App State Opens Play in Camel Stampede with Win
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Junior Vanessa Ciocatto pitched her second complete game of the season to lead Appalachian State University softball past Marshall for the first time in program history (0-5 prior) Friday afternoon, downing the Thundering Herd, 4-3.
"This was a great way to start off our weekend," said head coach Janice Savage. "Vanessa threw a great game and we scraped together the runs we needed to come from behind."
The Mountaineers improved to 3-13 overall while Marshall dropped their sixth-straight contest, falling to 6-7 on the season. Ciocatto (2-6) went the distance and gave up three runs, only one earned, on one hit with four walks and three strikeouts. The junior hurler's no-hitter was broken up with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Ciocatto's ERA is now down to 4.37, the lowest it's been since after the first game of the season.
Savage continued, "That's the best seven innings I've seen Vanessa throw in her college career and it was a great step for her. All the pitchers were pushed hard in workouts earlier this week and it's good to see that hard work pay off for her today against a strong Marshall team. Now we just have to continue this momentum tomorrow."
Marshall opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the second, but both crossed the plate thanks to three App State errors and with two outs already recorded. The Thundering Herd's Lucas reached on a fielding error by Megan Walker before Meyer reached on an error by Natalie Orcutt to score Lucas. Later, there were runners on second and third for the batter, Marshall, who reached on an error by Tiffany Taynor and pinch-runner Colliflower scored, but Escareno was thrown out at home by Cara Parker to end the threat.
The Black and Gold scored all four of their runs in the top of the fifth to go up 4-2. Walker and Orcutt opened things up with back-to-back singles. Taynor then singled as well and during the play, both Walker and Orcutt came in to score on a pair of errors by the first baseman. Those two errors moved Taynor to third before Heather Josey walked and Jenny Dodd brought them both in with a double.
Marshall got one back in the home half with a solo home run to left center off the bat of Escareno and that was the first hit Ciocatto had given up all game. In the bottom of the seventh, the Thundering Herd put runners on first and second with two outs, but Ciocatto struck out the pinch hitter, Woodrum, for the all-important 21st out.
Appalachian State continues play in the Camel Stampede with a doubleheader on Saturday against Loyola-Chicago (10 a.m.) and homestanding Campbell (12:30 p.m.).
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Texas State Opens USF-Under Armour Invitational With Doubleheader Sweep
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Texas State softball team extended its winning streak to three Friday afternoon at the USF-Under Armour Invitational with a sweep over Big 10 opponent Purdue and tournament host South Florida. The Bobcats went into extras to defeat Purdue by a score of 2-1 before ending the day with an 8-2 victory over USF.
The Bobcats improve to 14-5 overall this season. Randi Rupp earned her 10th victory of the season in eight innings pitched against Purdue and Paige Williams improved to 4-1 after her win against USF.
Game One – Purdue
The Boilermakers and the Bobcats went seven scoreless innings before the scoring action started for both teams. Prior to extras, the teams combined for just five hits.
Kelli Baker reached the furthest of any base runner for Texas State prior to extras as she advanced to second base in the first inning and third base in the sixth. She got on base each time by drawing walks.
In the top of the eighth inning, Sara Rupp was placed on second base due to the international tiebreaker rule. Kayleigh Norte came in to pinch run for Rupp and quickly made her way home after Bianca Prado tripled to right center field. Prado then came in to score the second run of the day after Braegan Hamilton hit a ball out to left center. The 'Cats had another chances to score later in the inning, but a fly ball to the outfield by Ariel Ortiz resulted in a double play as Hamilton was thrown out at third.
Purdue got one run back in its half of the eighth after a single up the middle with two outs scored the runner from second, but a fly out to right field ended the game.
Prado and Kimberlin Naivar recorded the only two Bobcat hits of the game. Rupp struck out a season-high 13 batters while allowing zero walks for Texas State.
Game Two – South Florida
After a scoreless first, USF got on the board in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead over Texas State. The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Bulls through four innings before the Bobcat offense came alive.
In the top of the fifth, a pair of walks put Naivar and Hamilton on base for Texas State. With two outs and runners on first and second, Baker launched her first home run of the season to put the 'Cats ahead 3-1.
