College of Charleston
Charleston Southern
Cougars take second straight extra inning game with 5-4 victory over Charleston Southern
3/18/2009 4:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score - Charleston Southern vs. College of Charleston
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Junior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI as the College of Charleston (9-14, 3-3) rallied for an improbable 5-4 victory over Charleston Southern (13-16) in the first game of a non-conference double-header on Wednesday, March 18.
With the game tied at 4-4 entering the bottom of the eight inning, Cougars freshman outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) singled up the middle with one out to give Charleston a base runner. Following a pinch runner and a strikeout to put two outs on the board for the Buccanneers, redshirt junior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) then lifted a fly ball to short centerfield that was dropped for an error.
Running on the play, pinch runner Amanda Maurer (Haubstadt, Ind.) managed to come all the way around from first base to score the winning run and give the College of Charleston a hard fought 5-4 victory.
Previously, Charleston Southern had rallied from down 3-2 in the top of the seventh to take a 4-3 lead before CofC sent the game to extra innings with a run of their own in the home half of the inning. In that frame, Kristie Shifflett singled home her sister Amber from third base to know the score at 4-4.
CSU was the first to get on the board with a solo home run by redshirt-freshman Brittany York in the second inning before the Cougars responded with a two of scores in the bottom of the inning on a pair of singles by Lonergan and sophomore outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.). That 3-2 lead would hold up until the top of the seventh when the Buccaneers rallied to take the lead.
York led the way for Charleston Southern with a 2-for-4, one RBI, one run performance while freshman shortstop Megan Lombard finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Senior second baseman Amy Trenkamp and junior first baseman Megan Hall rounded out the offense for the Buccanneers with an RBI a piece. Senior pitcher Jamie Wellons threw all eight innings for CSU, allowing nine hits, all five runs, three of them earned, and struck out three. With the loss, she drops to 8-11 on the season.
Kristie Shifflett continued to pound the ball for Charleston as she went 3-for-4 with a run, RBI and a double while her sister, Amber Shifflett was 1-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. That tied her season-high of two RBI set at South Carolina. Amanda Lonergan went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI while senior designated hitter Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calif.) added an RBI.
Junior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) pitched all eight innings, tying the team's season high, and allowed four runs while striking out a pair of batters. She improves to 5-8 on the season.
The Cougars return to action with the second game of the double-header later this evening.
NOTES
Alexa Datko threw eight innings in the Cougar's last ball game, a 6-4 victory at Samford on March 15 ... the eight-inning game marked Charleston's second consecutive extra inning affair after not having had any prior to their last two seasons.
