CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Junior pitcher Savannah Rice had a career day with two home runs and 11 strikeouts to help lead Western Carolina softball to a doubleheader split with Georgia State, winning game one 5-1 and dropping game two 2-1, Wednesday at the Catamount Softball Complex.
Western Carolina 5, Georgia State 1
Turning Point
Western Carolina scored five unanswered runs over the first three innings and rode the arm of Rice for the win.
How it Happened
• In the bottom of the second, Savannah Baldwin drew a walk and Rice sent her home off a two-run home run over the left-field wall.
• Rice struck again in the bottom of the third. Myra Twitty was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and with one out Baldwin was also hit by a pitch to put Catamount runners on first and third. Rice came up and took the first pitch over the centerfield wall for the three-RBI home run.
• Georgia State avoided the shutout with a home run by Bailee Richardson in the sixth inning.
Inside the Box Score
• Rice was dominant in the circle giving up one run on five hits and striking out a career-high 11. She improves to 2-0 on the season.
• Rice sat the Georgia State runners down in order in three of the seven innings.
• Rice struck out the final batter of an inning four times.
• Georgia State had five hits and the Catamounts had three.
• The Panthers committed two errors in the game while the Catamounts did not have a miscue in the contest.
• At the plate, both of Rice’s hits were home runs as she went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and five RBIs.
Georgia State 2, Western Carolina 1
Turning Point
Georgia State used a late run to overcome a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Catamounts tying the game with a home run in the sixth and scoring off an RBI single in the top of the seventh.
How it Happened
• Freshman Natalie Henry hit the first home run of her Catamount career in the bottom of the fifth to break open a scoreless game.
• Richardson hit her second home run of the day in the top of the sixth to tie the game 1-1.
• An RBI single past third base gave the Panthers the lead and eventual win.
• Before Henry’s home run, the Catamounts had a chance to break open the game in the bottom of the fourth when Bailey Huneycutt led off with a single and Twitty followed with a double, placing runners at second and third with no outs. WCU could not push a run across.
Inside the Box Score
• Junior pitcher Jayme Eilers suffered her first loss of the season inside the circle, falling to 3-1 on the year. She tossed a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out eight.
• Georgia State had five hits in the game while WCU had four.
• Huneycutt, Twitty, Henry and Rice each had hits in the game.
• Georgia State again had two errors in the game while WCU was flawless in the field.
News & Notes
• Rice has five hits on the young season with four of those being home runs.
• Rice leads the team with nine RBIs.
• Rice’s five RBIs in game one against Georgia State is tied for fifth in the WCU record books for RBIs in a game.
• Rice’s pair of home runs in the first game against the Panthers is tied for first in the WCU record books.
• Eilers ranks seventh in the WCU record books for strikeouts in a career with 227. She is just the seventh Catamount to have 200 or more strikeouts in program history.
• In four of Western Carolina’s five wins this season, the Catamounts have held its opponent to one run or less.
Up Next
Western Carolina travels to Rock Hill, South Carolina, this weekend to compete in the Winthrop Kick-Off Tournament. The Catamounts open the tournament Friday facing Towson at 12:30 p.m. and Youngstown State at 5:30 p.m.