The Bobcats added one more in the sixth with a lead-off home run by Kendall Wiley.
In the seventh with two outs, the Texas State bats went to work once again. With runners on the corners, Ortiz singled to centerfield to score the fifth Bobcat run of the game. Three more runs then scored on the next at bat when Wiley hit her second consecutive home run of the game. Two more runners would get on base for Texas State after Wiley's homer, but a pop up to shortstop would end the inning.
USF added one in the bottom of the seventh, but was unable to do anymore damage as the Bobcats cruised to their 14th victory of the season.
Baker and Wiley finished the game with two hits each for Texas State and registered seven combined RBIs. Williams struck out three in the victory and Quincy Charleston came into the game to get the final out for the Bobcats.
The victory over Purdue was the first win over the Boilermakers since the 2007 season and today's meeting against USF was the first in school history.
Texas State will now take the field again tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. CT against Penn at the USF-Under Armour Invitational.
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Five-Game Eagle Win Streak Ends with 3-0 Defeat
AUBURN, Ala. – Georgia State’s five-game win streak was snapped Friday at the Wilson/Demarini Classic as the Panthers (10-8) lost to the Indiana Hoosiers 3-0 in Auburn, Ala.
In the second meeting of the season between the two schools, Indiana once again won by three runs to improve to 9-6 on the season. Senior Katie Worley pitched well for GSU and had a no-hitter going until Indiana broke through with a 2-RBI double and RBI-single in the bottom of the fourth to take the 3-0 lead. Worley finished with just two hits allowed and four strikeouts, but was hit with her first loss of the season and now sits at 5-1.
Taylor Thorpe came on in relief and tossed 2.1 scoreless innings while giving up two hits and recording two strikeouts.
GSU had its best chance to make some noise in the top of the sixth inning. Mallory Koepke drew a leadoff walk before Ivie Drake broke up Indiana’s bid for a no-hitter with a single to deep right-center field. The Panthers then loaded the bases thanks to an IU error, but left them loaded as the Hoosiers escaped the jam.
Georgia State faces Bryant (0-6) Saturday at 6:30 p.m. EST and will play a doubleheader against No. 3/4 Auburn on Sunday at 2 and 4:30 p.m. The first game of the doubleheader will be shown on the SEC Network.
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Troy Softball Tops Youngstown State in Extras
TROY, Alabama – Ashley Rainey hit a two-run double down the left field line in the top of the eighth inning to lift Troy past Youngstown State, 10-8, on Friday afternoon at Smith Stadium in the opening day of the Purple and Gold Challenge.
Sophomores Erica Davis and Carli Kayler had stellar performances at the plate for the Trojans (13-4), as both turned in multi-hit games and recorded three RBIs on the day, including a two-run home run from Kayler.
Youngstown State (5-5) was down to its final out in the seventh inning trailing 8-6 before Miranda Castiglone sent a two-run blast over the right center wall to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
Rainey worked out of a two on and nobody out situation in the bottom of the eighth inning to lockdown her seventh win of the season. Rainey (7-4) allowed just the two runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts over five innings of work out of the bullpen.
Youngstown State struck in the bottom of the first inning scoring four runs. Castiglione drove in a run and Cali Mikovich sent a three-run blast over the right field wall to give the Penguins an early 4-0 lead.
The Trojans got the bats warmed up in the second inning, as they pushed three runs across the plate. Kayler's homer cut the deficit in half and a Youngstown error allowed the third run of the frame to score.
Troy scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to take the lead before Youngstown regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Davis made some more noise for the Trojans in the top of the sixth when she singled up the middle to score Kate Benton and Becca Hartley to put Troy up 7-6. Kayler tacked on a much-needed insurance run with a sac fly in the top of the seventh.
Caitlin Minney (5-3) suffered the loss for the Penguins throwing two innings and giving up the final two runs of the game to Troy.
Troy is back in action on Saturday with a doubleheader against Indiana State at 10 a.m. and the host team Lipscomb at 12:30 p.m.
