MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) went 2-for-4 with her fourth homerun of the year and senior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) earned her fourth straight win as the College of Charleston (18-19, 6-7) notched a double-header split with Appalachian State (22-18, 7-9) in Southern Conference action at Patriots Point on Saturday, April 17. CofC posted a 5-2 victory in Game 1 before dropping an 8-2 decision in the second contest.
In Game 1, the Mountaineers jumped ahead early as they scored a run on a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman McKenzie Phillips to go up 1-0. That lead would not last very long as deep double to center by junior outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) and a single to right by Kristie Shifflett put runners on second and third with one out. Following a pop up, Woodall scored from third on an errant throw by the second baseman to tie the score at 1-1.
Freshman designated hitter Meghan Smith then gave the lead right back to Appalachian State on her first career homerun, a powerful shot over the left centerfield fence. That 2-1 lead would hold up until the bottom of the third when Kristie Shifflett pounded her fourth homerun of the season, and 29th of her career, to tie the game at 2-2.
After keeping ASU off the scoreboard in the top of the fourth, the Cougars took full advantage in the home half of the inning as a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt around an out put a runner on second base with one gone. Junior shortstop Hillary Stringer (Summerville, S.C.) then laced a 3-1 pitch back up the middle for her only hit of the day to score the go-ahead run. Another deep double to center, this time by redshirt-senior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.), then scored her and gave CofC a 4-2 lead.
They would add a single run in the fifth on a hard shot to shortstop by sophomore outfielder Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.), making it 5-2. That would be all they would need as Mesko retired the last six batters in a row to lock up the three-run victory and stretch the Cougars season-high win streak to five games.
Junior centerfielder Sarah Rappe led the way for the Mountaineers with a 2-for-4 day that included her sixth double of the season while Smith and Phillips delivered an RBI apiece. Freshman pitcher Frannie Seader pitched three innings of relief, allowing six hits and three earned runs, to suffer the loss and drop to 5-4 on the season.
For the College of Charleston, Kristie Shifflett went 2-for-4 with a homerun and RBI and was joined by junior outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) who also went 2-for-4 with her eighth double of the year. Amber Shifflett was 1-for-2 with an RBI double to go along with two walks while Forbes finished the day 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Stringer rounded out the offensive production for CofC with her seventh RBI of the season. Mesko threw her ninth straight complete game in as many starts and earned her fourth straight win as she gave up a pair of runs while scattering seven hits and striking out nine batters. She improves to 9-7 on the season.
The second game was a far different story as neither team could notch a run over the first two innings of play. That would change in the top of the third as Appalachian State took the lead on an RBI groundout by freshman outfielder Allie Cashion and made it 2-0 on a RBI single by Phillips.
Phillips then keyed a three-run rally in the fifth as she led off with a single to left that brushed past the fielder for a three-base error, allowing her to score and make it 3-0. A double by Lighton then put another runner in scoring position for the Mountaineers. A groundout advanced the runner to third before junior first baseman Hannah Dow drew a 10-pitch walk and sophomore outfielder Michelle Gorzelle earned a 13-pitch walk after being down 0-2. That loaded the bases for Rappe, whose single to third base made it 4-0. A two-out walk by Boyd on a 3-2 pitch then made it 5-0 before the Cougars got out the inning.
CofC would scratch a run in the bottom of the sixth when Kristie Shifflett ripped a two-out triple to left center and scored on a wild pitch to narrow the margin to 5-1. In the top of the seventh the Mountaineers put the game well out of reach with an RBI single by Boyd, a bases loaded walk by Cashion and a sac fly from Phillips. Trailing 8-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Cougars pushed a second run across the board on an error before ASU wrapped up the 8-2 victory.
McKenzie Phillips was one of three Mountaineers to notch two RBIs as she went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Boyd and Cashion each added two RBIs while Rappe went 2-for-5 with the other RBI. Sophomore shortstop Megan Rembielak finished the day 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and her 14 stolen base of the season. Sophomore pitcher Caitlin Wainwright pitched six strong innings, allowing only three hits and one run while striking out seven to earn the victory and move to 11-6 on the season.
Amanda Lonergan led the Cougars with a 2-for-3 day and Kristie Shifflett was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Katie Forbes had the only other run for CofC. Junior pitcher Alexa Datko (San Diego, Calif.) started and went four innings, allowing four runs, two of which were earned, to take the loss and drop to 4-9 on the year.
The College of Charleston wraps up the series with an 11 a.m. first pitch on Sunday, April 18. The change was made from 1 p.m. in order to accommodate traffic issues associated with the performance by the Blue Angels.
NOTES
The Cougars five game win streak was their longest of the season.
