Mercer 15, Alabama State 2
Mercer 11, Alabama State 2
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University softball team extends their winning streak to seven games after downing Alabama State in double-header action on Tuesday night. The Bears defeated the Lady Hornets 15-2 in the first game and 11-2 in the second game to move to 22-13 on the year.
In the first game of the day the Bears took a few innings to get warmed up but scored all the runs necessary for the run rule in just two innings. Kirsten Stevens started the game, throwing three innings, allowing five hits and one run. The Bears would bring freshman pitcher Megan Bilgri in for two innings of relief to close the game. Bilgri allowed two hits and one run, with two strikeouts in route to her second carrier win for the Bears.
Mercer's offense was paced by Riley Carter and Caroline Taylor, each with three and four hits respectively. The Bears scored 15 runs on 17 hits and 14 RBIs. Both teams would go scoreless through the first two and a half innings until Mercer broke the silence in the bottom of the third inning. Carter scored the first run of the game on a throwing error by the Hornets pitcher, followed by Quirisa Mauga's two RBI single which scored Rachael Hugghins and Taylor giving Mercer the 3-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Alabama St. would score one run on a three hit top of the fourth to put their first run on the board. The Bears exploded at the plate in the bottom half of the inning pushing across 12 runs on 10 hits to go up 15-1. Taylor Miller, Meghan Rud, and Carter would all score to open the inning, but it was Taylor's three run blast to left center that would really open up the inning.
After a Hornets pitching change, the Bears would load the bases setting up a Miller RBI single. Rud would also add a RBI single keeping the bases loaded for a Carter RBI walk. Natalie Shiver added a sac-fly before Taylor picked up her fourth RBI of the game to close all scoring for Mercer.
Alabama St. added one run on two hits in the top of the fifth but could not generate the offense needed to get back in the game, falling to Mercer 15-2 in game one.
Anna O'Neill picked up her fifth win of the year as she threw her fifth complete game of the season in game two of the doubleheader. Threw six innings, O'Neill allowed eight hits, two runs, and struck out three batters.
Mercer would get on the board first, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Taylor opened the inning up with her second home run of the day. Emma Andrew picked up her first RBI of the day driving in R. Hugghins giving Mercer the 2-0 lead after two innings. Alabama St. answered with a run of their own in the top of the third scoring off of a two hit inning.
R. Hugghins added a RBI single to score Rud in the bottom half of the inning to keep the lead at two. The Bears picked up their fourth score of the game in the fourth as Miller scored on an error. The Hornets added their second and final run of the game in the top of the sixth with help from a three hit inning to close the gap at 4-2.
Mercer figured out how to get the bats going again late in the sixth to take control of the game scoring 11 points to end the game in the sixth. Miller added her lone RBI of the game in the sixth to get the Bears going. Carter kept her six game hitting streak alive with a two run RBI in her final at bat of the night. The Bears night would be capped off by Caroline Taylor's walk-off home run. Taylor would drive in the final three runs of the game with a bomb to left center field. The home run marked her third of the day, and gave Mercer the 11-2 victory.
Mercer will be back in action on Saturday, when the Bears will host the Savannah St. Tigers in double-header action beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. Mercer will be honoring our veterans and active duty military on Military Appreciation Day. All veterans and active duty military personnel will get free admission to this weekend's games at Sikes Field.
Georgia State 4, Chattanooga 2
ATLANTA – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga softball team moved to 17-8, falling 2-4 in a tight game against the Georgia State Panthers on Tuesday night.
GSU took an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as two UTC fielding errors gave up bases. The Panthers wrapped up the inning with four hits and only one player left on base.
Chattanooga threatened in the third as Sarah Beth Roberts hammered out her sixth home run of the season. Marina Wilkerson led off the inning with a walk. Fast on her feet, the senior sprinted to steal second base. Third at bat in the inning, Roberts slammed a homer to left field. The hit drove in Wilkerson and the third baseman to put the Mocs only one behind the Panthers at 3-2.