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Eagles Roll Pass North Dakota In Home Opener
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern softball team opened play at the Eagle Classic Friday, rolling past North Dakota 8-1 behind a one-hitter from freshman pitcher Dixie Raley.
After two scoreless frames, the Eagles finally got on the board in the third inning when Alesha Mann blasted a solo home run to center field to lead off the stanza. It was the sophomore's second home run in as many games.
The Fighting Hawks got on the board in the top of the fourth inning when Shelby Hard hit a solo home run, her fourth of the season and second of the day. The sophomore had 15 round trippers a year ago for UND. That would be the only hit for the visitors.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Morgan Robinson drew a walk and was pinch ran for by Haley Carter. After Carter stole second base, she scored on A.J. Hamilton's triple down the right field line. Rowan McGuire then drove her in with a single through the right side to make it 3-1.
Robinson made it 4-1 with a solo home run to right-center field in the fifth inning, her second of the season. In the sixth inning, the Eagles broke loose for four runs as Taylor Rogers drove in two runs and then Emily Snider drove in two more with a double.
Raley (W, 7-3) had another impressive performance in the circle. The freshman went the distance, allowing one run on the one hit with three walks and nine strikeouts.
At the plate, Hamilton led the way with three hits while Mann and Snider each had two hits. Lydia Witkowski, Rogers, Robinson and McGuire each had one.
In the other game of the day, North Dakota downed Eastern Kentucky 2-0 on a two-run home run from Hard.
The Eagles will return to action on Saturday, taking on UND again (2:30 p.m.) and Harvard (4:45 p.m.). Both games will be streamed live on GS All-Access for a fee.
SMITH SAYS:
"I was really happy how we played, with great energy. We came out in the beginning of the game and Dixie had a bunch of strikeouts early in the game to set the tone and our hitters made some great adjustments. I was happy coming out and opening at home in such a big win."
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BROWN’S 17 STRIKEOUTS, FIVE-RUN THIRD INNING LIFTS JAGS OVER FLORIDA A&M
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of South Alabama softball opened the 2016 Aquafina Invitational with a 7-3 win over Florida A&M on Friday behind Devin Brown's career-high 17 strikeouts and a five-spot in the third inning.
USA (9-6) takes on Illinois State and No. 1 Florida on Saturday at 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively. Links to live stats and play-by-play audio, provided free of charge, can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page.
In-game Twitter updates are provided for each USA contest via the program's official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
Brown topped her previous career-high strikeout total of 15, recording the second-most strikeouts in a single game in South Alabama program history and tying for the most thrown by any NCAA Division I student-athlete this season. She moved to 5-4 with the win with three runs allowed (all earned) and four walks.
All but one South Alabama student-athlete recorded a hit in Friday's contest, as the Jaguars outhit Florida A&M, 11-3, on the day. Stephanie Pilkington led the way on 3-for-4 hitting with three RBI and a run scored. Emily Messer went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI.
USA tagged FAMU starter Veronica Burse for six runs through two-and-a-half innings, but struggled to adjust to reliever Tahli Snider, as Snider held USA hitless for two innings, and the Rattlers chipped back with a run apiece in the third and fourth frames.
"I was happy with the way we started, offensively," said USA head coach Becky Clark. "We were aggressive, and we hit some balls hard. We got a couple big hits when we needed to, and we got the big inning, which we talk a lot about.
"I wanted to see us make an adjustment to the second pitcher quicker – that's something we're continuing to talk about and get better at. Devin had a really good night on the mound, with the exception of four walks."
The teams traded a run apiece in the sixth inning.
USA got on the board in the second inning when Haleigh Lowe, in her first start since Feb. 14, scored on a FAMU error.
The Jaguar hit parade in the third inning began with Pilkington's two-run single through the right side, which plated Emily Messer and Kaleigh Todd. Kristian Foster then doubled to right center to score Pilkington, and Alex Breeden singled to bring Foster around for a 5-0 USA lead.
Messer drew a bases-loaded walk to score Haleigh Lane to put the Jags ahead six runs.
FAMU's Jessica Nathan tripled to center field to score Whitney Farris, as the Rattlers got on the board in the bottom of the third, and Alexis Day singled to right in the fourth inning to score Farris again to cut the Jags' lead to four runs.
