Cougars rally in the sixth to top Red Storm, 3-2

Sunday, March 16

Patriots Point

2 p.m.

College of Charleston

St. John's

3/16/2008 4:00:00 AM | Softball

By: CofCSports.com

Mt. Pleasant, S.C. -- The College of Charleston softball team rallied back in the sixth inning to top St. John's 3-2 in the final game of the CofC Classic Sunday afternoon.

The Cougars finish 4-2 on the weekend and improve to 13-21 on the season. They begin Southern Conference play Friday, March 21, with a three-game series against Appalachian State at Patriots Point Field. The Red Storm return home with a 8-15 record overall.

The first four innings proved to be a battle of the defenses until St. John's got on the board with two runs. The Cougars responded in the 11^th hour with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Kristie Shifflett and Linzi Bereitschaft got on base with a walk and a fielder's choice, respectively. After a Red Storm error, the bases were load as sophomore Brittany Small reached on a fielder's choice. With two outs, Tiffany Harmon sparked a three-run rally with a single to left that scored Shifflett and ruined the shut out for SJU. The RBI was the first of the tournament for a Harmon, a junior outfielder. Freshman Kristi Woodall doubled to center to bring in runs by Bereitschaft and Small to put the Cougars up 3-2 in what would be the final score.

After three quick outs by the defense in the top of the seventh, Charleston finished the game with four hits on 20 total at-bats and three RBI.

Shannon Howard (7-9) pitched a complete game. The junior from Carmichael, Calif., had seven strikeouts and allowed seven hits through 26 at-bats. Lisa Geer (1-3) struck out two Cougar batters and allowed four hits and three earned runs.