Friday, February 27, 2015

Trojans Sweep in Day One of Stetson Invitationa

DeLand, FLORIDA – The Troy softball team won both its games by a run rule Friday at Patricia Williams Field in DeLand, Fla., by defeating Alabama State, 11-3, in the first game and defeating Colgate, 9-1, in the second.

Khadija Neely had a great day at the plate as she went 6-for-7 with three runs scored and six RBIs. Neely also hit her first career home run in walk-off fashion in the fifth inning against Colgate to give the Trojans a 9-1 victory.

Troy 11, Alabama State 3

The Trojans (10-7) scored 12 runs on 11 hits against the Hornets and have outscored Alabama State 36-7 on the season.

Troy struck first with a run in the second inning off a Carli Kayler double.

The Trojans tacked on four more runs in the top of the third, all coming with two outs. Kayler drove in her second run of the day after getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Khadija Neely then ripped a 2-1 pitch to right field for a three-run double to clear the bases and put the Trojans up 5-0.

Alabama State (3-13) scored one run in the third, fourth and fifth innings to keep the game from getting out of hand, but Troy scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning on a string of base hits.

Neely doubled to right-center field to drive in her fourth run of the game and give the Trojans a 9-3 lead. Jaycee Affeldt followed by driving in Neely with a single of her own, and Chelsea Eytel gave Troy an eight-run lead with a single up the middle to drive in Affeldt.

Sara Mock (1-4), who got her first win of the season, pitched five innings and only gave up three runs on five hits and struck out four. Affeldt came in to pitch the final inning as she gave up one hit and struck out one.

Neely had three hits and drove in four runs in the game. Kayler went 1-for-3 in the game with two RBIs. Kate Benton went 3-for-5 and scored twice.

Michelle Phelps blasted her fourth home run of the year and drove in two runs in the game.

Troy 9, Colgate 1

Khadija Neely hit her first career home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Trojans a 9-1 walk-off win against Colgate. Becca Hartley hit her second home run of the season, a three-run shot, in the same inning.

Colgate (0-1) struck first by manufacturing a run with a base hit, stolen base, wild pitch and sac fly in the first inning.

Troy scored nine unanswered runs starting with two in the bottom of the first. Kate Benton tied the game as she scored on a wild pitch. Amanda Winters gave the Trojans the lead, 2-1, by driving in Hannah Day with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Benton led the scoring rally in the third inning, as she scored again on a wild pitch. Troy added another run on the same sequence, a sacrifice fly by Winters to center field to score Day and give Troy a 4-1 lead. Neely came through again as she roped a double to right center to score Hartley.

Ashley Rainey (5-1) earned the win, as she pitched five innings and only allowed one run on three hits. Rainey struck out seven Raiders, which set new single game high in strikeouts for her this season.

Troy will hit the field tomorrow for the second day of play at the Stetson Invitational, and will face Colgate again at 10 a.m. and then face host, Stetson at 3 p.m.

For more information on Troy softball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow us on Twiter at @TroyTrojansSB.

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Rathburn's Walk-Off Double Propels No. 24 Jag Softball Past Charleston Southern

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 24 University of South Alabama softball sophomore Chloe Rathburn scored freshman Kaleigh Todd from second with a seventh-inning, walk-off double to give the Jaguars a 3-2 win over Charleston Southern on Friday to open the 2015 Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C.

Todd reached first when CSU second baseman Stevi Johnson dropped a throw to the bag and advanced to second on USA junior center fielder Stephanie Pilkington's single down the left line. Rathburn then went to deep center with her team-leading 14th RBI of the year to allow Todd around.

The victory marks South Alabama's third of the walk-off variety this season.

"I thought it was a well-played game," said USA head coach Becky Clark. "[We] played some pretty good defense. The defense had pressure applied to them, and they rose to the occasion. Offensively, we had some good at bats when we had a chance to break it open. We just didn't get the hit that we needed; that's going to happen sometimes.

"We're just looking to improve with every game this weekend," she concluded. "That wasn't our best, but we're going to try to continue to get better and better each time we go out."

USA (12-3) outhit the Buccaneers, 7-3, in the contest, as seven different Jaguars recorded a hit apiece. Junior third baseman Emily Messer was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Pilkington was 1-for-2 with a walk, reaching for the 15th time in as many games this year.

Freshman Kalen McGill (6-0) earned the win after pitching an inning in relief, striking out a batter to end the top of the seventh after dealing a leadoff walk and a single. Starters Devin Brown went six frames, striking out six to four walks and allowing a pair of runs (both earned) on as many hits.

