Saturday, March 14, 2015
Drake Blast Four HRs; GSU Wins Two at Texas State
What you need to know:
* GSU improved to 18-2 with two wins over Texas State to continue its best start program history.
* The Panthers increased their record winning streak to 15 straight games.
* Ivie Drake launched four home runs, including a single-game record three in Game 1 and a grand slam in Game 2.
* Taylor Thorpe picked up her 10th win of the year and remained undefeated at 10-0.
Drake Blast Four HRs; GSU Wins Two at Texas State
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Behind four home runs by Ivie Drake, Georgia State improved to 18-2 overall and 5-0 in Sun Belt play with two wins on the road at Texas State on Saturday, March 14. GSU extends its record winning streak to 15 straight games.
“Today was a great day to be a Panther!” head coach Roger Kincaid said after the doubleheader sweep.
Drake finished the doubleheader with four home runs in five at-bats while driving in eight. She also drew three walks and scored five times. In Game 2, Drake hit a grand slam after Kensey Caldwell and Lauren Coleman both homer to complete the GSU comeback.
Game 1
Drake blasted a Georgia State single-game record three home runs and Thorpe picked up her 10th win of the season as GSU defeated Texas State 5-2.
Drake homer in all three of her at-bats and finished with four RBI to lead the Panthers at the plate. Thorpe scattered 7 hits over seven innings and improved to 10-0 with the victory. The win pushed GSU’s record winning streak to 14 straight games.
“I have been around some really good hitters but I don’t believe I have ever had a player see the ball that well in one game,” Kincaid said about Drake’s performance. “Ivie made three great swings and all three went over the fence. Her production has been unreal and we know she is only going to get better.”
Georgia State jumped in front early with three runs in the top of the first. Taylor Anderson walked and then scored on Callie Alford’s single. Drake then launched a two-run bomb to left to put GSU ahead 3-0.
Texas State got on the board with a single run in the bottom of the third to make it a 3-1 game. Drake then hit solo home runs in the top of the fourth and the sixth to establish a new single-game program record.
The Bobcats pulled one back with a home run in the seventh before Thorpe recorded the final two outs to complete the shutout and clinch the win.
Game 2
Three-run homers by Kensey Caldwell and Lauren Coleman in the sixth and seventh innings help Georgia State erase a 4-0 deficit and come from behind to defeat Texas State 13-4. The victory kept GSU’s winning streak alive at 15 in a row.
“This team knows they are never out of a game,” Kincaid said about the dramatic comeback in Game 2. “Our pitchers kept us in it by fighting and scrapping until we generated some offense. We know that anyone in the lineup can step up at any time. Today it was Kensey. She was seeing the ball really well in Game 1 and it was only a matter of time before something good happened.”
Texas State scored three in the first and one in the third to take a 4-0 lead after three. The Bobcats held that lead until the top of the sixth when GSU scored four runs. Drake led off the inning with a walk and scored on Callie Alford’s double to put the Panthers on the board.
Megan Litumbe then singled before Caldwell hit a three run homer, her first of the season, to tie the game at four. GSU then scored nine runs in the seventh to complete the comeback en route to the win. Drake and Alford started the rally with one-out walks. Coleman then blasted a home run to left to put the Panthers ahead 7-4.
“I have been coaching a long time and Lauren’s at-bat in the bottom of the seventh was one of the most clutch at-bats I have ever seen,” Kincaid said about his senior first baseman. “She was determined to make something happen which what she has done during her entire career.”
Three-straight singles loaded the bases before Morgan Brown walked to drive in Litumbe and Anderson then singled to plate Caldwell. Drake then cleared the bases with a grand slam to complete the rally.
“After her performance in Game 1, I am sure Texas State did not want to pitch to Ivie,” Kincaid said. “However, in that situation with the bases loaded they had to. She hit it out to slam the door.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Chelsea Stanfield escape a bases-loaded jam to end the game and secure the win. The victory was Stanfield’s fourth of 2015 as she improves to 4-2 this season.
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Troy Takes Series From Appalachian State
TROY, Alabama – The Troy softball team clinched its first Sun Belt Conference series win of the season as it defeated Appalachian State, 9-3 and 9-1, in a doubleheader Saturday at the Troy Softball Complex. The pair of wins marked the first conference wins for head coach Beth Mullins.
Hannah Day led Troy on the day as she went 4-for-6 with one triple and seven RBIs, five of which came in the first game. Day became the first Trojan to have five RBIs in a single game since 2013.
