UNCG 9, Western Carolina 2GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG softball team used a big five-run fifth inning to capture the series finale against Western Carolina, 9-2, Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
The Spartans improve to 18-23 with a 4-11 SoCon mark while the Catamounts fall to 17-25, 7-8 in conference play.
Senior Raeanne Hanks threw a complete game earning her ninth win of the season after allowing zero earned runs with five strikeouts. Jordan Garrett (8-13) was saddled with the loss after allowing six earned runs off eight hits in 4.2 innings.
Junior Dominique Madruga 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sophomore Danielle Vega was 2-for-3 with two RBI.
UNCG took a 1-0 lead after Vega lined a RBI infield single. Madruga leadoff the game working a walk. After two outs, Vega drove in her 25th run of the season.
The Spartans scored three more runs in the third inning off a hit and two Catamount errors. Madruga singled to start the frame and sophomore Allison Geiner reached on an error. Vega picked up her second RBI of the game off a sacrifice bunt. Two more runs came home off a throwing error by the third baseman.
Western Carolina scored two runs in the fourth inning off three hits and a Spartan error. Courtney Price and Kara Salvo produced back-to-back singles with one out. After a fielder’s choice, Karley Harkey reached on a throwing error allowing an unearned run to score. Heather Chastain singled up the middle to cut the lead to 4-2.
UNCG broke open the game with a five-run fifth inning off five hits. Vega started the rally with a one out double. After an out, the Spartans would put together a clutch two out hitting display. Junior Tatiana Alcala earned a RBI single up the middle. Freshman Ally Vergona lined a single over the shortstop’s head for two runs batted in. Classmate Hagan Kiser doubled home another run and Madruga singled home the fifth run of the inning.
Appalachian State 11, Elon 1ELON, N.C. — Appalachian State University softball dominated the rubber match of its conference series at Elon with an 11-1 run rule victory on Sunday afternoon. The win for Appalachian was its fourth in five games.
The Mountaineers (17-23, 5-9 SoCon) got started early and often. Dani Heichen lead off the game with a single and advanced to second base on an error. Heichen finished the game 3-for-4 and hit 9-for-12 in the series. Following a groundout, Sarah Warnock would be hit by the pitch and in the midst of stealing second base the ball would go into center field and Heichen would score.
After a walk to Ashley Seering yet another throw ended up in center field on a steal attempt. Warnock would score on the error and the Mountaineers would lead 2-0 after one.
Ashley Best led off the second with a walk. What happened next was singles from Kristen Terry and Heichen back-to-back to load the bases. Cynthia Gomez grounded into a fielder’s choice with the throw coming home. In an odd play where the umpire ruled Carey Million’s foot came off of home plate, Best would score the third run.
Warnock followed up with a two-run double that scored both Terry and Heichen. After a Seering single, Cara Parker hit a sac fly that scored Gomez. The Phoenix (21-20-1, 4-11 SoCon) would tally their lone run in the second when Lauren Oldham doubled followed later by an Ali Ford double to plate Oldham.
For the third consecutive inning, the Mountaineers would plate runs in an inning. In the third, Best would again lead off with a walk. Terry and Heichen would single to load the bases. Caroline Reid came in defensively the previous half inning and would smoke a two-run double to right field to extend the Black and Gold lead to 8-0.
The Apps would wait until the sixth inning to put the game out of reach for good. Warnock and Seering would hit back-to-back doubles to give App State a 9-1 lead. With Seering on second base, Parker blistered a pitch into someone’s backyard well out of Hunt Softball field to give the Mountaineers a commanding 11-1 advantage.
Alissa Schoelkopf started in the circle and was the pitcher of record earning her fourth win of the season. Schoelkopf pitched 2.1 innings giving up five hits and allowing just the one run. The junior pitcher also tallied three strikeouts and puts her two shy of grabbing sole possession of fifth all-time in program history. Schoelkopf has 235 career punch outs.
In relief, Shivaun Landeros was lights out, not allowing a single hit in 3.2 innings and striking out four batters in the process.
Furman 2, Georgia Southern 0Greenville S.C. – Senior Lauren Collier tossed a four-hit shutout to lead Furman to a 2-0 win and best-of-three series victory over Georgia Southern in Southern Conference softball action on Sunday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
The win upped the Paladins record to 24-19 overall and 9-5 in the league while the Eagles fell to 29-13 overall and 12-3 in conference play.
Collier, a native of Maineville, Ohio, scattered four hits and fanned three batters over seven innings to earn her second victory of the weekend and improve to 13-9 in the circle.
With the game scoreless after four and a half innings, Natalie Clemmons opened the bottom of the fifth with a single to left field. The junior swiped second with one out and scored on Hannah Pace’s double into the left-center field gap to give the Paladins a 1-0 lead. Taylor Jenkins, a Greenville, S.C., native and Berea High School product, doubled the lead when she followed with a line drive double down the left field line to plate pinch runner Sarah Eidt from second.
AJ Hamilton reached on a two-out walk for Georgia Southern in the top of the seventh and Breanna McLendon followed with a walk, but Collier got pinch hitter Savanah Coon to fly out to center field to end the game.
GSU’s Sarah Purvis took the loss to fall to 16-7 in the circle. It marked the first time this season that Purvis suffered the loss in back-to-back appearances this season. She surrendered two runs on four hits in four and 1/3 innings of work while striking out five Paladins.
Clemmons, who made several solid plays at third base, paced the Paladins at the plate going 2-for-3.
Samford 4, Chattanooga 2BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University softball set two new program benchmarks on its way to clinching its first Southern Conference series victory over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in a 4-2 win on Saturday, April 13, at Samford Field. Madison Dickey’s first home run of the season came at the perfect time as her grand slam hit lifted Samford (32-13, 8-6 SoCon) over Chattanooga (24-17, 9-5 SoCon) 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The win set the new single-season record for wins in Samford softball history as it also helped junior pitcher Mollie Hanson pick up her 20th win of the year which broke the program's single-season win mark for the position.
The Mocs struck first in the game posting a run in the top of the fourth after Caroline Wilder was unable to clasp on a Callie Brister throw from third.
Chattanooga pitchers Katie Henderson and Taylor Deason kept the Bulldogs off balance for most of the game, but Abby Adams started off the sixth inning rally with a hard hit single to third to rattle the Mocs defense and Deason.
Callie Brister followed suit and sent a scorching ground ball back up the middle of the Mocs defense to put runners at first and second. Catiltin Bice then put her bat on the ball and sent a shot at the shortstop to load the bases for the Bulldogs.
Deason settled and was able to sit down sophomore Hannah Taylor to pick up the first out of the inning and set the stage for Dickey's deciding hit. With a 0-1 count Dickey took Deason's ball and sent it over the center field wall to give SU enough runs to put the game just out of reach from a UTC comeback.
The Mocs did make an attempt to rally as they were able to string together a few hits and close the Samford lead down to 4-2, which ended as the final result in the contest.