Tuesday, April 21, 2015
ULM Tops Louisiana Tech on Steele Strong Night
MONROE, La. – Locked at a 2-all tie in the sixth inning, the Warhawks (26-15) defeated Louisiana Tech (26-14) to secure the season series victory against the Lady Techsters on Steele Strong Night at the ULM Softball Complex.
Sophomore Vanessa Garcia delivered a two-out, RBI single up the middle in the sixth inning to put the Warhawks on top as ULM cruised to a 2-3 victory.
With Tuesday’s victory, the Warhawks have picked up 26 or more wins for the first time since the 2011 season when the program won 27 games.
Senior Alexis Cacioppo added to the Warhawk offensive production with her third home run on the season, a two-RBI no-doubter to deep center.
Freshman Paige Porter pick up the start for the Warhawks, going five innings and allowing four runs on two hits. Porter struck out two batters on the night.
Sophomore Melanie Coyne came in as a reliever in the sixth inning and dealt out two innings of one-hit, shutout softball to pick up the victory. Coyne is the first Warhawk pitcher to pick up double-digit wins as the sophomore moves to 10-9 on the season.
Sophomore Rochelle Roberts led the game off with a single up the middle for ULM. After stealing second during sophomore Sidney Coy’s at bat, Roberts advanced to third on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt., the 10th sacrifice hit on the season for Coy.
Cacioppo capitalized on the scoring opportunity with a two-out home run to straight-away center to put ULM up 2-0 in the first inning.
The Lady Techsters answered in the top of fourth with two-out, solo homer to center field to cut the score to 1-2.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Louisiana Tech knocked a single and a double score a run and lock the game up at 2-all, but the Warhawks would answer in the bottom of the sixth.
With two-out, redshirt senior Miyuki Navarrete drew a two-out walk to give the Warhawks a base runner. Garcia stepped to the plate and knocked a single up the middle to score Navarrete and give the Warhawks the 3-2 advantage that they held till the end.
The Warhawks continue Steele Strong celebration as they host Northwestern State on Wednesday, April 22 at 6 p.m. at the ULM Softball Complex, closing out ULM’s non-conference schedule.
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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Troy Softball Comes Up Short At No. 5 Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The Troy softball team came up short and fell to No. 5 Alabama, 5-2, on Tuesday night at Rhoads Stadium.
With runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Becca Hartley, the game-tying run, drove a 2-2 pitch to the gap in right center field that was caught at the warning track to end the game.
Troy (29-20) jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Michelle Phelps led off the fourth inning with a home run over the wall in left field for the first run of the game and Becca Hartley homered to center field in the fifth inning for the second Trojan run of the game.
Jaycee Affeldt (15-9) suffered the loss for Troy as pitched six innings and allowed five runs, only one earned and struck out five.
No. 5 Alabama (36-10) tied the game in the fifth inning as two runs crossed the plate on an error. The Crimson Tide took the lead later in the inning as Jadyn Spencer doubled home two runs to give Alabama a 4-2 lead.
The Crimson Tide scored one more run in the top of the sixth as Chandler Dare singled through the left side and scored Kallie Case, to go ahead 5-2.
Hartley went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI in the game. Phelps went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Kate Benton and Khadija Neely also had a hit each in the contest.
The Trojans ended their 10-game road trip with a record of 7-3, but return home for the final six games of the season. Troy will host UT Arlington for a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and playing the series finale on Sunday at noon.
For more information on Troy softball visit TroyTrojans.com or follow us on Twitter at @TroyTrojansSB.
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Georgia Southern Softball Drops Non-Conference Tilt at South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Georgia Southern Softball suffered a non-conference defeat at South Carolina, dropping the 8-0 run-rule decision in six innings. The Eagles face Mississippi State this weekend for a pair of games beginning on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“We improved with the way we played today over Sunday’s contest,” said Head Coach Annie Smith. “It is always challenging when you come into an SEC ballpark as the visitor, but we did a lot of things right tonight and I really feel like the game was much closer than you would see from the final score.”
South Carolina was quickly on the board getting two runs in the first, followed by a run in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Three more tallies in the fourth gave the home team a 6-0 lead entering the fifth inning.
The Eagles had a golden chance in the fifth, as Rowan McGuire’s slicing double to left in the fifth found grass to put runners on second and third with no outs. Georgia Southern, however, was unable to scratch a run as two were left aboard in the frame.
The Gamecocks hit a solo home run in the fifth to go up 7-0. A leadoff single paved the way for a run in the sixth which ended the contest on the run rule. A squeeze play to third did the damage to close the night.
Lexi Allen added a perfectly placed bunt single in the first, while Emily Snider lashed a single up the middle in the sixth.
The Eagles have two more games against a SEC foe this weekend as Mississippi State comes to Eagle Field for a pair of games. First pitch on Saturday is set for 3 p.m. with a Sunday finale at Noon.
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.