Western Carolina 3, UNCG 1Western Carolina 4, UNCG 3GREENSBORO, N.C. – Western Carolina softball (17-24, 7-7 Southern Conference) swept UNCG (17-24, 3-11) 3-1, 4-3 in Saturday’s doubleheader at UNCG Softball Stadium.
It was a career day for a pair of Catamount players. Sophomore Taylor Sigmon picked up a pair of saves, tossing an inning in game one and three in game two, to up her saves to six and capture the season and career record for saves. Senior Amelia Griffin tied the school record for career stolen bases, swiping a bag in each game, to up her total to 49. Former Catamount Jordan Fulton, whom Griffin is now tied with for the stolen base record, was in attendance when Griffin tied the record.
Junior hurler Jordan Garrett picked up her third straight win, improving to 8-12, allowing just one run on two hits, and striking out three, in the 3-1 win. Sigmon earned her fifth save, breaking the Catamount single season record, throwing the seventh inning giving up one hit and striking out two.
Western Carolina took the early 2-0 lead plating two runs in the first inning. Griffin hit a lead-off single and moved to second on a wild pitch by Spartan pitcher Raeanne Hanks. Courtney Price followed with a walk. Griffin stole third base and scored on an UNCG error while Price moved to third on the play. Sigmon ground out to the short stop picking up an RBI when Price scored on the play.
The Catamounts were held scoreless for the ensuing four innings before tacking on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Sigmon reached first on the Spartans second error of the game and moved to second when Karley Harkey drew a walk. A wild pitch by Hanks moved Sigmon and Harkey up a base and Sigmon scored on a ground out RBI by Heather Chastain.
Garrett’s shutout attempt was blown when UNCG scored a run in the bottom of the sixth. Allison Geiner led off with a single and would eventually score on a sacrifice fly RBI by Danielle Vega.
All toll, Garrett only allowed four Spartan base runners in her six innings. Sigmon threw the bottom of the seventh getting off to a rocky start as she walked the lead-off batter and came back to back-to-back strike outs. Pinch hitter for UNCG Toni MacReynolds kept the Spartan come-back attempt alive when she singled allowing the winning run to come to the plate. Tory Wright ground out to Sigmon to end the inning and the game.
Western Carolina scored for unanswered runs to secure the SoCon series against UNCG winning 4-3.
The Spartans took the early 3-0 lead when Lindsay Thomas hit a three run homerun in the bottom of the first. Freshman pitcher Courtney Buchanan gave up back-to-back walks to start the inning to set up Thomas’ homerun.
Buchanan would find her groove in the next three innings and held UNCG scoreless.
Western Carolina cut the UNCG lead to 3-1 scoring a run in the top of the second. Sigmon led off with a walk and moved to second on a single up the middle by Harkey. Sigmon and Harkey moved up a base on a wild pitch and Sigmon scored off a sacrifice fly by Heather Chastain.
The Catamounts took the lead scoring three runs in the fifth inning. Senior Makenzi McAteer led off with shot to right center earning her a double. Griffin followed with a double and then Griffin stole second. Kara Salvo notched an RBI single through the left side and McAteer scored, slicing the UNG lead to one, 3-2. Sigmon came up and hit a laser to right center forcing centerfielder Geiner to race over to try and catch the ball, which hit the tip of her glove and rolled to the wall. The hot shot scored Griffin and Salvo, both unearned.
With the 4-3 lead by WCU, Buchanan was lifted for Sigmon, seeing her second relief opportunity of the day. Sigmon tossed three innings of scoreless ball giving up two hits and striking out three.
Buchanan takes the win and evens her seasonal record to 6-6. She went four innings giving up three runs on five hits and striking out two.
Western Carolina had six hits in the game. Salvo went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Furman 5, Georgia Southern 4Georgia Southern 11, Furman 2Greenville S.C. – Furman rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 10th inning of game one, capped by Ambree Muller’s walk-off, RBI single, to take a 5-4 victory and earn a doubleheader split with Georgia Southern in Southern Conference softball action on Saturday at Pepsi Stadium. The Eagles claimed an 11-2 win in game two.
The Paladins (23-19, 8-5 SoCon) and Eagles (29-12, 12-2 SoCon) play the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and admission to Pepsi Stadium is free.
Ambree Muller capped a three-run, 10th inning rally in game one with a line drive under the glove of Georgia Southern’s second baseman to plate Sieara Bishop from second base as the Paladins notched a 5-4, come-from-behind win against the first place Eagles.