CSU's Jennifer Giles took the loss, falling to 3-2 on the year after giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits, while striking out two to four walks.

USA jumped ahead to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when senior left fielder Blair Johnson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Messer from third after she led off with a single through the left side. Todd drew a walk before she and Messer moved up a base apiece on Pilkington sacrifice bunt. Rathburn drew a walk to load the bags for Johnson.

The Jaguars doubled their lead in the bottom of the fourth when pinch-runner Gwen Jones came around on Messer's sacrifice fly to left field. Jones came on for senior first baseman Amanda Herron, who singled to center field. Jones stole third after moving to second on senior catcher Alex Breeden's single through the left side.

Charleston Southern knotted scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning on Cheyenne Gandara's two-run home run, which also plated Johnson, who was dealt a leadoff walk.

The Jaguars face Tennessee State at 9 a.m. CT on Saturday. A link to live stats can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the official USA softball handle, @USAJaguarSports.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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Georgia State Softball: Thorpe and Worley Dominate; Offense Explodes for 22 runs; GSU Wins Two

What you need to know:
* Panthers won by a combined 22-3 over FGCU and Eastern Michigan to increase winning streak to six.
* Taylor Thorpe picked up a complete-game win over FGCU to remain undefeated and improve to 4-0.
* Katie Worley shutdown Eastern Michigan in Game 2 to earn her first win of the year.
* Georgia State returns to the field tomorrow at 12 p.m. to face East Carolina before battling Villanova.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Behind outstanding pitching performances by Taylor Thorpe and Katie Worley, the Georgia State softball team exploded to two wins on the first day of the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla.

“Today the team accomplished all three elements of our formula: defense, offense and pitching,” head coach Roger Kincaid said. “The pitchers did a great job and we got timely hits all day. Plus it was also nice to play from in front for a change.”

Thorpe picked up her fourth win while Worley get her first win of the season. GSU increased its winning streak to six and the Panthers improved to 9-2 overall. Callie Alford went 5-for-6 at the plate, drove in five RBI and scored four more.

Ashley Christy and Ivie Drake also had a great day at the plate. Christy blasted two triples to go with four RBI and two runs scored. Drake finished with four hits, five RBI and three runs scored.

Game 1

Georgia State scored seven in the third, four in the fourth and four in the fifth en route to a 16-2 run-rule victory over FGCU. This equaled GSU’s highest scoring output of the season thus far.

“I am extremely pleased with Taylor’s performances in the circle so far this season,” Kincaid said. “She is off to a great start and we hope she can maintain this momentum.”

Christy and Mallory Koepke led the way with three RBI each while Kensey Caldwell, Drake and Kristin Hawkins all drove in two. Alford went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and one RBI. Morgan Brown, Christy, Drake and Megan Litumbe all scored twice.

The Panthers jumped out to an early lead with one run in the top of the first, but FGCU responded with two in the bottom of the second to take a 2-1 lead. Georgia State then scored seven runs in the top of the third to reclaim the lead. Drake, Caldwell and Christy all drove in two in the frame.

Starting pitcher Thorpe then slammed the door on the Eagles offense. She allowing just one base runner in the final three innings en route to her second complete-game victory of the season. She also remained undefeated and improved to 4-0 this season.

Game 2

Behind five runs in the first inning, Georgia State defeated East Michigan 6-1 to go 2-0 on the first day of the USF Under Armour Invitational. Worley scattered five hits over 6.2 innings while striking out five in her longest outing of the season.

“This was Katie’s longest outing in nearly a year and it could not have come at a better time. We are starting to see glimpses of the Katie Worley that won 15 games and was an all-conference selection as a freshman.”

Taylor Anderson and Brown opened the game with back-to-back singles. Lauren Coleman then drew a walk to load the bases before Alford was walked to plate a run. Drake then doubled to left center to clear the bases and put GSU up 4-0. Drake later scored to cap the inning and give the Panthers a 5-0 lead they would not relinquish.

The Panthers added a single run in the second before four scoreless frames ended the game. Worley allowed just five base runners over the final four innings and escaped a bases loaded jam in the fifth without giving up an earned run.

GSU returns to the field Saturday, Feb. 28 for games against East Carolina at 12:15 p.m. and Villanova at 2:45 p.m.?

