Samford 11, UNCG 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University softball team tallied 12 hits to take an 11-3 win over the University of North Carolina at Greensboro at Samford Field on Sunday, March 23. The win marks the first SoCon series victory over UNCG since 2010.

The Bulldogs fell behind to the Spartans 2-0 when UNCG batters Danielle Vega and Nicole Thomas both hit solo home runs off of SU pitcher Mollie Hanson (12-5).

Like in yesterday's game two game however, Samford posted a big inning in the bottom of the third and plated six runs to take a 7-2 lead over the Spartans.

UNCG bounced back in the top of the fourth to plate its final run of the contest to close down the Bulldogs lead to 7-3.

SU tacked on a solo run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Callie Brister bases loaded walk that scored Abby Adams

The Bulldogs ended the contest in the sixth frame on a Hannah Taylor two-RBI base hit into left center field with two outs on the board.

Adams led the way in the RBI category with three runs batted in on 2 for 4 hitting at the plate while Brister, Megan Dowdy and Shelby Scott each drove in two runs in the contest.

Brister went a perfect 2 for 2 at the plate while Caitlin Bice notched a pair of hits going 2 for 3. Caroline Seay and Rachel Bickert also contributed a hit a piece to the effort.

 

Western Carolina 6, Appalachian State 2
BOONE, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (13-18, 3-3 Southern Conference) dropped the final game of its three-game series at Appalachian State (11-16, 3-2 SoCon) Sunday 6-2.

Appalachian State struck first with a run in the bottom of the first. Sarah Warnock hit a lead-off single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Warnock scored off a single RBI by Ashley Seering.

Western Carolina played a little small ball and took a short-lived 2-1 lead in the top of the second. Courtney Price hit a one out single and Amber Kimrey followed with a bunt single. Price and Kimrey moved over an extra base each off an Appalachian State error. Makezni McAteer ground out to first base but savvy base running by Price allowed her to score from third. Lexi Ross hit a bunt single and Kimrey scored for the second run.

Ashley Best tied the game for Appalachian State when she led off the bottom of the second with a homerun.

After Best's homerun, Western Carolina starting pitcher Jordan Garrett was lifted for relief pitcher Courtney Buchanan. A pair of RBI doubles by the Mountaineers scored two more runs in the inning.

Western Carolina had a huge scoring chance squelched in the top of the third. Amelia Griffin and Karley Harkey hit back-to-back singles but the Catamounts three big hitters Kara Salvo, Taylor Sigmon and Heather Chastain were sat down in order to end the threat.

Best hit her second homerun of the game, this time off Buchanan, to give Appalachian State two more runs as there was a runner on third when Best launched her second long ball.

The Catamounts trimmed Appalachian State's lead to two, 6-4, in the top of the fifth scoring a pair of runs. Pinch hitter Brooke Coggins led off with a double to center field and moved to third on a Mountaineer wild pitch. Back-to-back outs by Griffin and Harkey put the pressure on Salvo to score Coggins and she answered hitting an RBI single to left field. Sigmon followed with a single up the middle putting runners at second and third. Chastain singled to center field picking up and RBI and scoring Salvo from second. Courtney Price struck out to end the inning.

Western Carolina again let a golden scoring chance slip away. Kimrey led off with a double in the top of the sixth and moved to third on a wild pitch. Coggins drew a walk and Whitney Haywood struck out for the first out. Amelia Griffin was hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded. Harkey hit into a double play as Kimrey was out at home and Harkey was out at first.

Appalachian State added an additional run in the bottom of the sixth off a sacrifice fly RBI by Ashley Seering.

Again Western Carolina had a beauty of a scoring chance, this time in the top of the seventh. Salvo hit a lead-off double and Sigmon drew a walk to put runners at first and second. Chastain struck out and Price hit into a fielder's choice, with Salvo out at third for second out. Kimrey drew a walk load the bases for the second straight innings. Haywood ground out to end the game.

Coming in with the game tied, Buchanan gets the decision and falls to 5-3 on the season.

Western Carolina had 12 hits in the game.

