College of Charleston
James Madison
Pesature?s grand slam and Saylors? one-hitter lead Cougars to pair of wins
2/21/2010 2:00:00 AM | Softball
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Red-shirt junior catcher Katie Pesature (Brewster, N.Y.) and freshman pitcher Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) helped the College of Charleston softball team (3-3) to a pair of victories on the second day of the C of C Cougar Classic. The Cougars earned a 7-1 victory over James Madison before one-hitting Wagner for a 5-0 victory in the second game of the day.
Against JMU, Pesature got the College of Charleston on the board in the first inning as she took advantage of a double and two walks in front of her as she belted a grand slam to right center for a 4-0 lead. Sophomore outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) added a fifth run the following inning when she got hit with the bases loaded to make it 5-0. The Dukes got their lone run when sophomore Caitlen Manning singled up the middle with a runner on second.
Riding the pitching of junior Alexa Datko (San Diego, Calif.), the Cougars entered the seventh with that 5-1 lead before a lead-off walk by senior catcher Amanda Maurer (Haubstadt, Ind.) set the stage for a two-run homerun by sophomore third baseman Kelley Dillon (Hanahan, S.C.). That shot accounted for the final margin of 7-1.
Datko pitched a complete game, allowing only four hits, the one run and struck out four while Pesature finished with four RBIs. She was joined offensively by Dillon who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and her first homerun. Red-shirt senior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) added a double and a pair of runs while Lonergan reached base all four times without an official at bat.
She walked in her first plate appearance and the got hit in her next three, tying the program record for most hit-by-pitch in a game. She equaled the mark of three set by Ashley Whetsell on March 6, 1999 against University of Missouri-Kansas City and by Brittany Pohlen at East Tennessee State on April 24, 2004.
In the second game, the College of Charleston jumped out ahead of Wagner 5-0 in the first two innings as senior third baseman Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) belted a first inning two-run homerun and the Cougars put up three runs in the second inning. In that frame, junior shortstop Hillary Stringer (Summerville, S.C.) ripped her first career homerun, a two-run blast to left center, in the second inning while Shifflett added an RBI double. Lonergan closed out the offense for CofC in the bottom of the sixth as she tripled to left center to make it 6-0 and lock up the victory.
Stephanie Saylors pitched a complete game one-hitter, allowing only a first inning single to the first batter, to earn her first collegiate victory while Kristie Shifflett went 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs, a double and her first homerun of the season. Lonergan, Maurer, Dillon and Stringer each added RBIs for the Cougars.
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow as they take on No. 15 Louisville on the final day of the C of C Cougar Classic. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. at Patriots Point.
