SoCon Softball Results, Friday, March 12

Elon 5, Stony Brook 3
Appalachian State 1, Seton Hall 0 (8)

BURLINGTON, N.C. - Elon and Appalachian State tallied opening round success at the third annual Elon Phoenix Classic softball tournament Friday afternoon at Burlington City Park. The Phoenix held off Stony Brook 5-3 while the Mountaineers overcame Seton Hall 1-0 in eight innings.

Elon (16-4-1) erupted for a four-run fourth inning to stake a 4-0 advantage en route to its 11th triumph in 12 games and fifth in a row. Paige Goss (3-for-4, run), Meredith Miley (3-for-3, run, RBI, double), Jessica Swearengin (2-for-3, run, RBI, SB) and Natalie Layden (2-for-3) keyed the Phoenix, who out-hit the Seawolves 12-7 and stranded nine base runners to five for Stony Brook.

The Seawolves (2-9), who committed the contest's only two errors, were led by Kristen Brust (2-for-3, two runs, double). Stony Brook pitcher Angela Andrews (1-6) did not issue a walk in the loss while surrendering three earned runs and fanning five batters in the Seawolves' six innings in the field.

Phoenix starter Meredith Gay (3-2) went five and 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and one free pass to go with six strikeouts. Elon closer Jennifer Lamb permitted one hit and one walk in an inning and 1/3 to earn her fourth save of the season.

Appalachian State (7-12) ended a scoreless, extra-inning deadlock in the bottom of the eighth when Christa Hicks singled home Amber Handy from second base. The hit marked the second of the contest for Hicks. Handy, Beth McSwain, Lindsay Glover and Candace Shelton all logged base hits for the Mountaineers.

ASU pitcher Jordan Arnold (3-2) out-dueled Seton Hall's Jessica Jones (3-1), who fanned seven Mountaineers. The Pirates (10-4) received hits from McKenzie Richards and Kate DePaul, who doubled.

In the late afternoon games, Elon faces Seton Hall and Appalachian State plays Stony Brook. The four-team, three-day event then continues on Saturday and concludes on Sunday.


Seton Hall 5, Elon 0
Stony Brook 4, Appalachian State 3

BURLINGTON, N.C. - Seton Hall and Stony Brook both rebounded from first-round setbacks to post second-round victories, concluding opening day action of the Elon Phoenix Classic softball tournament Friday at Burlington City Park. The Pirates stopped Elon 5-0 while the Seawolves edged Appalachian State 4-3.

Seton Hall (11-4) lefty Megan Meyer (8-0) hurled a two-hit, one walk gem at the Phoenix (16-5-1), who lost for the first time in six games. Meyer, the reigning Big East Pitcher of the Week, collected nine strikeouts in seven innings while Phoenix pitcher Whitney Meeks (7-2) scattered five earned runs on nine hits and three walks over seven frames.

The Pirates touched Meeks for one run in the third inning and another in the sixth to take a 2-0 edge into the final frame, in which they exploded for three more scores. Seton Hall stranded nine base runners to three for the Phoenix, who committed the contest's lone error.

McKenzie Richards (2-for-4, run, double, SB), Katie Pierce (2-for-3, run, RBI, BB, SB), D'arcy Djakalovic (2-for-3, RBI, BB) and Laura Taylor (1-for-4, run, two RBIs, HR) swung the hottest bats for the Pirates. Jenny Gustin (1-for-2, double, BB) and Christina Melton (1-for-3) rapped hits for Elon.

Stony Brook fashioned a 3-1 lead by scoring three times in the bottom of the first inning, but Appalachian State scored twice in the third to tie the contest. A run by the Seawolves in the bottom of the fifth would stand up to eventually determine the outcome.

Kristen Brust blasted a two-run homer in the first to pace the Stony Brook offense. Sarah Gough and Diana Cook smacked doubles for the Mountaineers.

With all four teams sporting an even 1-1 record in the event so far, tournament action resumes Saturday at noon. Elon faces Appalachian State while Seton Hall meets Stony Brook to complete the round-robin portion of the tournament. Semi-final action takes place at 2 p.m. Saturday and both the
championship and consolation games start at noon Sunday.



College of Charleston 2, UAB 1 (8)
East Carolina 1, College of Charleston 0 (8)

Mt. Pleasant, S.C. - Jacquie Rothey drove home Brooke Flowers to give the College of Charleston a 2-1 extra inning win over UAB in the first day of the Cougar Classic. The Cougars lost to East Carolina 1-0 in extra innings to start the day.

The Cougars and Blazers were scoreless through seven innings and the teams went to extra innings. In the top of the eighth, UAB went ahead 1-0 after Carrie Christophel knocked in Allison Davis who was placed at second.

Charleston rallied in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game up when Marko Smith scored on a throwing on a error after she was also placed on second base due to tiebreaker rules. After Leshe Russell advanced Brooke Flowers to third, Rothey flied out to left driving in Flowers for the winning run. The Cougars improved to 13-8 with the non-conference win.

In the first game of the day, East Carolina and Charleston remained scoreless for seven innings and went to extra frames. Christine Sheridian hit a sharp line drive down the right field line to drive home Krista Jessup. The Pirates improved to 19-5-1 on the day and also downed Bowling Green 2-0.

The Cougars take on Bowling Green tomorrow at 11:00 at Patriots Point in the second day of the tournament. East Carolina and Bowling Green get the day started at 9:00. Bracketed double elimination play starts at 3:00.


UNC Greensboro 3, Mount St. Mary