Georgia Southern broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 10th inning when Morgan Robinson lined a two-run base hit to left-center field with two outs to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead.
Furman’s Nikki Legg, who went 6-for-8 in the twinbill, opened the bottom of the frame with a single to advance Stephanie Spain to third base after she was placed on second via the international tiebreaker rule to start the inning. With one out, Bishop laced a two-run double into the right-center field gap to tie the game at 4-4 and the Paladins shortstop raced home with the winning run when Muller lined a 3-1 pitch into the gap for the walk-off single.
Senior Lauren Collier fanned eight batters without a walk over 10 innings to earn the win in the circle and improve to 12-9. The Maineville, Ohio , native held the Eagles to just three earned runs on 10 hits.
Sarah Purvis (16-6) suffered the loss for Georgia Southern, allowing five runs on eight hits in nine and 1/3 innings of work. She fanned 11 Paladins and issued three walks.
Furman grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Bishop opened the inning with a double and pinch runner Sarah Eidt stole second base before racing home on a throwing error by the GSU catcher. After the Eagles pulled even on AJ Hamilton’s solo home run in the top of the fifth, Legg singled up the middle to plate Hannah Pace, who had reached on a leadoff double.
The Eagles tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth. Emily Snider began the inning with a single and stole second base ahead of Shelby Morrill’s RBI double to the wall if right field.
Legg went 3-for-5 to key Furman’s eight-hit attack while Bishop doubled twice and drove in two runs. Snider, Robinson and Hamilton each registered two hits apiece for the Eagles.
In game two, Lexi Allen went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and four runs batted in to propel Georgia Southern to an 11-2 win in six innings.
Hamilton highlighted a three-run top of the second for the Eagles with a two-run single before Allen followed a walk and hit batter in the top of the third inning with a three-run blast to left field to erase a 1-0 Furman lead and put the Eagles in control at 6-1.
Kourtny Thomas added a two-run blast in the top of the fourth and three hits and a Paladin error led to three more runs in the sixth inning to help GSU trigger the mercy rule.
GSU’s Brooke Red limited the Paladins to a pair of runs on six hits in six innings to improve to 11-4 in the circle. Robinson and Hamilton each went 2-for-3 as the Eagles pounded out 11 hits.
Starter Alex Sappington (5-2) suffered the defeat for Furman after giving up three runs on four hits in one and 1/3 innings. She walked two batters and struck out one.
Legg posted a 3-for-3 outing and scored two runs for the Paladins while Andrea Abbatiello contributed a pinch-hit, RBI double in the sixth inning.
Appalachian State 4, Elon 0Elon 5, Appalachian State 3ELON, N.C. – Carleigh Nester’s seventh inning, two-run walk-off home run in game two helped the Elon University softball team to a 5-3 win in the second game of a Southern Conference series doubleheader versus Appalachian State on Saturday, April 12. The Phoenix (21-19-1, 4-10 SoCon) fell to the Mountaineers (16-23, 4-9 SoCon) in the opening game, 4-0.
Elon and Appalachian State will face each other in the rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park.
The Mountaineers scored the first run of the day very early in the opening game against the Phoenix. In the top of the first, ASU’s Sara Parker hit a two-out single to left field to drive in Dani Heichen, who had reached earlier in the frame on a single to third base.
Heichen nearly put the Mountaineers up 2-0 in the top of the third. After reaching on a single to the pitcher to lead off the inning, Heichen advanced to second after an errant throw to first. She was moved to third after a sacrifice bunt and attempted to score on a Sarah Warnock dribbler to the shortstop, but was thrown out at home by the Phoenix’s Ali Ford. Elon retired the next batter to close of the inning.
Both teams remain quiet offensively until the top of the fifth as Appalachian State added two more runs to its lead. Ashley Seering singled to right center to score a run before another errant throw by Elon plated Warnock from third base to move the Mountaineers up 3-0.
Heichen would score her second run of the game in the top of the seventh to give ASU a 4-0 cushion and eventually clinching the game one victory after Elon went down in order in the bottom half of the frame.
Caitlin O’Shea (6-11) took the loss for Elon, pitching a complete game and allowing only three earned runs while walking one batter. Elon registered just two hits against the Mountaineers in the opening game.
