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Chattanooga, Furman Score Wins In SoCon Softball Tournament
GREENSBORO, N.C.- Chattanooga’s Katie Henderson (17-10) posted 15 strikeouts to set a new career-high and tie the Southern Conference Tournament record for single game strikeouts in Chattanooga’s 3-0 win over Appalachian State (19-31) in the opening game of the Southern Conference Softball Tournament on Wednesday.
Henderson went the distance in the circle for the Mocs (31-19), allowing six hits and no walks in the victory. She struck out 15 of the 27 batters she faced on the day.
After Henderson struck out the side in the top of the first, Sarah Beth Roberts sent the first pitch she saw from Appalachian State’s Sydney Laws over the right field fence to give the Mocs a 1-0 advantage.
Sam Taylor singled to left in the bottom of the fifth before advancing to second on a groundout by Roberts. Alyssa Taylor cracked a two-out single to bring Sam Taylor home and push the Mocs’ lead to 2-0.
In the top of the sixth, Cynthia Gomez singled up the middle, picking up her third hit of the game. Lindsay Loudermilk moved Gomez over with a single over her own before Cara Parker flew out to right field, advancing Gomez to third. The Mountaineers could not muster a run however, as Henderson struck out Seering to end the ending.
UTC’s Nicole Osterman singled to right to lead off the sixth. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Criket Blanco on the next at-bat, before moving to third on a passed ball. Senior Kaiti Dutton would push the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single to left center to score Dutton.
Henderson shut the door for the Mocs in the seventh, striking out the side to seal the win.
Gomez went 3-for-3 to lead the Appalachian State offense, while Loudermilk added a pair for the Mountaineers. Laws took the loss for the Mountaineers to fall to 5-9 on the year. She tossed 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits.
Chattanooga will play the winner of No. 3 Furman and No. 6 Western Carolina on Thursday at 2 p.m. The Mountaineers will play the loser of the Furman and Western Carolina matchup tomorrow at 9 a.m.
Furman 4, Western Carolina 3
GREENSBORO, N.C.- No. 3 Furman rallied back in late innings Wednesday afternoon to score a 4-3 win over No. 6 Western Carolina in the first round of the Southern Conference Championships. Down 3-0 entering the fourth inning, the Paladins plated four runs on five hits to hand the Catamounts their first loss of the tournament.
WCU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. On two outs, the Catamounts placed five consecutive batters on base via two hits, two hit-by-pitch and one error. Kara Salvo was plunked and Taylor Sigmon followed up with a single to board two. Heather Chastain reached on an error to load the bases and an RBI-single from Karley Harkey plated the first run of the game. The second run scored as Amber Kimrey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
A third Western Carolina run scored in the fourth with two more hits tacked onto its total. Kimrey led off the inning with a single to left-center and Amelia Griffin tripled home the centerfielder, stretching the Catamounts’ lead to 3-0.
Furman began its comeback in the bottom half of the fourth to cut the Cats’ lead to one run, driving home two runs on three hits. Elise Smith singled to lead it off and a groundout moved the runner to second. Ambree Muller doubled in the following at-bat to score the first run for the Paladins. Another Furman single – this time courtesy of Andrea Abbatiello – plated its second run of the inning.
Trailing just 3-2 going to the sixth, two hits and an error allowed Furman to jump ahead of WCU 4-3. An RBI-double from Natalie Clemmons tied the game and a throwing error allowed the go-ahead to score.
Starting pitcher Lauren Collier then retired the Catamount side in order to hammer down the win in the top of the seventh.
Furman is scheduled to take on No. 2 Chattanooga Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m., while Western Carolina is set to play at 9 a.m. against No. 7 Appalachian State.