SoCon Softball Results, May 3-4

UTC Seniors Polish Off Georgia Southern
(May 4)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Awbrey Winckler and Paige Cochrane helped make Senior Day a happy occasion for the Lady Mocs' softball team as Chattanooga polished off Georgia Southern 4-0 Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep.

The Lady Mocs finished the regular season 33-27 overall and 12-8 in the SoCon, while Georgia Southern fell to 26-26 and 10-10. UTC will be the third seed in next week's Southern Conference Tournament, which starts Thursday at Frost Stadium.

Winckler (18-14) tossed a complete-game shutout for the second consecutive time and the seventh time this season. She yielded just four hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Chattanooga had a couple of opportunities to score early in the game and finally broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the home half of the fourth. UTC loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Melissa Ramirez and Jennifer Reed and a walk to Jada Pescatore.

Cochrane, who was 2-for-3 on the day, laced a run-scoring single to left, which plated Ramirez. One out later, Lindsey Howard laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt, which was mishandled by Georgia Southern. Reed scored on the bunt and pinch runner Jayme Putman scooted on home on a throwing error.

Ramirez hit her second solo home run in as many days with a towering shot to right in the fifth. It was her 10th round-tripper of the season, which is just one behind league-leader and teammate Reed. Ramirez moved into fourth place on the school's career home run list with 15.

GSU's A.J. Street (5-10) took the loss.


CofC's Stern Throws One-Hitter to Shutout Seahawks, 6-0, in Regular-Season Finale
(May 4)

Mt. Pleasant, SC College of Charleston's Rachel Stern only gave up one hit to blank the UNC Wilmington Seahawks in the last regular-season softball game this afternoon at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

The win gave the Cougars a 42-9 overall record and a 16-4 conference mark. The Seahawks end the regular-season 22-36 and 6-13 in the SoCon. Charleston clinched the conference regular-season title Saturday, its first ever for the softball program. The Cougars finish the regular-season ranked sixth in the nation in batting average (.314) and seventh in win-loss percentage (.833 as of 4/27/03). Charleston is also ninth in the nation in scoring, averaging 5.81 runs a game. The softball team also leads the Southern Conference in batting and pitching.

"We accomplished one of our goals this season, and that was to win the conference title," said head coach Chandelle Schulte. "Now we are on a quest of our second goal, to win the conference tournament."

The Cougars went 27-2 at Patriots Point this year and rode a 28-game home winning streak earlier this season that included four games from last year.

"I think the kids performed well today," said Schulte. "It is good to end the regular-season on such a high note with the one-hitter by Stern and the nice offensive effort by the rest of the team."

The first game was scoreless until the fifth inning when the Cougar bats exploded for seven hits, which resulted in six runs. The inning was highlighted by a two-RBI double by Jacquie Rothey that brought in Keyta Lawson and LeShe Russell.

Stern's no-hitter remained intact until the seventh inning when Seahawk Tiffany Lindemann bunted to the second baseman and beat out the throw to break the streak. The next batter popped up to the third baseman to end the game with the shutout preserved.

"I definitely threw a better game today than I did yesterday," said Stern. "The no-hitter didn't matter to me because we played well and we can now get ready for the tournament next week."

Stern, ranked 12th in the nation in wins, increased her record to 24-3 on the year, throwing seven innings with two strikeouts. Jamie Gostyla took the loss for the Seahawks to go to 9-18.

Flowers and Russell led the Cougar effort, both going two-for-three with one RBI and one run scored.

The Cougars will enter next week's Southern Conference tournament as the number one seed and will face number eight-seed Appalachian State Thursday in Chattanooga, Tenn. Game times have not been announced.

East Tennessee State Sweeps Past Appalachian State with 3-2 Victory
(May 4)

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- East Tennessee State defeated Appalachian State 3-2 in the regular-season finale from Metro-Kiwanis Park Sunday. ETSU finishes the season an even 24-24 overall and 10-10 in Southern Conference play, while the Mountaineers end at 15-34 (4-16 SoCon).

The Buccaneers got on the board early when Lindsay Lane's (Erwin, Tenn.) double to left field in the bottom of the first inning brought Sheryl Clark (Bradenton, Fla.) around from first base to make the score 1-0 in favor of ETSU.

Janine Sprague (Hillsborough, N.C.) led of the bottom of the third with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Clark. Then Danielle Spetar (Knoxville, Tenn.) hit a two-run homer giving the Bucs a 3-0 advantage.

Appalachian State bounced back in the in the top of the fourth. Wendy Lewis got things started with a one-out single and scored on Sarah Gough's RBI single to centerfield. Gough advanced two extra bases on an error and later crossed home plate on a wild pitch.