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Multi-Home Run Day for Navarrete Lifts Warhawks to DH Split

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Redshirt senior Miyuki Navarrete had her first career multi-home run game as the Warhawks (13-4) split the doubleheader of day one of the Alexis Park Resort Classic at Eller Media Stadium.

Navarrete powered the offense in game one of the match up picking up two hits, three RBI and scoring two runs. Freshman Cheyanne Lyon led the charge in game two with two hits, two RBI and a run scored.

Freshman Paige Ported picked up her sixth victory on the season in the 3-1 victory over Idaho State as the Warhawk pitching staff combined for seven innings of scoreless softball on the day.

Game One vs. Idaho State (W, 3-1)
Idaho State (7-9) got on the board first, but Navarrete hit home runs in back-to-back at bats for her first multi-home run game of her career to lift the Warhawks to a 3-1 victory.

Navarrete went 2-for-4 picking up her second and third homers of the season and racking up three RBI on the game.

Sophomore Melanie Coyne went five innings of four-hit, one-run softball, striking out four Idaho State batters.

Porter picked up the win, her sixth of the year, going two innings of relief allowing a lone hit and striking out one.

After exchanging two scoreless innings, Idaho State would get on board after drawing a walk and a two-out single (0-1 Idaho State).

The Warhawks would answered in the top of the fifth inning as Navrrete led off with a homerun to left field, her second on the season, to tie the game at 1-all.

The game remained locked until the seventh inning as senior Mackenzie Miller got aboard with a one-out single to left field. Navarrete homered for a second time, this time to left center field, to lift the Warhawks to a 3-1 victory.

Game Two vs. New Mexico State (L, 6-7)
A back-and-forth battle between the Warhawks and New Mexico State (11-7) ended with ULM taking the loss and splitting the first day of the Alexis Park Resort Classic.

Lyon led the ULM offense going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Three other Warhawks picked up RBI on the night.

Porter made her ninth start on the year going one inning, before senior Jessica Coliver came in to pitch four innings of scoreless softball. Coyne picked up the loss after going two innings in relief to move to 2-2 on the year.

New Mexico State struck first get two on with a double to center and a walk with one out. The Warhawks would snag a pop up in the infield for the second out, but a drop fly would send a run home (0-1 NMST).

A single through the right side would score a second run and put the Aggies up 0-2 heading to the bottom of the first.

The Warhawks would battle back in the bottom of inning with Navarrete reaching second on an Aggie throwing error. Sophomore Rochelle Roberts bunt single would put runners on the corners with no outs.

Roberts picked up her 14th stolen base to put two Warhawks in scoring position as junior Faith Bohack laid down the sacrifice bunt with one-out to score Navarrete (1-2 NMST).

Lyon singled through the right side to bring home Roberts and tie the game at 2-all.

Junior Amye Barre and senior Molly Mackey exchanged back-to-back doubles to give ULM a 4-2 advantage. Freshman Megan Long would reach on a fielding error leading to Mackey scoring on a second fielding error on the play, putting the Warhawks up 5-2 after one.

The Aggies led off the second inning with three straight hits to bring home one run (5-3 ULM). New Mexico State then used back-to-back sacrifice flies to tie up the game at 5-all after two innings.

After exchanging two scoreless innings, the Warhawks regained the lead in the fifth inning. Senior Alexis Cacioppo led the charge with a single to right side followed by a walk from Bohack.

ULM went for the double steal, but Cacioppo was thrown out at third leaving Bohack at second. Lyon doubled to center field to bring home Bohack and regain a 6-5 Warhawk lead.

The Aggies singled to right to lead off the sixth inning followed by a home run from Corrin Green to put New Mexico State back on top with the decisive 6-7 advantage.

The Warhawks open Saturday’s round of the Alexis Park Resort Classic taking on Wisconsin at 3:30 p.m. (CST) and closing the day with a match up with tournament host UNLV at 8 p.m. (CST).

For the latest on ULM softball, visit ULMWarhawks.com and follow the team on Twitter (@ULM_Softball) and Facebook (facebook.com/ULMSoftball).

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Appalachian State Softball Splits Twinbill at Adidas Tournament

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Appalachian State University softball split a pair of games to open up the Adidas Tournament on Friday afternoon. App State downed Hartford 7-2 and then fell to USC Upstate by the same score.

Game One: App State 7, Hartford 2

The Mountaineers (6-7) got on the board first in the third inning of the game. Appalachian would load the bases on singles from Cynthia Gomez and Dani Heichen, while also getting Sarah Warnock on base after she was hit by the pitch.