Both teams were scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings and Chattanooga was kept quite in the top sixth, but Georgia State made its move in the bottom half of the sixth to extend its lead to 4-2. With Panthers on first and third and one out, an error by Anyssa Robles allowed Cassidy Faulk to claim an unearned run.
The Panthers would claim the victory at 4-2.
The Mocs will look to bounce back as they host UNCG for their first conference series of the season, starting March 21 at 3 p.m. in Frost Stadium.
North Carolina 15, UNCG 0
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The UNCG softball team fell to ACC foe North Carolina, 15-0, Tuesday night at Anderson Stadium.
The Spartans drop to 12-8 on the season and North Carolina improves to 20-5.
Freshman pitcher Alicia Bazonski took the loss falling to 5-3 on the season. Kaylee Carlson improved to 10-2 with the victory after throwing three scoreless innings.
Junior Nicole Thomas extended her reach base streak to 20 games after a single in the third inning. Senior Tatiana Alcala had a single in the contest.
North Carolina jumped ahead in the first inning scoring six runs off six hits, including two three-run home runs to take a 6-0 lead. Taylor Wike singled up the middle to start the frame and Aquilla Mateen laid down a bunt single. Kristen Brown blasted a three-run homer to left center to put the Tar Heels up 3-0. After two more hits, Kendra Lynch delivered a three-run homer to centerfield to push the advantage to 6-0.
In the second inning, the Tar Heels made it 7-0 after Brown lined her second home run of the game to left field.
North Carolina added eight runs in the third inning thanks to three home runs in the frame. Jenna Kelly started the inning with a solo home run to centerfield, her fifth of the season. After a out, Lauren Walker hit her third home run of the season to left field. Kelly would hit her second home run of the inning to cap a eight-run inning off five hits.
The Blue and Gold return home to face NC State Wednesday, March 18 at 4 p.m. at the UNCG Softball Stadium.
USC Upstate 5, ETSU 0
USC Upstate 4, ETSU 3 (8 inn.)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - ETSU led perennial regional power USC Upstate for six innings Tuesday before the Spartans rallied to deal ETSU a 4-3, extra-inning loss.
The Buccaneers (10-12) were defeated, 5-0, in Game One of Tuesday's non-conference doubleheader at Betty Basler Field in Johnson City before being edged, 4-3, in eight innings in Game Two.
In Game One, USC Upstate's Lexi Shubert, last season's Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year, tossed a two-hit, complete-game shutout, earning her 11th victory of the season.
Redshirt senior Nicole Fox went 0-for-3 in the Bucs' setback, bringing an end to her team-best 11-game hit streak.
ETSU shrugged off the Game One loss and jumped out to an early lead in the doubleheader finale.
A two-run, first-inning home run by freshman Cassi Pickett gave the Bucs' a 2-1 advantage after one inning of play in Game Two. In the second inning, Bethany Cowart belted an RBI-double to left field to extend ETSU's lead to 3-1 over the Spartans (19-4), who have made NCAA Tournament appearances each of the past two seasons.
Shubert replaced starting pitcher Amanda Storch in the fourth inning and quieted the Bucs' bats, limiting ETSU to just two hits over the next five innings.
ETSU senior pitcher Whitney Leon held the Spartans and their seventh-ranked scoring offense in check for much of the game, allowing only one earned run through her first six innings of work.
After the Spartans plated a pair of runs in the seventh inning, knotting the game at 3-3, Cowart came within inches of giving the Bucs a walk-off victory when her long drive down the left field line hooked just foul.
In compliance with the international tiebreak format, USC Upstate began the eighth inning with Cheyenne Griffin on second base. After being moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Dana Landers, Griffin scored the eventual game-winning run on a single down the right field line by Kendall Settlemyre.
Shubert then retired ETSU's side in order to seal the narrow, 4-3 victory for USC Upstate, earning her second win of the day to improve her record to 12-3 on the year. Last season, Shubert posted an 18-1 record en route to helping the Spartans capture the regular season Atlantic Sun title.
The Bucs will begin a six-game road trip Saturday, March 21 as they open Southern Conference play with a doubleheader at Western Carolina with games beginning at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.