Lewis went 2-for-3 at the plate as did Christa Hicks. ETSU scattered eight hits off of two Appalachian State pitchers. The only Buccaneer with a multi-hit game was Miranda Byerly (Candler, N.C.), who was 2-for-3. Heather Bradbury got start for the Mountaineers. Bradbury surrendered five hits and two earned runs. She pitched 2.2 innings before being relieved by Jordan Arnold.

Junior Jennifer Fraser (Chattanooga, Tenn.) earned her second win in as many days and Tiffany McVay (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) came in for the save, pitching no-hit ball for the final two innings. Fraser allowed five hits and no earned runs, while walking one and striking out one to improve to 8-12 this season.

With Sunday's victory, ETSU garnered back-to-back sweeps over league opponents, giving the Buccaneers a six-game winning streak heading into this weekend's Southern Conference tournament. The tournament will be held May 8-11, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Games times will be released as soon as the final seedings are announced.

FURMAN DROPS REGULAR SEASON FINALE TO UNCG, 7-2
(May 4)

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- UNC Greensboro scored three unearned runs in the top of the third inning on its way to defeating Furman 7-2 in the regular season finale Sunday at Pepsi Stadium.

Furman struck first in the bottom half of the first inning. LaKerah Barr led off the inning with an infield single. Meagen Johnson followed after a Joni Lockridge fly out with a single to left and advanced to second on the throw. Barr gave Furman a 1-0 lead when she scored on a sacrifice fly to right off the bat of Kate Morrison. After an Ali McNulty walk, the senior was picked off of first to retire the side.

UNC Greensboro took the lead in the top of the third with three unearned runs. With two outs, Jennifer Hubbard reached on a single and Kim Benningfield was awarded first base on catcher's interference. Penny Thompson singled up the middle on two-strike pitch to score Hubbard and tie the game. Benningfield scored on a wild pitch by Johnson to give UNCG a 2-1 lead. The Spartans extended the lead to 3-1 on a double steal which allowed Joni Gomez to reach third on the throw to the plate. Furman eneded the inning on a foul out to left.

The Spartans stretched its lead to 5-1 in the top of the fifth on a two-out, two-run homer by Gomez. It was Gomez's ninth homer of the season and second of the series.

UNC Greensboro added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning. The Spartans loaded the bases on three consecutive walks and scored two runs on a two-out single to left by Benningfield to make the score 7-1. Amy Poole (6-2) pitched a complete-game to earn the win for the Spartans, while Johnson (10-13) took the loss for the Lady Paladins allowing three unearned runs in four innings.

Hubbard and Jennifer Moran each tallied two hits while Benningfield scored two runs and batted in two to pace UNCG.

Sarah Scott and Kelli Leachman led Furman with two hits each.

Furman finishes the regular season with a 20-30 overall record and 8-13 Southern Conference mark, while the UNC Greensboro Spartans move to 36-16 overall and 14-6 in the SoCon.

The Lady Paladins will open play in the 2003 Southern Conference Tournament with a 2:30 p.m. contest versus host Chattanooga on Thursday at Frost Stadium.

MATTHEWS' GRAND SLAM LEADS FURMAN SOFTBALL TO 4-2 WIN, DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT
(May 3)

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jessica Matthews erased a 1-0 deficit with her first home run of the year, a grand slam to left field in the bottom of the sixth, to lead Furman to a 4-2 victory over UNC Greensboro and split of a Southern Conference twinbill Saturday at Pepsi Stadium. Jennifer Hubbard led off the first inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Penny Thompson followed with an RBI double to right-center giving UNCG a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Hubbard and Kim benningfield singled and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. However, pitcher Meagen Johnson got Joni Gomez to ground out to retire the side.

Furman loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Johnson drew a walk. Kate Morrison then reached on a fielding error and Ali McNulty reached on an error by the second baseman Jennifer Aguilar. Matthews followed with a grand slam to left, her first homer of the season, to give Furman a 4-1 lead.

In the top of the seventh, UNCG's Ashley Purcell reached base on a one-out walk and scored on a Hubbard double to trim the Lady Paladin lead to 4-2. After Johnson got Benningfield to bounce out to short, Penny Thompson walked to give the Spartans runners on first and third. With two out, Gomez grounded into a fielder's choice to end the game.

Johnson picked up the win for Furman to improve to 10-12 on the season, while Amber Watson (10-4) suffered the loss for UNC Greensboro. Johnson allowed only two runs on five hits while tossing a complete game. Furman scored its four runs on only four hits. The Lady Paladins were aided by four Spartan errors.

In game two, Gomez followed two walks with a three-run homer to left-center to give the Spartans a 3-0 first inning lead. After a single by catcher Christie Sweeney, Jennifer Moran belted a two-run homer to left-center to up the lead to 5-0 chasing starter Tabitha Dease from the game.

