No. 5 Georgia State Scores Early and Holds on to Eliminate No. 6 UL Monroe
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – No. 5 Georgia State scored six runs in the second inning and held an 8-0 lead before No. 6 UL Monroe rallied with six runs in the final three innings. The Warhawks fell short of completing the comeback and were eliminated from the 2015 Sun Belt Tournament by an 8-6 scoreline.
Georgia State began the scoring in the third inning as Taylor Bradley started the frame with a walk. Morgan Brown sacrificed her to second and Taylor Anderson singled to put Bradley at third. A wild pitch scored Bradley. After a flyout, UL Monroe intentionally walked Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Ivie Drake to put runners on first and second. Callie Alford smoked a ball that was inches away from going out of the park and ended up with a double which scored Anderson. Lauren Coleman followed with a double in the gap to score Drake and Alford which chased ULM starter Melanie Coyne from the game. The first batter Paige Porter saw was Megan Litumbe who homered to left field to make the score 6-0 after three.
The Panthers (38-21) added two more runs in the fourth inning as Brown singled before Anderson and Drake drew walks. With two outs, Alford came to the plate and skied a pitch into the air which was dropped by second baseman Miyuki Navarette which allowed Anderson and Brown to score.
UL Monroe (30-22) fought back in the fifth inning as Rochelle Roberts had an infield single. Navarette responded with a double into the gap in right centerfield to score Roberts. Alexis Cacioppo reached on an error to put runners on the corners for Faith Bohack. Bohack doubled to score both Navarette and Cacioppo. Molly Mackey singled home Bohack to make the score 8-4.
After a scoreless sixth inning, UL Monroe was three outs away from elimination. Navarette reached on a throwing error after a bunt. Cacioppo then went deep with a shot to left center to make the score 8-6. The Warhawks didn’t quit as Vanessa Garcia reached on an error and Bohack walked. Mackey grounded out to move the runners to second and third. However, Taylor Thorpe recovered to induce a groundout and a strikeout to end the game.
Coleman and Litumbe each went 1 for 3 with one run and two RBIs. Litumbe’s home run was her 21st of the season, third most in the Sun Belt this season. Alford was 1 for 4 with one run and one RBI. Brown recorded two hits and a run from the ninth spot in the Panthers lineup.
The senior class led the Warhawk offense with Navarrete going 2-for-4 including an RBI double. Mackey went 1-for-4 with an RBI single and Cacioppo reached base in all four appearances with her lone hit being the two-RBI home run. Cacioppo close the tournament with 131 career RBIs to move into third on ULM’s all-time career RBI list. Junior Faith Bohack brought her season RBI total to 50 as she went 1-for-2 with a two-RBI double.
Georgia State’s Katie Worley picked up the win to move to 14-9 on the season. Worley pitched six innings and allowed seven hits, six runs, two earned runs and a walk while striking out four. Thorpe walked one in her inning of relief work while picking up her third save
Sophomore Meanie Coyne made her fourth start of the tournament as she went 2.2 innings and allowed five runs of three hits. Freshman Paige Porter closed the game with 3.1 innings of relief as she allowed three runs off four hits while striking out two Panthers. Coyne was tagged with the loss to finish the season at 13-15.
Georgia State will take on the loser of the game between No. 1 UL Lafayette and No. 2 South Alabama. The winner of that contest will advance to the 2015 Sun Belt Softball Championship to play the winner of the UL Lafayette and South Alabama game.