Friday, May 13, 2005

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (May 13, 2005) - The eighth-seeded Furman Paladins defeated number four East Tennessee State 4-3 in the consolation bracket of the Southern Conference Softball Championship Friday afternoon at Patriots Point Athletic Complex in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

 

Furman improves to 13-46, while the Buccaneers fall to 25-33.

 

The Bucs started the scoring in the top of the third inning, taking a 1-0 lead. Janine Sprague (Hillsborough, N.C.) led off the inning with a double. Sprague moved to third on a wild pitch before Danielle Spetar (Knoxville, Tenn.) drew a walk to set up a double steal, scoring Sprague.

 

Furman answered back in the bottom of the third scoring two runs to take the 2-1 lead. Amber Nelson got things going with a double through the left side. Two batters later, Joni Lockridge drew a walk, followed by an RBI single by Jessica Matthews, scoring Nelson. Megan Jaudon added a run with a single of her own, plating Lockridge.

 

In the top of the fifth, ETSU put one run on the board to knot the game at 2-2.  Spetar reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a double by Lindsay Lane.

 

East Tennessee State added a run in the top of the sixth to retake the lead, 3-2. Stephanie Gaynord (Manassas, Va.) led the inning off with a single through the left side. Gaynord moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a RBI single by Amanda Haverman (Kirkwood, Mo).

 

The lead was short-lived as Furman scored two runs in the bottom half of the sixth, picking up the 4-3 win. With one out, Jaudon reached on a walk. Pinch running for Jaudon, Kristin Arnold moved to third on a single by Rachel Henley. The next batter, Jessica Palmer, drove in Jaudon and Henley with a double to center field.

 

Henley picked up the win for Furman, improving to 9-24 on the year, while Brittany Lehrschall (Leland, N.C.) took the loss for ETSU, falling to 2-6 for the season. Offensively, Gaynord and Sprague recorded two hits each in the loss. 

 

Furman will now await the winner of the Chattanooga-Appalachian State game on Saturday, May 14 at 12:30.

 

 

--boxscore—

 

 

 

                                                    The Southern Conference

                                                 Furman at Coll. of Charleston

                                   May 12, 2005 at Mt. Pleasant, S.C. (Patriots Point Field)

 

  Furman 0 (12-46)                                                 Coll. of Charleston 4 (48-16)

 

  Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB           Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB

  ------------------------------------------------------           ------------------------------------------------------

  Amber Nelsen 3b..........  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0           Leshe' Russell rf........  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0

  Jessica Mathis lf........  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0           Bridget Loudermilk 2b....  2  1  0  0   0  1  1  1   0

  Joni Lockridge ss........  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0           Jayme Durand c...........  3  1  1  0   0  0  3  0   0

  Jessica Matthews cf......  3  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   0           Berni Martinez 3b........  1  1  0  1   1  0  1  6   0

  Megan Jaudon c...........  1  0  0  0   2  0  6  0   0           S. Schlichenmayer lf.....  3  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   1

  Rachel Henley p..........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1           Jessica Lyness ss........  3  0  1  3   0  0  4  3   0

  Lynn Parmer 2b...........  2  0  0  0   0  1  2  3   1           Darcy Johnson cf.........  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2

  Danielle Franklin rf.....  2  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   1           Erica Nabors dh..........  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0

  Blake Murray dh..........  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0           Renee Francis 1b.........  2  1  0  0   0  0 12  0   0

  Lyndy Wilcox 1b..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  4  1   0           Rachael Stern p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0

  Totals................... 22  0  1  0   2  3 18  5   3           Totals................... 21  4  3  4   1  6 21 13   3

 

  Score by Innings                  R  H  E

  -----------------------------------------

  Furman.............. 000 000 0 -  0  1  1

  Coll. of Charleston. 000 004 X -  4  3  0

  -----------------------------------------

 

  E - Nelsen. LOB - FUR 3; COFC 3. 2B - Lyness. HBP - Loudermilk; Martinez. SH - Russell.

 

  Furman                 IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF                   Coll. of Charleston    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF

  -----------------------------------------------                  -----------------------------------------------

  Rachel Henley.......  6.0  3  4  0  1  6 21 25                   Rachael Stern.......  7.0  1  0  0  2  3 22 24

 

  Win - Stern (28-9).  Loss - Henley (8-24).  Save - None.

  HBP - by Henley (Loudermilk); by Henley (Martinez).

  Umpires - HP: Larry McCaden  1B: Betsy Kidd  3B: Ed Clark

  Start: 5:56   Time: 1:21   Attendance: 276

  Game: SOCON4