Furman got on the board with a run in the bottom of the second. McNulty drew a lead off walk and moved to third on a wild pitch and ground out. With one out, Joni Lockridge delivered an RBI single to right cutting the UNCG advantage to 5-1. Kelli Leachman followed Lockridge with a single and Karen Myers moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Pitcher Melissa Johnson got out of the jam by getting LaKerah Barr to fly out to left. UNC Greensboro extended its lead to 6-1in the top of the third. Sweeney laced a one-out double to left scoring Gomez who had reached on a fielder's choice. The Spartans finished the scoring in the seventh as Benningfield scored from first on a Leachman throwing error, Gomez scored on a Sweeney sacrifice fly and Moran belted her second homer of the game for the final 9-1 margin.

Johnson (13-5) earned the win for UNCG tossing a complete-game. Johnson struck out four while allowing only five Furman hits. Dease (2-3), who retired only one batter and allowed five runs, took the loss for Furman. Gomez went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI for UNC Greensboro, while Moran went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI. Leachman paced the Lady Paladins at the plate with two hits.

Furman is now 20-29 overall and 8-12 in the Southern Conference, while UNC Greensboro moves to 35-16 and 13-6 in the league.

The Lady Paladins and Spartans will wrap up their three-game series with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

Strong pitching leads East Tennessee State to a pair of victories over Appalachian State
(May 3)

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- East Tennessee State's softball team pulled out a pair of one-run victories over Appalachian State (15-33, 4-15 SoCon) Saturday at Metro-Kiwanis Park, as the Buccaneers (23-24, 9-10) improved their current winning streak to five games.

In game one, Sheryl Clark (Bradenton, Fla.) laced a single down the left field line with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring Lindsay Lane (Erwin, Tenn.) from second base for the game-winning run. Clark's RBI single broke a scoreless tie, as both team's starting pitchers went the distance. Although it took extra innings to declare a winner, both the Mountaineers and Lady Bucs had their fair share of chances in the early goings.

A pair of wild pitches by ETSU starting pitcher Jennifer Fraser (Chattanooga, Tenn.) in the top of the first inning allowed Christa Hicks to advance all the way to third base. However, Hicks was left stranded at third and Fraser settled down on the mound in earning a complete-game victory. Fraser allowed five hits and just two walks in nine innings pitched.

Julia Chance (Knoxville, Tenn.) hit a two-out liner to centerfield in the bottom of the second inning that got past Appalachian State's Mary Lutz. However the relay throw from the outfield was right target and in time to get Lindsay Lane (Erwin, Tenn.) who was trying to score from first base on the play.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Jennifer Welborn roped a double into left field, but Appalachian State stranded Welborn on second to end the inning. Fraser got out of another jam in the top of the eighth. Candace Shelton led off the inning with a bunt single and advanced to third base on a bloop single by Lutz to short right field. With one out and runners on second and third, Fraser got the next batter to ground out to the pitcher and retired the side with a fly out to left field.

Game two proceeded in the same fashion as game one until Amber Handy came around to score on Laura Padgett's RBI single in the top of the third to make the score 1-0 in favor of the Mountaineers. Handy finished 2-for-4 at the plate in game two to lead the Apps.

The Bucs retaliated in the bottom half of the frame as Janine Sprague (Hillsborough, N.C.) legged out a triple to left-centerfield. Lane followed with a sacrifice fly to deep left, as ETSU evened the score at 1-1.

Appalachian State kept the momentum going in the top of the fourth. Dawn Malone reached on a two-base error and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Malone crossed home plate on Handy's single as the Mountaineers regained the advantage, 2-1.

Again ETSU was able to bounce back despite the deficit and busted out with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Tiffany McVay (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) ignited the rally with a one-out walk. McVay then stole second and took third base when the throw went into the outfield. Chance followed with base on balls and Rhea Holler (Peoria, Ariz.) roped a double off of the left field fence to score two. Holler came around to cross home plate when Amy Moore (Jacksonville, Fla.) sent the first pitch she saw right back up the middle for a base hit.

The Mountaineers got one run back in the top of the sixth. Welborn doubled down the left field line and scored on Wendy Lewis' single to right-center. Appalachian State loaded the bases in the top of the seventh before McVay picked up her third save of the season in relief for ETSU starting pitcher Jolene Holthaus (Sidney, Ohio).

The team teams will conclude their three-game series Sunday, May 4. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Metro-Kiwanis Park.

Cougars Clinch SoCon Regular-Season Title with Spectacular Win over Seahawks
(May 3)

Mt. Pleasant, SC Cougar catcher Katie Scott's tag out at the plate in the seventh inning of the second game helped Cougars take the 2-1 win in softball action and clinch their first Southern Conference Regular-Season title. The College of Charleston dropped the first game 2-0 at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

The Cougars improve to 41-9 overall and 15-4 in the Southern Conference. With a loss by UNC Greensboro earlier this afternoon Charleston clinched the title outright and will be the number one seed in the upcoming conference tournament. UNC Wilmington dropped to 22-35 on the year and 6-12 in the conference.

