got a lead-off single when Brooke Coggins singled to center field. Amber Kimrey's bunt attempted failed for the first out but Coggins moved into scoring position when Courtney Price ground out for the second out. Senior Makenzi McAteer, pinch hitting for Haywood, popped up to second base to end the game.

Western Carolina out-hit Fordham 7-to-4 and left six runners on base. Garrett takes the loss and falls to 0-3 on the season.

 

Belmont 18, Samford 8
BIMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University softball team fell 18-8 in an offensive slugfest to Belmont University on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Samford Field on the final day of the Samford Invitational Tournament.

The Bulldogs (7-2) and the Bruins (3-5) combined for 26 total runs and 27 total hits in the offensive eruption.

BU jumped out front early 4-0 and knocked out SU starting pitcher Shelby Scott in the top of the second inning. Scott was replaced by Mollie Hanson (3-2) who had a career outing the previous day.

Samford rebounded to score three runs in the bottom of the second and closed the Belmont lead down to 4-3, then tied up the score 4-4 in the bottom of the third.

The Bruins were seeing ball as well as anyone could possibly see it today and plated six more runs in the top of the fourth to regain the lead 10-4.

The Bulldogs kept their own offensive momentum in the bottom of the four to score four runs and close the BU lead down to 10-8.

After a scoreless fifth inning Belmont shut the door on Bulldogs and scored eight runs in the top of the sixth inning to put the game out of reach at 18-8.

SU left a total of five runners stranded on base while BU only stranded three. The Bruins tabbed four homeruns in the contest while freshman Abbie Miranda knocked in the Bulldogs lone long-ball, which was her third of the season.