 

Chattanooga 3, Furman 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – After a long and rainy night, the sun came out at Frost Stadium for the Chattanooga Mocs softball team to complete the three-game sweep of the Furman Paladins Sunday afternoon. 

It’s the first three-game sweep of the season for Chattanooga and gives the Mocs a 4-1 Southern Conference record.  With the loss, Furman falls to 2-3 in the SoCon. After two weekends of play, UTC sits in second place in the conference standing while Georgia Southern commands just a 0.5 game lead.

Starting pitcher Katie Henderson picked up the win with a five-inning, one-hit performance.  The sophomore struck out four batters, walking just one, and earned her eighth victory of the season.  Junior Taylor Deason entered in the sixth inning to pick up her third save of the season.

Chattanooga struck first in the second inning with a bases-loaded RBI single from Sarah Beth Roberts.  Freshman Jesslyn Stockard led off the inning with a towering double to right and senior Kaiti Dutton legged out a single to the second baseman to board two.  Sophomore Sam Taylor after a long battle with starting pitcher Lauren Collier, walked to load the bases, and Roberts smacked a shot to left-center to drive home Stockard.

Furman threatened with a runner on base with no outs in the top of the third inning.  Despite a strikeout swinging, a passed ball allowed catcher Hannah Pace to first base.  With one out on a strikeout, an amazing stretch at first base from covering second baseman Criket Blanco ensured a 1-4 putout at the bag, and a liner rocketed toward left was snagged out of the air by shortstop Alyssa Taylor to bring the potential scoring-inning to an end.

Jenny Garcia helped the Mocs to score their second run in the fourth inning with a leadoff walk to begin the frame.  Dutton dropped a sacrifice bunt in front of the plate to move Garcia into scoring position, and Sam Taylor delivered with a line-painting double to left to score the speedy outfielder. 

Sophomore catcher Anyssa Robles added on a third run with a two-out single up the middle.  A liner off the glove of Collier, Robles was able to reach first on the hard hit and Sam Taylor snuck in from third to put Chattanooga up 3-0 on the Paladins.

Robles led the Mocs with a 2-for-3 day at the plate, driving in one run.  The catcher continues to lead Chattanooga with a .329 batting average and 28 hits.

 

Georgia Southern 9, Elon 1
STATESBORO, GA.  – Georgia Southern Softball posted a 9-1 win over Elon to complete the weekend sweep and record the team’s first run-rule win in league play this season. The Eagles tallied nine hits, including three from Taylor Rogers who stole two bases, scored two runs and drove in one more.

With the win, Georgia Southern posted its ninth-straight win over the Phoenix and improves to 21-10 overall and 5-1 in league play. Elon is 16-12-1 on the season and 1-5 in the SoCon.

First blood went to Elon in the opening inning when Carleigh Nester hit her 11th home run of the season to give the Phoenix their first lead of the series.

The Eagles had an immediate answer, scoring a first-inning run of their own. An Emily Snider sacrifice bunt moved Taylor Rogers to third. The freshman did not break stride and sailed in for the Eagles’ opening run

Rogers opened the third with a leadoff single and worked her way to second with a stolen base and a ground out. Thomas picked up the RBI with a fielder’s choice to second base. The Elon fielder threw the ball to get Rogers at the plate, but the throw was no match for the speedy Eagle designated player. That run gave the Eagles their first lead of the day. Georgia Southern added two more runs later in the frame off a Kaitlyn Johnson double to right. Those runs made it a 4-1 game.

Georgia Southern tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning to flirt with the run-rule for the first time in league play. Johnson, AJ Hamilton and Rogers each drove in runs while the fourth run came in on a wild pitch. In the end, the Eagles came one-run short of the eight-run threshold, but posted a 8-1 advantage through five.

The Eagles got the magic run in the sixth inning. Two walks early in the inning helped load the bases and an RBI single by Lexi Allen ended the contest and handed the Eagles their fifth win in league play.

Sarah Purvis went four innings on her 22nd birthday to pick up the victory with seven strikeouts and the one run in the first inning. Purvis improved to 11-4 on the year with the win. Brooke Red pitched the final two innings and earned the first save for an Eagle pitcher this season. She fanned five in two innings of work and did not allow a run down the stretch.