UNC Wilmington scored two runs in the fourth inning of the first game for the only scores. Hayley House started with a single up the middle. She advanced to third off a Tiffany Lindemann double and came home, along with Lindemann, when Christine Freaney singled to centerfield.

The Cougars were held hitless until the seventh inning when LeShe Russell pinch-hit a single to put someone on base for the first time in the game. Amanda Wilson continued her dominance on the game, retiring the rest of the batters to take the win, her 12th of the year (12-15). Rachel Stern dropped to 23-3 on the year, going the distance, giving up two runs off six hits.

The Seahawks got on the board first in the third inning of the second game when Mary Susan Hilliard layed down a perfect bunt to sacrifice in Christina Elmore for their only run.

The Cougars responded in the fifth inning with two runs to take the lead. After Amanda Cone singled to start the inning, Jessica Schwartzkopf reached first base after the second baseman muffed the throw on a sacrifice bunt. Melissa Creeger sacrificed the runners to second and third. Lauren Rabun doubled down the left field line to drive in two runs for the Cougars to take the lead.

UNC Wilmington threatened in the seventh after Christine Ross reached first base off a hit-by-pitch. Jamie Gostyla laced a double to right center to send Ross on her way home. She would be stopped at home as Rabun threw to Brooke Flowers who in turn nailed a perfect throw to Scott, who made a spectacular play to tag the runner out and preserve the win.

Natalie Smith threw a complete game for the win to go to 11-4 on the year. Gostyla took the loss for the Seahawks to go to 9-17 on the year.

The Cougars and Seahawks will travel to Chattanooga May 8-10 for the Southern Conference Tournament.

UTC Back in Third Place After Softball Sweep
(May 3)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Lady Mocs softball team assured itself of a third-place finish in the Southern Conference standings by sweeping a doubleheader from Georgia Southern Saturday at Frost Stadium 5-2 and 3-0. UTC plays its final home game of the regular season on Sunday and Senior Day festivities will honor Awbrey Winckler, Jada Pescatore and Paige Cochrane prior to the 2 p.m. game.

The Lady Mocs (32-27 overall, 11-8 SoCon) were trailing Georgia Southern in the standings by a game, but UTC's sweep assured the hosts of third place regardless of Sunday's outcome. UTC will be the No. 3 seed in next week's SoCon Softball Tournament, which starts Thursday at Frost Stadium.

Outstanding pitching by Sara Meek and Awbrey Winckler, combined with timely hitting throughout the UTC order made for a successful afternoon. Winckler and Meek combined for 13 strikeouts, while Chattanooga made the most of its 10 total hits.

After spotting Georgia Southern a 1-0 lead on Janice Savage's RBI single in the first game, Chattanooga came back with three runs in the bottom of the second. The big blow was Teri Herbert's two-run, two-out single, and Chattanooga got a little help to keep the inning alive on a GSU error.

Jennifer Reed started the inning with a walk, then she stole second and moved to third on a groundout. One out later, Leslie Barron reached on the Eagles' miscue, which allowed Reed to score. Amanda Hoiness followed with an infield hit and Grace Pickett walked to load the bases. Herbert looped the first pitch in right field to score two.

In the third, Reed laced a one-out triple and scored on Jada Pescatore's sacrifice fly. GSU added a run in the fifth on Lindsay Jones' sacrifice fly, which chased home Julie Peel. UTC got the run right back on Melissa Ramirez's screaming solo home run to right, her ninth homer of the season.

Meek moved her record to 14-10 by scattering six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. GSU's Tiffany Urena (11-7) took the loss and the Eagles' Savage was 2-for-3 in the game.

Winckler and Savage were locked in a pitcher's battle into the fourth inning of the second game when Chattanooga struck for all its runs. UTC did not have a hit until Ramirez opened the fourth with a double to right-center, her league-leading 17th two-bagger of the year. Reed, UTC's RBI leader, delivered again with a RBI single down the leftfield line.

UTC eventually loaded the bases with one out and scored its second run when Hoiness scooted home on a wild pitch. A GSU error allowed Paige Cochrane to score the third run.

That was more than enough for Winckler (17-14), who fanned nine and did not walk a batter while tossing her sixth shutout of the season. She only allowed five hits and did not advance a runner past second base until the seventh. Savage (10-9) took the loss despite giving up just four hits, while Julie Peel went 2-for-2 for the visitors.

GSU put together back-to-back hits in the seventh, but Cochrane kept the shutout intact by gunning down Kim Griffin at the plate. Lindsey Howard made a quick tag during the collision at the plate.