Troy 9, Appalachian State 3
Troy (14-12, 1-3 Sun Belt) broke open a 3-3 game as it knocked in six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure a 9-3 victory in game one of the doubleheader.
The sixth inning began with a walk by Ashley Rainey and stolen base by pinch runner Allison Moore. Moore scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
The Trojans added another run on a throwing error by the Mountaineers' shortstop. Day then singled through the right side, which scored two to give the Trojans a 7-3 lead. Michelle Phelps followed with her fifth home run of the season to clear the bases and gave the Trojans the victory.
Appalachian State (8-11, 0-4 SBC) scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning on a Tiffany Taynor single. Troy tied the game at one with a Day single to score Kate Benton.
The Mountaineers took back the lead in the top of the second inning with a solo home run to left center by Cara Parker. Troy responded by adding two more runs in the bottom of the second thanks to a two-run single by Day.
An RBI single by the Appalachian State second baseman, Cynthia Gomez, gave the Mountaineers the lead once again in the top of the sixth inning.
Jaycee Affeldt (8-4) got the win for Troy as she pitched four innings out of the bullpen. She allowed one earned run off four hits while she struck out two. Rainey got the start for Troy in the circle and pitched three innings for the Trojans, allowing two earned runs on five hits.
Troy 9, Appalachian State 1
Michelle Phelps hit a two-run, two-out walk-off double in the bottom of the fifth inning in the nightcap. Phelps' walk-off gave Troy its sixth walk-off win of the season as the Trojans knocked off the Mountaineers 9-1.
Troy (15-2, 2-3 Sun Belt) scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning to grab an early 3-1 lead. The first run was scored on a throwing error by the Mountaineer pitcher. In the next at bat, Day hit her second triple of the season to plate a pair.
Becca Hartley extended her reached base streak to 27 games on a double to left center, which scored a run in the bottom of the third and extend the Trojans lead to 4-1. Immediately following, Khadija Neely roped a double to center field to score Hartley, but was thrown out trying to leg out a triple.
The Trojans tallied another run in the fourth inning as Benton scored on an error by the Mountaineer third baseman to make the score 6-1.
Sara Mock (2-6) earned the win for Troy as she pitched five innings, giving up one earned run on five hits. Mock struck out three batters and did issue a walk.
Six different Trojans picked up hits in the game, while Hartley was the only Trojan with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Troy will go for the sweep tomorrow at the Troy Softball Complex with first pitch set to begin at noon.
For more information on Troy softball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow us on Twitter at @TroyTrojansSB.
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Cajuns Pick Up Series Sweep of UT Arlington
LAFAYETTE – Jordan Wallace and Christina Hamilton each reached season-high strikeout totals in pacing the No. 7 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball team to a 4-1, 8-0 (6 inn.) doubleheader sweep of UT Arlington on Saturday at Lamson Park.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (20-3, 5-1 Sun Belt) completed the Sun Belt series sweep of the Mavericks (14-13, 0-3 Sun Belt). Louisiana won the opening game of the series 18-0 (5 inn.) on Friday.
Wallace struck out 16 and allowed a single hit in seven innings in the opening game of the twinbill. The offense struck for three runs in the first inning and followed Wallace’s lead the final six innings on the way to securing the series victory.
Hamilton fanned six Mavericks batters in the nightcap, limiting the visitors to just two hits. A pinch-hit single by Sara Corbello with the bases loaded sparked a three spot in the fourth inning that broke open a 1-0 game.
Louisiana extended its current win streak at Lamson Park to 24 games with the sweep. The Cajuns are 17-0 in the facility in 2015.
Wallace reached 16 strikeouts for the second time this season and first since Feb. 13 vs. Mississippi Valley. Hamilton bested her previous season-best four strikeouts vs. Iowa.
“We have pitchers who are able do the things we want them to be able to do – spin the ball, change planes, pitch secondary pitches and keep good hitters off balance,” head coach Michael Lotief said. “And you’ve got a good defense behind them.”
The Cajuns offense was balanced in both games. Louisiana saw four different players post RBI in each half of the doubleheader.
“In order to be great you have to get contributions from one through nine and that’s what we’re trying to get right now,” Lotief remarked. “Instead of just picking out the star we need to get to a point where we’re getting contributions from everybody every time out.”
No. 7 Louisiana continues its current nine-game homestand with a series against Georgia Southern (6-16, 0-3 Sun Belt) set for Monday-Tuesday, March 16-17 at Lamson Park. The series begins with a 6 p.m., single game on Monday followed by a 4 p.m., doubleheader on Tuesday.