Elon was the first to strike in the second contest of the day, plating two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Nester reached on a two-out fielder’s choice and was joined on the base paths by Aly Quintana, who was hit by pitch. Grace Eng drew a walk to load the bases before Lauren Oldham singled to left field to drive in Nester and Quintana and gave the Phoenix the early 2-0 lead.
The Phoenix nearly added more runs to the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Nester and Quintana earned free passes to lead off the frame followed by Nester advancing to third on a Eng foul out to right field. She would be stranded however as the Mountaineers retired the next two batters to escape the inning.
Elon again had a runner reach scoring position in the fourth. Emily Roper drew another walk from ASU starter Shivaun Landeros to lead off the inning, forcing the Mountaineers to go with a pitching change. Roper was replaced on the bases by O’Shea, who then advanced to second on a squeeze play by Ford. The Phoenix could not move her as the game moved to the fifth inning.
The Phoenix added its third run of the game in the bottom of the fifth behind a Quintana solo home run to left field. The junior took a one-out 2-2 delivery and sent it towards the left field fence where it just grazed over the wall and gave Elon a 3-0 advantage.
Appalachian State responded in the top of the sixth with two runs to cut the lead to one. Pinch runner Pepper Butler scored on Lindsay Loudermilk single to center to plate the first run of the game for the Mountaineers. Butler replaced Warnock, who had reached earlier on a single to the shortstop. A few Elon miscues led to ASU scoring another run with Parker crossing home plate with one out. Elon escaped the inning on a great double play by right fielder Amanda Allen, who caught a fly out and then threw out a runner at home to end the inning.
In the top of the seventh, Warnock tied the game at 3-3 after driving in Kristen Terry on a fielder’s choice. With one out and runners at the corners, Elon managed to induce to final two outs to move to the bottom of the seventh.
Elon quickly went to work as Carey Million led off the frame with a double to right center and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Hall. Nester then drove her home with her 12th homer of the year to give Elon the 5-3 win.
Samford 1, Chattanooga 0Chattanooga 5, Samford 1BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Chattanooga Mocs softball team settled for a doubleheader split Saturday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala., with Samford. Chattanooga picked up its 23rd win of the season while claiming its eighth Southern Conference win of the season.
The Mocs suffered a 1-0 loss to the Bulldogs in the first contest of the series. A pitching duel that held the UTC bats to just four hits, Samford was able to take advantage of two hits in the fourth to score the game’s only run.
Despite putting six runners on base and a tough performance from starting pitcher Katie Henderson, Chattanooga stranded all six while the Bulldogs only left three runners on through six innings.
Chattanooga’s best scoring chance came in the third as Anyssa Robles singled up the middle to lead off the inning. A sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Courtney Ervin into scoring position but the potential run did not make it past second base.
Samford’s run followed in the bottom of the inning as a single from Megan Dowdy led off and a hit to left from Abby Adams followed a strikeout. With runners at first and second, an RBI-fielder’s choice from Callie Brister scored a run.
Only two hits followed the fourth inning for the Mocs. Sarah Beth Roberts recorded her second hit of the game with a single in the sixth, and Jenny Garcia singled to center in the seventh with Chattanooga on the ropes.
Despite Garcia’s game-lengthening hit in the last inning, UTC was unable to put a run on the board in the final frame.
Henderson was handed eighth loss despite a two-hit, nine-strikeout outing.
The offense responded well in the second game of the day behind junior starter Taylor Deason as the bats put up six hits and five runs.
While the Mocs put four runners on in the first two innings with no luck driving them around, the third inning proved to be productive for Chattanooga. Robles singled with one out and advanced to second on a balk. With the catcher in scoring position, Nicole Osterman smacked a single to right to plate the first run.
Chattanooga added on two more in the fifth with, again, Robles leading off. The sophomore reached on a walk and Osterman reached on an error. With two on with no outs, sophomore Criket Blanco singled to right to score both runs. It was Blanco’s second base-knock of the contest.
Samford struck for a run in the fifth, but two UTC runs in the top of the seventh put the game out of reach. A sacrifice fly from Kaiti Dutton scored Osterman and a sac fly to right from freshman Jesslyn Stockard brought Blanco home.
With six innings of work under her belt and just one run allowed, Deason left the seventh with two on and no outs. In relief, Henderson managed three outs to preserve the Deason win and picked up the save. With the win, Deason improved to 11-6 and Henderson picked up her second win.