Friday, April 24, 2015
Drake Breaks Season HR Record; Coleman Lifts GSU to DH Sweep
ATLANTA – Lauren Coleman and Ivie Drake both blasted two home runs to lead the Georgia State softball team to a pair of wins over UL Monroe Friday in Sun Belt Conference play. GSU took Game 1 in five innings 11-2 before coming from behind to win Game 2 10-8.
“I have been around the game a long time and I have never seen a team with so much fight that continues to go about its business not matter the circumstances,” head coach Roger Kincaid said. “This team is putting up numbers that I have never seen before and may never see again.”
Coleman finished the day with a single, a triple and two homers to go with seven RBI and four runs scored. Drake launched her 18th and 19th home runs of the season to break the GSU single-season record of 17 held by Megan Litumbe and Catherine Lee.
“I would like to give a big congrats to Ivie for breaking the single-season home run record,” Kincaid said. “We know this is just the beginning for her and that number will just keep going up.”
Game 1
Georgia State jumped out? to an early 6-0 lead after three before winning the game on Ivie Drake’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the fifth. Katie Worley pitched a complete game en route to her nine win of the season. She allowed just three hits and struck out 10.
Mandy Blackwell and Morgan Brown drove in two in the second before Coleman cleared the bases with a grand slam in the third. ULM responded with two runs in the top of the fourth to make it a 6-2 game. Then in the bottom of the fifth Georgia State scored five to secure the run-rule victory.
Coleman led off with a triple before scoring on Blackwell’s double. Taylor Anderson singled to drive in a run before Ashley Christy’s sacrifice fly plated Brown. Drake then launched her 18th homer to clinch the win and break the GSU single-season record.
Game 2
Thanks to six home runs, the Panthers came from behind twice to complete the doubleheader sweep of the Warhawks with a 10-8 win. Blackwell, Christy, Coleman and Drake all homered as GSU pushed its season total to 90 dingers.
UL Monroe jumped in front with two runs in the top of the first before Georgia State tied the score in the bottom of the frame on Drake’s second homer of the day and 19th of the season. The Warhawks reclaimed a 4-2 lead with a pair of runs in the second.
Then the Panthers scored four in the bottom of the third to take a 6-4 lead on Callie Alford’s RBI single and Coleman’s three-run bomb. However, ULM would not go away, scoring two in the fourth to tie the game 6-6 after four.
Georgia State responded again with four runs in the fifth thanks to home runs by Blackwell and Christy. UL Monroe made it interesting with two runs in the sixth, but Worley closed out the final two frames to secure the win for the Panthers.
GSU returns to the field on Sunday, April 26 at 12 p.m. for Senior Day. The Panthers will honor six seniors prior to first pitch for their commitment and dedication to the program. Georgia State’s home finale is Monday, April 27 against No. 10/11 Florida State at 3p.m.
“I want to call on the Panther Family to come support us on Sunday as we honor six great seniors,” Kincaid said. “They have given so much to Georgia State and this program and we want to send them out with a big celebration.”
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSU_Softball) and Facebook for the latest news. For softball season tickets call 404-403-4020 or click here.
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Four-Run Sixth Powers North Dakota State Past No. 21 Jag Softball
MOBILE, Ala. – North Dakota State answered No. 21 University of South Alabama softball sophomore Amanda Minahan's game-tying home run in the bottom of the fifth inning with four runs in the top of the sixth, as the Jaguars dropped a 7-3 decision to the Bison on Friday in game one of a non-conference series at Jaguar Field.
The teams traded a pair of runs apiece in the opening frame, and North Dakota State (37-8), of the Summit League, scratched one across in the top of the third to go ahead, 3-2. Minahan's fifth homer of the year knotted scoring at three all, before the Bison pieced together the go-ahead effort a half-inning later.
The Jaguars outhit NDSU, 8-7, on the night, but stranded 10 runners on, including leaving the bases loaded in the third and fourth innings.
"It was a pretty evenly-played game, but the difference was that when they had their opportunities to drive in runs they took advantage," said USA head coach Becky Clark. "We left too many runners on, and tomorrow we have to make the adjustment and get better at that."
