Lipscomb 8, Chattanoga 4CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs softball team dropped an 8-4 contest Thursday in Chattanooga, Tenn., to Lipscomb. The Lady Bisons out-hit UTC 12-9 at Frost Stadium on the evening, dropping the Mocs to 14-13 on the season.
The Lady Bisons struck first in the top of the fourth inning for two runs, taking a 2-0 lead over Chattanooga. Three singles to lead off from Paige Neely, Kelsey Cartwright and Kristen Sturdivant lead to the game’s first run – Sturdivant driving in Neely – and an error at the plate allowed Cartwright to score from second.
Lipscomb tacked on its next three runs in the following inning, moving the score to 5-0 in the fifth. Two more errors charged to the Mocs helped lead to a deep hole to climb out of, both allowing runners to cross the plate. Bridgette Begle reached on an error to begin the inning and Brianne Welch doubled down the left field line to drive in Begle.
Junior Taylor Deason was brought on with no outs in the fifth in relief of Henderson. On a fielder’s choice and a third hit from Neely put two runners on against the junior, another fielder’s choice – this time off the bat of Kelsey Cartwright – brought Brittany Elmore around to score. The Bisons drove in a sixth run in the top of the sixth.
With Lipscomb leading 6-0, Chattanooga cut the deficit in half with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Alyssa Taylor led off the frame with a double to left and moved to third on a groundout. A sacrifice bunt from sophomore Criket Blanco then plated Taylor, cutting the lead to five. With Amanda Ross on at first base with two outs, Jesslyn Stockard laced a double to left to score the speedy sophomore, bringing the score to 6-2. The Mocs scored their third run of the inning on a Kaiti Dutton single up the middle to score pinch runner Courtney Ervin
Lipscomb added on two more runs in the seventh, pushing its lead to 8-3, but Chattanooga wouldn’t go down without a fight. Sophomore Sam Taylor singled and catcher Anyssa Robles walked to put two aboard. Junior Sarah Beth Roberts lined a single to left to score Taylor, but that would prove to be the final spark of the night for Chattanooga as the lineup went 1-2-3 after the hit.
Towson 8, Elon 7ELON, N.C. – A grand slam by senior Carleigh Nester fueled a seven-run bottom of the second inning for the Elon University softball team, but a couple of Phoenix miscues in the top of the seventh helped Towson to a 8-7 win over the maroon and gold on Thursday, March 20, at Hunt Softball Park.
The Phoenix (16-9-1) found itself facing a huge deficit after the first two innings of play after spotting the Tigers (13-9) six runs, falling behind 6-0 after the top of the second. In the opening frame, Hailey Balk hit a one out single to the shortstop and moved to second after Maureen Hepner was walked. Missy McCormick then drove a ball to left center, earning a double and scoring Balk for an early 1-0 lead. Courtney Johnson followed with a three-run home run to left field to put the Tigers up 4-0 with one out.
The Phoenix made a pitching change as Chelsea White relieved starter Alli Burdette. White then retired the next two batters to end the frame with Elon down 4-0. Towson plated two more runs to its lead in the top of the second behind a Holiday Cahill solo home run down the left field line and another RBI by McCormick on a single to score Olivia Yarbrough, who reached earlier on a single to left.
The Phoenix answered in the bottom half of the second with a seven-run outburst. Grace Eng led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Emily Cameron would later join her on the bases after drawing a free pass. Eng would get thrown out on a fielder’s choice at third, but the Phoenix scored its first run of the game on an Aly Quintana single to left center. Johanna Spencer followed with a single up the middle to drive in Emily Roper from third and moving Quintana to second.
Lauren Oldham then poked a ball through the right side of the infield for a single to load the bases for the Phoenix. Elon added its third run of the inning after Alaina Hall drew another walk, scoring Quintana and trimming the Tigers’ lead to three, 6-3. Nester then hit her 30th career home run on a two-out grand slam to put the Phoenix up 7-6.