Another Pilkington base hit through the right side scored Messer, as USA took a 7-2 lead in the top of the sixth, but Kieifi Myrick canceled the USA run out when she scored on a wild pitch a half-inning later.
Burse took the loss for FAMU after giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits with a walk in 2 1/3 innings. Snider scattered a pair of Jaguar hits for one run (earned) in 4 2/3 relief innings.
South Alabama moved to 2-0 all-time versus Florida A&M with Friday's win.
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Warhawks Goes .500 in Day One of Crimson Classic
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The ULM softball team went 1-1 in the first day of the Crimson Classic, notching a 6-0 victory over DePaul before falling in five innings to No. 2 Alabama at Rhoads Stadium.
ULM 6, DePaul 0
Junior left fielder Rochelle Roberts recorded her 10th multiple-hit game and junior pitcher Melanie Coyne threw her eighth complete game and third shutout of the season in ULM’s 6-0 triumph over DePaul at the Crimson Classic inside Rhoads Stadium.
Coyne (8-4) scattered four hits through seven innings and struck out two batters. Roberts and senior shortstop Faith Bohack each hit homers and drove in two runs in their multiple hit performances. Roberts stole two bases while freshman right fielder Sydney McKay swiped one.
Roberts used her excellent speed to reach first on a bunt single, steal her 19th base of the season and advance to third on a throwing error from DePaul’s catcher to kick start ULM (12-5) in the top of the first inning. Senior shortstop Faith Bohack simply put the ball in play on a groundout to DePaul’s shortstop that scored Roberts and gave the Warhawks an early 1-0 advantage.
The Warhawks struck again for another run in the top of the second. After junior third baseman Vanessa Garcia commenced the inning with a double, she advanced to third on a Sidney Coy sacrifice bunt and was plated by sophomore Cheyanne Lyon’s sacrifice fly to left field.
Roberts then displayed her power, starting the top of the third inning with a solo homerun to right field that gave the Warhawks and Coyne a more comfortable lead at 3-0.
Coyne got into a jam in the bottom of the fourth after back-to-back Blue Demon (2-10) singles and a flyout to right put runners on second and third with one out. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native buckled down and got out the inning unscathed after forcing back-to-back groundouts to Bohack.
After Roberts got her third hit of the game and stole second in the top of the fifth, Bohack got ahead in the count 2-0 and powered a homer to center field which padded two more insurance runs to ULM’s 5-0 lead.
The Warhawks added their final run in the seventh inning when Roberts scored sophomore second baseman Cheyanne Lyon on a groundout to second base. Lyon reached via a leadoff double to the gap in left center and was advanced to third on sophomore pinch hitter Megan Long’s flyout to center field.
No. 2 Alabama 11, ULM 0 (five innings)
A lack of timely hitting against the No. 2 team in the country downed the ULM softball squad in its second game at the Crimson Classic as it fell to Alabama, 11-0, in five innings at Rhoads Stadium.
The Crimson Tide (17-1) got on the board early after redshirt sophomore Peyton Grantham hit a two-run homer off of freshman Katlynn Kaminski (1-1). Alabama then added four runs in the bottom of the second on three hits, highlighted by an RBI double from freshman Caroline Hardy.
The Tide continued to roll in the third, scoring three runs on two hits and two ULM (12-6) errors and rounded out the fourth by scoring two more on a Hardy single and fellow freshman Merris Schroder triple.
ULM was only able to combine for three hits versus Tide pitcher Sydney Littlejohn (7-1). The Warhawks had their fair share of chances, converting 0-5 opportunities with runners in scoring position and 0-7 runners on base.
Juniors Rochelle Roberts and Sidney Coy and freshman Sydney McKay combined for ULM’s three hits and three stolen bases. Freshman Casey Waterman allowed three hits and three runs during an inning of work and sophomore Paige Porter gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits and struck out a batter.
The Warhawks return to action tomorrow in an 11 a.m. first pitch versus DePaul before sitting two games and taking the field again at 6 p.m. against North Dakota State.