Games two and three begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. Senior Day festivities precede the doubleheader. Links to live stats, ticket information and video streaming can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program's official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
Farish Beard suffered the loss for USA (32-9), falling to 8-3 after allowing seven runs (all earned) on six hits in five innings. Beard struck out eight Bison batters, including six in a row before Logan Moreland's go-ahead solo shot in the top of the third.
Jaguar freshman right-hander Kalen McGill threw two innings of scoreless relief, allowing only one NDSU hit.
Bison righty Krista Menke earned the win after limiting the Jags to three runs (two earned) on eight hits with nine strikeouts and three walks, moving to 27-3 on the year.
USA juniors Emily Messer and Stephanie Pilkington each batted 2-for-4, with Messer scoring USA initial run. Minahan finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Freshman Kaleigh Todd scored her seventh run in eight games to tie the game at two all in the first inning.
Sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn was 1-for-3 with an RBI, as the Mission Viejo, Calif., native extended her current hitting streak to nine games.
Bison second baseman Cheyenne Garcia was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI, while catcher Alyssa Reina recorded a pair of hits with an RBI and run scored. Center fielder Alex Sobrero was 1-for-3 with a run and RBI.
Garcia scored NDSU's first run on Reina's RBI double down the left field line. Reina doubled the Bison lead in the opening inning when she scored on a wild Beard pitch.
Pilkington singled to right center to score Messer, and Rathburn lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Todd, as USA tied scoring a half-inning later.
Moreland's two-out solo bomb to right center put NDSU ahead in the top of the third before Minahan evened scoring at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
Garcia and Reina led with singles in the top of the sixth before Sobrero's base hit to right field brought in the former to put the Bison up, 4-3. Sobrero then scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Bison right fielder Jenna Isbel, after Pilkington was adjudged to have left her foot off the plate in a force out attempt at home.
Garcia recorded her second hit of the inning, a two-run single up the middle, to put North Dakota State ahead four runs.
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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Hawkins Handcuffs Cajuns As Oregon Earns 8-0 Win
EUGENE, Ore. – Junior Cheridan Hawkins fanned 11 batters and tossed a no-hitter while the No. 2-ranked Oregon softball team used a five-run second inning to pull away from a scoreless game and earn a five-inning 8-0 victory over the No. 9-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Friday at Howe Field.
The series will conclude on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT. Both games can be heard in the Lafayette area on ESPN 1420 AM with live video available on RaginCajuns.com.
Nikki Udria, Janie Takeda and Jenna Lilley – the Ducks' 1-2-3 hitters in the lineup – combined for seven hits for Oregon (39-5), with Lilley and Udria each belting home runs. Lilley went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs for Oregon with Udria and Takeda each going 2-for-3.
Hawkins (21-3), who had already tossed no-hitters this season against Oregon State and Washington, issued a first-inning walk to Shellie Landry and a fourth-inning free pass to Samantha Walsh. Coming off a one-hitter against Stanford, Hawkins fanned at least two batters in each inning, including striking out the side in the third.
Oregon loaded the bases in the second inning after Janelle Lindvall and Koral Costa each drew walks off Louisiana starter Jordan Wallace (14-3) before Lauren Lindvall was hit by a pitch. After Wallace fanned Alyssa Gillespie for the first out of the inning, Udria lined a pitch that ricocheted off Wallace's leg and into left field to drive in a pair of runs.
Takeda then followed with her school-record 289th hit of her career as her single up the middle got past a diving Haley Hayden and scored Lauren Lindvall for a 3-0 lead. After Takeda stole second for her career-best 97th stolen base, Lilley followed with a two-run single to give the Ducks a 5-0 lead.
Oregon added two runs in the fourth inning when Lilley homered to center-field off Christina Hamilton before Udria closed out the game when she hit a solo home run with two outs in the fifth.
Wallace allowed five runs on four hits in 1.1 innings for Louisiana (34-6) while Hamilton allowed three runs on four hits with four strikeouts in relief. Hayden, who had a streak of 28 consecutive games reaching base entering the game, went 0-for-2 for the Ragin' Cajuns while Lexie Elkins went 0-for-2 to end a 16-game streak of reaching base.