College of Charleston
Coastal Carolina
Five home runs lead Cougars to double-header split with Coastal Carolina
3/22/2009 4:00:00 AM | Softball
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score
CONWAY, S.C. ? Senior designated hitter Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calf.) drilled a pair of home runs and redshirt-junior catcher Katie Pesature went 5-for-7 with a home run in Game 1 as the College of Charleston (10-16, 3-3) earned a split with Coastal Carolina (9-19) in a double header on Sunday, March 22 in Conway, South Carolina. The Cougars won Game 1 by a score of 10-6 before dropping the nightcap by the narrowest of margins at 9-8.
GAME 1
College of Charleston 10, Coastal Carolina 6
Trailing 1-0 in the second inning of Game 1, a two-run home run from sophomore outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) got the Cougars on the board at 2-1. Following single runs in back-to-back innings from the Chanticleers to make it 3-2, CofC regained the lead in the fourth inning with a five-run, five-hit explosion.
A sac fly by senior shortstop Christal Kotchman (Seminole, Fla.) started the scoring while junior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) added a two-run single to make it 5-3. Senior designated hitter Shannon Howard (Carmichael, Calif.) then drilled a two-run home run to deep centerfield to cap the scoring and stretch the Cougars' lead to 7-3.
Charleston would add solo runs in each of the last three innings to extend the lead to 10-3 before allowing Coastal Carolina three runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh to finish off the 10-6 victory.
Senior second baseman Kelsey Riffel finished 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs to lead Coastal Carolina while junior outfielder Mecaela Ballard went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Freshman first baseman Stacy Snellings and sophomore designated hitter Olivia Williams each added an RBI to round out the scoring for the Chanticleers. Sophomore pitcher Katelin Edwards suffered the loss for CCU after throwing 3.2 innings and allowing nine hits and seven of the 10 runs. She falls to 4-12 on the year.
Charleston was led by Howard's 2-for-3, three RBI performance that included her fifth home run of the season and a career-high 4-for-4, three run day from redshirt sophomore catcher Katie Pesature (Brewster, N.Y.). Kristie Shifflett finished 2-for-3 with two runs and a pair of RBIs while her sister, redshirt junior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.), continued her hot hitting with her third straight two-hit game.
She went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while freshman outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) delivered her first career home run as part of a 2-for-4, two-run, RBI day. Kristi Woodall added to the Cougar's home run parade with her second of the season to set a career-high for a season.
NOTES
With her 4-for-4, three run day, Pesature broke both of her career-highs for hits and runs ... her previous high for hits was three accomplished twice, last vs. Chattanooga on May 6, 2007 ... her previous career-best for runs was two, five times ... the ten runs scored mark the most by the College of Charleston in a game this season.
GAME 2
Coastal Carolina 9, College of Charleston 8
In the nightcap, the teams once again battled evenly throughout the first three innings, with the Chanticleers again taking a 3-2 lead. This time though, it was Coastal Carolina that erupted in the fourth inning. The Chanticleers scored six runs on four hits and a pair of walks to push their lead to 9-3 through four innings of action.
It would stay that way until the top of the sixth inning when Charleston's bats came to life with four runs and four hits, including a pair of run scoring doubles and a two-run home run by Shannon Howard. The shot for Howard was her second of the day and sixth of the season while Amber and Kristie Shifflett each doubled home runs to pull CofC to within 9-7.
Charleston would pull to within 9-8 in the top of the seventh on a massive home run by Katie Pesature with one out before freshman shortstop Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) doubled to left centerfield, barely missing a game-tying home run. The Cougars would strand the tying run on third base as Coastal held on for the one-run victory.
Sarah Maples led CCU with a 3-for-4, two-run, RBI performance while Stacy Snellings delivered two RBIs. Catcher Ashley Pisone finished with three RBIs and Olivia Williams added an RBI. Ashley Frederick picked up the victory for the Chanticleers despite giving up seven of the nine runs.
Amber Shifflett had her fourth straight two-hit game with a 2-for-4, two RBI, one run outing and Kristi Woodall added two RBIs. Shannon Howard delivered her second home run of the day and finished with two RBIs while Katie Forbes was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. That stands as Forbes new career-high in both hits and doubles in her young career. In the circle, Howard took the loss to fall to 3-8 on the season.
The Cougars are back in action March 28-29 when they host Western Carolina in a three-game Southern Conference series at Patriots Point Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, S.C..
NOTES
On the day, the Cougars hit a season-high five home runs with three in the first game and two in the second.
