ETSU drops two games Saturday at Buccaneer Invitational

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Feb. 18, 2017) – Senior Taylor Carter (Brazil, Ind.) belted a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning, but despite having the tying run at second, ETSU couldn’t rally past Charleston Southern as CSU held on for a 4-3 win on Saturday at the Buccaneer Invitational. Earlier in the day, the Bucs fell 9-0 in five innings to Virginia at the CSU Softball Complex. 

After winning four of their first five games to start the season, ETSU has now dropped its last four and sits 4-5 on the season. 

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN RECAP

Taylor Carter’s three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning pulled ETSU within a run of Charleston Southern, but the Bucs were unable to complete the comeback as CSU held on for a 4-3 victory at the CSU Softball Complex. 

Despite being held scoreless for the first six innings, the Bucs’ offense came to life in their final at-bat; however, ETSU couldn’t inch past Charleston Southern. Carter connected on her second home run of the season when her three-run blast scored pinch runners Renae Spears (Memphis, Tenn.) and Brooke Baxter (Jasper, Tenn.), but with two on and two out, Holly Clark induced Nikki Grupp (Jacksonville, Fla.) to hit into an game-ending ground out to third. 

Five Buccaneers accounted for their five hits as Taylor Wright (Erwin, Tenn.) – who led off the seventh inning with a single – was joined by Mykeah Johnson (Cohutta, Ga.), Cassi Pickett (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Danielle Knoetze (San Diego, Calif.) and Carter to all post a hit for the Blue and Gold. Johnson reached base three times as she walked twice, while Pickett also walked to set up the Carter homer in the seventh. Carter’s home run was the 24^th of her career, which is one behind Stephanie Gaynord (2004-07) for second all-time. 

The Bucs left six runners stranded and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-13 with runners on base. 

Junior Madison Ogle (Maryville, Tenn.) suffered the loss (1-2) as she was charged with four runs on six hits with three walks in 5.1 innings. Senior Rebecca Wahrmund (Morrilton, Ark.) entered out of the bullpen to retire the final two outs in the sixth inning. 

Charleston Southern scored three of its four runs via the home run as Caitlyn Emberson registered a two-run shot in the first and Stephanie Bergmann added a solo homer in the fifth. CSU added its second run in the fifth inning when Stevi Johnson tripled and scored on a wild pitch. 

Like the Bucs, Charleston Southern had six different batters generate its six hits, while Arizona Pilgrim earned the win (2-2) and Clark picked up her second save of the year. Pilgrim allowed three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings. 

Charleston Southern moved to 5-5 after the win. 

VIRGINIA RECAP

Virginia scored three runs in the top of the first and that was all the offense needed for Lacy Smith as she tossed a two-hit shutout en route to lifting the Cavaliers to a 9-0 five-inning victory. 

Emma Martindale (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Quinn Giesick (Bakersfield, Calif.) accounted for the hits for the Blue and Gold, while freshman Kelly Schmidt (Norcross, Ga.) suffered the loss (0-1) in her first collegiate start. Schmidt allowed three runs (one earned) on one hit with two wild pitches before being lifted without recording an out in the first inning. 

Smith – who tossed a scoreless inning against the Bucs on Friday – improved to 1-1 following the win. The Virginia pitcher struck out five and walked three in five innings of work. Smith also homered and drove in the two runs that ended the game via the run rule in the fifth. Olivia Gott added a homer for the second straight day, while six different Cavaliers accounted for the Virginia hits. 

The Bucs left six runners stranded – including two each in the first two innings – while Virginia scored its three first-inning runs on only one hit. The Cavaliers scored their first two runs on wild pitches and pushed across the third run on an RBI ground out back to the circle. 

From there, Gott homered in the third – and after plating two runs in the fourth – Ashley Davis doubled home a run in the fifth before Smith ended the game with her two-run homer to left-center. 

The Cavaliers improved to 4-4 with the nine-run victory. 

ETSU wraps up play at the Buccaneer Invitational on Sunday as the Bucs take on UNC Wilmington at 1 p.m. 

COVERAGE

Live stats for the entire weekend are be provided by Charleston Southern Athletics by visiting CSUSports.com or by clicking here to access the tournament central page.  

Twitter updates will also be available by following @ETSUSoftball.  

For more information on Buccaneer softball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the softball page.