ETSU completes comeback against Vikings, falls to Tigers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 2, 2019) – The ETSU Bucs Softball team concluded the 2019 Tiger Classic on Saturday evening, splitting a pair of contests against Portland State and host Tennessee State. With the split, the Bucs run their record to 10-5-2 on the season, capping off the weekend with a 2-1 record. The Bucs were scheduled to play five total games, however two have been called due to weather, including tomorrow’s contest against North Alabama. 

Game 1: ETSU 6, Portland State 5
ETSU kicked off the scoring party in the bottom half of the second inning, plating three runs on two hits to take the 3-0 advantage. Tiffany Laughren (Erwin, Tenn.) provided the offense in the second inning with a two-out, two-run double to right center. Laughren later came around to score from third following a wild pitch.

Portland State scored five unanswered runs over the next four innings to take a 5-3 advantage. Two of the Vikings’ runs came in the top half of the sixth as Portland State laid claim to the late momentum swing. 

Down to their final two outs, the Bucs had runners on second and third with one away in the bottom half of the seventh, still trailing by two. ETSU pulled within one run as Malloree Schurr (Montgomery, Texas) lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home Demi Coleman (Maryville, Tenn.). The very next batter was Nikki Grupp (Jacksonville, Fla.), extending her hitting streak to 10 games with a game-tying, two-out RBI double to left center. Two batters later, Taylor Wright (Erwin, Tenn.) brought Grupp home with a walk-off single to right center, sealing the 6-5 come-from-behind victory for the Blue & Gold.

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Taylor Boling (Jasper, Ga.) (1-0)
» Loss: Katie Schroeder (4-4) 

Stat of the Game
The Bucs plated six runs on eight hits in the victory, none bigger than the three-run, four-hit seventh inning that propelled ETSU to the comeback win. 
 
Notables
» This was the first seventh-inning rally for the Bucs this season.
» Nikki Grupp’s double extended her hitting streak to 10 consecutive games.
» Wright and Kelly Warren (Mechanicsville, Va.) collected two hits apiece to lead the Bucs, while Laughren paced the team in RBIs with two.
» Taylor Boling earned the win for the Bucs, securing her second complete-game victory on the season.
» The Bucs claimed the first-ever meeting with the Vikings on Saturday. 

Game 2: Tennessee State 4, ETSU 3
The Tigers took the early advantage in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, plating two runs on three hits and one ETSU error in the bottom half of the first inning.

The Bucs scored the next three runs, first breaking through in the top of the third inning as Schurr laced a bases-loaded RBI single through the right side of the infield, bringing home Coleman to cut the deficit in half. The very next inning, Warren tied the contest up with a one-out, RBI single to second base, bringing home Julia Fritz (Glen Allen, Va.) from third. The spurt was capped off by another Schurr RBI single in the sixth inning, this time sending Warren across the plate for the 3-2 advantage. 

However, the Tigers tied the game up with back-to-back-to-back singles to open up the bottom half of the sixth inning. Two batters later with two outs in the inning, Tennessee State took the lead as a costly ETSU error allowed the Tigers to bring a runner home from second for the 4-3 lead, an advantage that they would not relinquish.

Pitchers of Record
» Win: Megan Huppee (1-1)
» Loss: Kelly Schmidt (Norcross, Ga.) (4-3)
» Save: Raven Loveless (1) 

Stat of the Game
Despite the loss, the Bucs outhit the Tigers 9-7, including 8-4 in the last five innings of play. 
 
Notables
» Grupp saw her 10-game hitting streak come to an end against the Tigers, finishing 0-for-3 at the dish with one walk.
» Schurr and Warren connected for two hits apiece, while Schurr accounted for two of the team’s three RBIs.
» Kelly Schmidt falls to 4-3 on the season, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings of work.
» The Bucs fall to 1-4 all-time against in-state opponent, Tennessee State.

Record Update
» ETSU: 10-5-2
» Portland State: 6-8
» Tennessee State: 2-6 

Up Next
The Bucs will compete in their first midweek action of the season on Wednesday, March 6 when ETSU travels to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on USC Upstate in a doubleheader. The first game is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Cyrill Softball Stadium. 

Keeping up with the Bucs
For complete information on ETSU softball, follow the program via social media on Twitter (@ETSUSoftball), Instagram (@etsubucssoftball) and Facebook (@BucSoftball). For more information on Buccaneer softball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the softball link.