Haley Hayden led the Cajuns collecting hits in both games. Hayden ended the day 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Hayden led off the bottom of the first of the opener with a single to right center. She scored after Shellie Landry and Lexie Elkins walked to load the bases and Samantha Walsh delivered a sacrifice fly into left center field.
The Cajuns added two more runs after Corbello was hit by a pitch and DJ Sanders drew a walk in bases-loaded situations and led 3-0 after one inning.
Wallace clamped down once provided the lead. In each of her final six innings pitched she collected multiple strikeouts including striking out the side in the second and sixth inning.
The Cajuns, who drew 11 walks off UTA starter Kayla Donaldson, took advantage of three walks in the bottom of the third to scratch the fourth and final run. The first of two walks Hayden would draw brought home Aleah Craighton who walked with one out.
Wallace gave up three walks in the top of the fifth and that resulted in the lone run for UTA in the series cutting the Cajuns lead to 4-1. Donaldson kept UTA in the game late by stranding five Cajuns baserunners over the fifth and sixth innings combined.
Louisiana scored in the first inning once again, taking a 1-0 lead in the finale after a misplay on a Walsh single down the right field line allowed Landry to score.
UTA starting pitcher Sam Montes kept the Cajuns off balance in the second and third inning to keep the Mavericks deficit at 1-0 heading to the fourth inning.
The Cajuns gave Hamilton breathing room in the bottom of the fourth starting with Corbello’s critical pinch hit with the bases loaded. The single, her first hit of the season, scored Meagan Thomas (pinch hit walk) and Cassidy White (pinch runner) to up the lead to 3-0. Louisiana picked up another run in the inning following a double-steal attempt by Kelli Martinez and Sanders.
“Sara (Corbello) has had some good at bats,” Lotief stressed. “She’s been hit by pitch, drew walks and has extended pitchers. That kid continues to work hard and she’s playing the role that we’re asking her to play. That’s part of doing the things necessary in order to make a good team great.”
UTA picked up the lone two hits off of Hamilton in the top of the fifth. No runs crossed, though, as Landry delivered an outfield assist from left center field to throw out Sandra Mendoza trying to score on a single by Britnea Barilli.
Hayden and Landry delivered RBI singles in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to 6-0. A double-steal attempt by pinch runner Kendall Smith and Hayden resulted in another run which was followed by Walsh’s walk-off single that plated Smith for an 8-0 lead ending the contest early.
Hamilton tossed a complete game for the second straight weekend. Montes, the starting pitcher in Friday night’s game, was charged with her second loss of the series.
DIAMOND NOTES: Jordan Wallace picked up career win No. 82, moving her within two wins of tying Melissa Coronado for fourth place in program history...Jordan Wallace moved within three strikeouts of becoming just the fifth pitcher in program history to amass 800 career strikeouts…Christina Hamilton improved to 17-1 all-time in Sun Belt Conference play and extended her undefeated streak in games started in league play to 16 games (dates back to 2011)…Louisiana scored first in all three games of the UTA series, improving to 19-1 when scoring first…Cajuns batters drew 15 walks in the doubleheader and finished the series with 21 total walks against six strikeouts…Cajuns pitching limited the Mavericks, who entered the series hitting .367, to a .086 average over three games…In 10 appearances at Lamson Park in 2015, Jordan Wallace has surrendered only 10 hits over 49 innings pitched…For the season, Jordan Wallace has allowed just 26 hits over 71-2/3 innings covering 14 appearances…As a staff, Cajuns pitching has allowed just 41 hits to opponents through 105 innings pitched inside Lamson Park…Haley Hayden and Lexie Elkins tied for the team lead with five hits in the UT Arlington series…Louisiana has outscored opponents 151-8 over 17 games at Lamson Park in 2015…The Cajuns hit no home runs in the doubleheader, marking only the third and fourth time in 23 games that team finished a game without a home run…Louisiana swept UTA for the second straight season, improving to 6-0 in Sun Belt games against the Mavericks…The Cajuns now lead the all-time series with UT Arlington 19-4 (8-2 in Lafayette).
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Weekend Series Between ULM and South Alabama Altered
MONROE, La. -- Due to unplayable field conditions Saturday's doubleheader match up with South Alabama has been canceled and the weekend series adjusted to a two-game match.
ULM and South Alabama will now play a doubleheader on Sunday with games slated at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
For the latest on ULM softball, visit ULMWarhawks.com and follow the team on Twitter (@ULM_Softball) and Facebook (facebook.com/ULMSoftball).