Freshman Haley Stewart hit a sac fly to center field for a 1-0 lead. With all of the runners advancing, Caroline Chambers sprayed a single into right field to drive in two more runs and stake the Apps to a 3-0 advantage.

After the Hawks plated one run in the bottom half, App State responded with two more runs on a two-run homer off the bat of Warnock. The home run was the first of the season for the senior and just the seventh of her career.

Hartford would also push one across in the inning, but the Mountaineers would put the game out of reach with two more in the sixth. Heichen led off the inning with a single and then Warnock doubled her in for a 6-2 lead.

Following the Warnock double, Ashley Seering tripled to right field and put the game even more out of reach at 7-2.

Heichen and Warnock led the Apps offensively against the Hawks. Heichen finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored and a stolen base, while Warnock went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored to go with her home run and double.

The four-hit game for Heichen tied a career-high and the senior almost made it a five-hit performance on a really close play at first base. In total, six Mountaineers garnered hits in the 11-hit outburst. The 11 hits for Appalachian ties a season-high.

Katherine Johnson got the start and went two innings, allowing two hits and giving up one earned run. In four innings of relief, Vanessa Ciocatto gave up just three hits and one earned run. Alissa Schoelkopf pitched the final inning of the game and let up no hits or runs.

Game Two: USC Upstate 7, App State 2

In the Mountaineers second game of their doubleheader, they found themselves in a 5-0 hole after just two innings. The Spartans plated two runs in the opening inning and three in the second.

That 5-0 lead would hold until the fourth inning when the Apps finally broke through and Seering ripped a two-run single to the base of the wall in left center field. Seering was out on the play attempting to stretch it to a double.

Heichen again was an offensive leader for App State, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. Seering went 1-for-3 with two RBI.

Johnson pitched one inning and allowed three hits and two runs. Schoelkopf pitched the bulk of the contest with the middle four innings and allowed four runs on four hits, while fanning four Spartan hitters. Kaitlin Williford came in for the final inning and gave up one run on one hit.

The Black and Gold will return to a different diamond tomorrow, on the campus of Winthrop University, for their final two games of the tournament. The Mountaineers face-off against Wagner at 10 a.m. and finish with a game against Austin Peay at 3 p.m.

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Texas State Softball Drops A Pair Against SIUE And Samford

AUBURN, Ala. – The Texas State softball team fell in a pair of contests Friday afternoon, dropping game one to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville by a score of 10-2 before succumbing to Samford by a 2-1 margin in the night cap. The Bobcats move to 9-10 overall in the young 2015 season.

Kelli Baker and Courtney Harris led the way offensively for the Bobcats as each recorded three hits on the day. Both players recorded a team-high two hits each in the contest against Samford.

Game one was highlighted by a pair of solo home runs by Harris and Kendall Wiley, both of which occurred in the fourth inning of play. Wiley’s home run was her eighth of the season, which now puts her in a tie for eighth all-time for most home runs in a season.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville jumped on the board first, scoring five runs in the top of the first inning and one in the top of the second on six hits.

After scoring two in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 6-2 ballgame, Texas State held SIUE scoreless until the top of the sixth inning when the Cougars tacked on four more run to take an eight run lead over the Bobcats. Texas State put the ball in play three times in the bottom of the sixth, but all three we fielded for outs to end the contest by way of the run rule.

Taylor Webb was handed the loss in game one after putting in 6.0 innings of work while striking out one.

Texas State got on the board first in game two as Harris singled to right field to score Baker, who led the game off with a single.

The Bobcats maintained the 1-0 lead until the bottom of the third when Samford’s Caroline Wilder tripled down the right field line to score two.

The score after three innings would prove to be the final score as the Bobcats we unable to tally any more runs on three hits throughout the rest of the contest. Randi Rupp put in 6.0 innings in the circle for Texas State in the loss while allowing six hits and five strikeouts.

The Bobcats will conclude play at the Wilson/DeMarini Classic tomorrow morning with back-to-back games against Connecticut. First pitch against the Huskies is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. with game two to follow at 12:15 p.m. Live stats will be available at www.txstatebobcats.com.

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Georgia Southern Softball Drops 14-10 Loss to Illinois, Falls 3-2 at USF to Open the Weekend in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. – Georgia Southern Softball suffered a pair of losses on the opening day of the USF Under Armour Invitational. In game one, the Eagles scattered double digit hits, but were were plagued by fielding errors in a 14-10 loss to Illinois. In game two, a rejuvenated Eagle squad dropped a 3-2 loss to host South Florida thanks to a walk-off home run in the seventh inning.