The Tigers then made a change in the circle, relieving McCormick with Ambar Hickman. The Phoenix would pop up to end the inning, but had grabbed momentum back from the Tigers.
Both teams were quiet in the third at the plate, but the Phoenix ran into some trouble in the top of the fourth as the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs. After Balk reached on a single to load the bags, Elon made another pitching change with Caitlin O’Shea stepping in for White. O’Shea promptly forced the first batter she faced to a 1-2-3 double play then escaped the inning with a ground out to the shortstop.
O’Shea and the Phoenix defense got into another jam with the bags full for Towson in the top of the sixth. Three consecutive one-out singles for the Tigers again gave them a chance to score the tying and go-ahead runs, but O’Shea was able to record the second out on a force out at home on a fielder’s choice before catching a liner from Johnson to end the inning.
In the top half of the seventh, some Elon miscues led to Towson scoring the tying and eventual winning run. Delanie Dunham hit a one-out bloop single down the right field line and moved to second on a single by Macie McGeehan. Another single advanced her to third before she scored the tying run on an Elon error.
The Phoenix recorded the second putout of the inning after Balk reached on a fielder’s choice, but with the bases still loaded, Hepner was walked, scoring the go-ahead run for the Tigers. Elon attempted to respond in the bottom half with two runners reaching base with two outs, but Hickman retired the final batter on a grounder to third to seal the win.
O’Shea (4-4) took the loss for the Phoenix after pitching 4.0 innings while allowing two runs with a strikeout. The Phoenix had 11 hits as a team with Cameron, Quintana and Oldham leading the way with two each. Nester became the second player in school history with 30 or more career home runs and the third with 120 RBI or more.
Mercer 4, Georgia Southern 3Mercer 11, Georgia Southern 3MACON, GA. – Georgia Southern Softball dropped a midweek doubleheader to the Mercer Bears on Thursday afternoon by 4-3 and 11-3 margins. Mercer scored six home runs on the day including three in game two from Caroline Taylor. Georgia Southern was buoyed by a 3-for-6 aggregate performance by Kourtny Thomas. The Eagles return to league play this weekend with a three-game set against Elon. All three contests can be seen live on GS All-Access on GSEagles.com. Mercer provided all its offense by way of the long ball en route to the 4-3 win in Thursday’s opening game. A solo home run in the first inning gave the home side an early advantage. A three-run job in the second inning made it a 4-0 lead through two innings of the play. Georgia Southern scraped a run back in the third inning, taking advantage of a walk to Brianna McLendon. A double by Emily Snider plated McLendon for the Eagles’ first run of the game. The Eagles scored two more runs in the sixth. An RBI single by Morgan Robinson pushed Shelby Morrill in to score, while pinch runner Dominique Grossman scored later in the frame on a wild pitch. The runs cut it to a one-run game, but the Eagles were unable to post additional runs in the seventh. After allowing the home run in the second inning, starting pitcher Sarah Purvis did not allow a hit for the rest of the game. She fanned 10 batter, but was saddled with the loss to fall to 9-4 on the year. A two-run home run in the first inning gave the Bears a 2-0 lead. Mercer added to the advantage in the second with a bit of small ball. Georgia Southern got two runners aboard in the third inning thanks to a pair of Mercer errors. Kourtny Thomas drove them in with her 10th home run of the season. The towering blast is also the 29th career long-ball for Thomas. The runs cut the lead to 4-3. Two home runs in the bottom of the third extended Mercer advantage to 7-4. The Bears added RBI single to left to plate their eighth run of the game, paving the way for Caroline Taylor to hit a three-run bomb for her third home run in the game and her seventh RBI in the contest. That run handed Mercer the 11-3 run-rule win. The Eagles are back at home this weekend for a three-game series against the Elon Phoenix. Saturday is Military Appreciation Day and Sunday is Alumni Day with former Eagles back in town. Play begins at 1 p.m. each day.