Mt. PLEASANT, S.C. (Mar. 1, 2008) - The ETSU softball team first plated six runs in the first and tacked on seven more in the third en route to a 16-1 five-inning thumping over Marist, and followed that up with a hard-fought win over UNC-Wilmington, 3-2, on the second day of the College of Charleston Tournament Saturday from Patriot's Point Field.

In game one, ETSU batted 12 times and recorded six runs on six hits in the top of the first. Junior Jessie Hackworth (Clinton, Tenn.), Trisha Massenzo (Russellville, Tenn.), Caitlin Zyskowski (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Cheniece Cason (Moreno Valley, Calif.) each drove in runs, while Zyskowski's single to center scored a pair. The Grand Rapids native came around to score the final run of the inning when Vicki McCoy (Ringgold, Ga.) reached on an error.

The Lady Buccaneers broke the game open in the third as they batted around for the second time. ETSU pushed seven runs across the board on five hits and took advantage of some Marist pitching miscues. The Red Foxes walked two ETSU batters, hit one and allowed a run to score on a wild pitch. Then, with the based load, Hackworth drove in three runs with her double to center, pushing the Lady Buccaneer lead to 10-0. ETSU plated the 11^th run of the game on a Briana Knight (Brier, Wash.) sacrifice fly and Zyskowski made it 13-0 when she doubled home Massenzo and Katie Henderson (Jackson, Tenn.)

ETSU pushed the lead to 16-0 when Katy Jett (Talbott, Tenn.), Hackworth and Henderson each recorded RBIs in the fourth.

Sophomore Marissa Hardy (Rocklin, Calif.) tossed three hitless innings and struck out seven of the 11 Marist hitters she faced to earn her second win. Senior Amanda Haverman (Kirkwood, Mo.) entered in relief and tossed two innings of one-run ball.

Marist scored its lone run in the fifth on Kate Malloy's double to left field.

Hackworth and Zyskowski combined to go 6-for-8 with two doubles and nine RBIs. Hackworth was a perfect 4-for-4 and drove in five, while Zyskowski was 2-for-4.

In the nightcap the Lady Bucs rallied past the Seahawks, 3-2.

ETSU scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk away with the sweep. The Lady Bucs took full advantage of some UNCW errors as McCoy was hit by a pitch and Cason reached on an error. After a Kate Powell (Johnson City) walk, sophomore (Katy) Jett drove in the tying run on her a single to left-center and led to Hackworth being the hero. Hackworth came through in the clutch as her suicide squeeze play drove in (Cheniece) Cason for the game-winner.

Wilmington took the early 1-0 lead in the third, but ETSU tied things up in the bottom half of the inning when Cason scored on a Seahawk error. The Seahawks went up 2-1 in the sixth when Carley Hughes connected on a solo home run to left; however, they could not come away with the victory.

Hardy (3-2) earned her second win of the day after going the distance and striking out 11. For the day, the sophomore sensation struck out 18 in 10.0 IP and tied her career-high with the 11K's in game two.  

As a team, ETSU hit .418 (23-for-55) with four doubles and 16 RBIs. Cason extended her hit streak to five and Massenzo has hit safely in four straight.

The Softball Bucs have won three of the four games thus far in the tournament and improved to 6-10 this season.

ETSU closes out the three-day five-game tournament tomorrow afternoon when they take on Akron at noon.

For more information on Lady Buccaneer softball, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.