“We didn’t play well in the first game, but I thought we responded well in the second game,” said Head Coach Annie Smith. “We played the kind of game we needed to play if we want to compete at the level we need to compete at. We hit well all day, and our defense was a lot better in that second game. The USF game was one of the best defensive games we played, so I’m happy with that, and we need to build on that through the rest of the weekend.”

GAME ONE – GS 10 – ILL 14

The Eagles had 14 hits in game one, but committed 4 errors en route to a 14-10 setback at the hands of the Fighting Illini.

In the bottom of the first, Emily Snider roped a triple down the right field line. An infield ground ball from Alesha Mann wasn’t enough to plate Snyder who was cut down at the plate trying to score.

The Eagle offense was able to score the game’s first run in the second when Morgan Robinson and Lindsey Wilcox combined for back-to-back doubles to get the Eagles off the mark. Lexi Allen moved Wilcox to third, and an AJ Hamilton double to the gap sent Wilcox home to give the Eagles an early 2-0 advantage.

In the top of the 3rd, the Illini played small ball to load the bases with no outs. The Eagles retired the next two batters in order before Jess Perkins cleared the bases when she tagged a ball off the wall in left for a three-RBI double. The Eagles got out of the inning one batter later, but the damage was done as Illinoi took a 3-2 lead

Robinson delivered an RBI single in the third to score Taylor Rogers who opened the frame with a leadoff single. Illinois, however, scored four in the fourth to stretch their lead to 7-3 in the middle of the fourth.

In the bottom half of the 4th, Lexi Allen reached third base thanks to a single, stolen base, and a wild pitch. Breanna Mclendon delivered an RBI single to right to plate Allen. Illinois answered in the top of the fifth with a run of their own, taking advantage of a Georgia Southern fielding error to make the score 8-4.

Allen drove in two more runs in the bottom of the fifth she drove in Macy Weeks who ran for Robinson following her walk. The Eagle second baseman lifted a home run to left to score two and slice the Illini lead to 8-6 through five complete.

Illinois plated four runs in the sixth and batted around with a pair of hits and an Eagle error to take a commanding 12-6 advantage with six outs remaining for Georgia Southern.

A leadoff single for Rogers opened the door for the Eagles to load the bases in the home half of the sixth for Wilcox. She blasted her second home run of the season down the left field line for the Eagles’ second grand slam this season. Her big shot cut the lead to 12-10 as the game went to a decisive seventh frame.

The Eagles got two early outs, but Illinois struck two out lightning to plate two more runs in the inning and push the lead to 14-10 with Georgia Southern coming to the plate for the final time.

In the bottom of the seventh, a walk to McLendon was all the offense could produce as the Eagles were held hitless for the first time in an inning for the game. Despite 14 total hits, the Eagles dropped the 14-10 decision to the Illini.

GAME TWO – GS 2 – USF 3

In Friday’s second game the Eagles scattered eight hits behind a pair from Rogers and Allen. Ultimately, a walk-off home run for USF was the difference as the Eagles fell to 0-2 on the day. Friday’s game was the first meeting of the schools since the 2013 NCAA Tournament Gainesville Regional when the Eagles twice fell to the Bulls in one-run contests.

USF drew first blood in the second when a fielding error opened the door for an unearned run to score off a single from Krysten Wyckoff.

The Eagles came alive at the plate in the top of the third as they scored two runs on three hits. Rogers got things started when she singled to shortstop. Robinson singled to third later in the inning to put runners on the corners for Wilcox who drew a walk to load the bases. Allen stroked a single to right to score Rogers, while Mann plated Robinson from third with an infield ground out. The runs cut the lead to 2-1.

USF tied the score at 2-2 with a run in the fifth, but Eagle starting pitcher Kierra Camp held the Bulls in check through six complete. Ultimately, Julie Weber ended the contest with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 7th to give USF the win, 3-2.

Camp went the distance, but took the loss for the Eagles. She held USF to five hits and recorded three strikeouts on the day.

The Eagles have two games set for Saturday with a 10 a.m. contest against Maine opening the day, followed by a 12:15 game against Rhode Island. The weekend concludes on Sunday against Villanova at 11:30 a.m. All three games will be played in Clearwater, Fla.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.