STATESBORO, Ga. - Redshirt-senior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a career-high tying four RBIs as the College of Charleston (21-22, 8-9) came up just short, 10-9, in the finale of a Southern Conference series at Georgia Southern (24-23, 9-8) on Sunday, April 25.
Georgia Southern wasted no time in getting their ace, junior pitcher Brianna Streetmon, a three-run lead in the first inning as they used three singles, three walks and a pair of steals to take a 3-0 advantage. That would not last long as the Cougars responded in the top of the second inning.
Following a pair of groundouts to start the frame, freshman shortstop Erica Kaufman (Berkeley, S.C.) and senior catcher Amanda Maurer (Haubstadt, Ind.) lined back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second for Amber Shifflett. She then ripped a two-RBI double to the left centerfield gap that was just out of the reach of Eagles centerfielder Kelly Burnett that narrowed the margin to 3-2.
Junior outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) followed suit with a double to left that scored Shifflett and tied the game at 3-3. That hit also chased Streetmon as the College of Charleston's second leading career homerun leader, senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.), came to the plate. Junior pitcher Megen Smith would be the one to face her and she grooved a pitch that Shifflett crushed over the centerfield fence to give CofC a 5-3 lead, all with two outs.
It would be GSU's turn to answer in the bottom of the fourth as a one out double and a walk put runners on first and second. Senior shortstop Nina Iduate then laced an RBI single to make it 5-4 before an error at shortstop allowed her to score the tying run from third base. The Eagles were not done yet as they added three more runs on with two singles, a double and an error to take an 8-5 lead.
Not to be outdone, the College of Charleston mounted a rally of their own in the top of the fifth as sophomore third baseman Kelley Dillon (Hanahan, S.C.) doubled and junior right fielder Katie Nutaitis (Vienna, Va.) singled with one out to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly from freshman shortstop Erica Kaufman (Berkeley, S.C.) then made it 8-6 before Amber Shifflett then ripped her second double of the game to score both runners and pull the Cougars even at 8-8.
The back and forth affair continued in the home half of the inning as Georgia Southern capitalized on another key Cougars error as they scored a pair of runs on an overthrow, retaking the lead at 10-8. A leadoff double by Kristie Shifflett and a hit-by-pitch gave CofC a pair of runners with no one out in the top of the sixth.
The Cougars took advantage, notching a run on a single by sophomore third baseman Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) and nearly tied the game on a play at the plate. Lonergan, who reached on the hit-by-pitch, was gunned down from centerfield on a close play. GSU then got out of the inning to preserve their one-run lead.
In the seventh inning, the Eagles retired the first two Cougars' batters before a hit-by-pitch would bring Kristie Shifflett to the plate. GSU then got out of the inning and sealed the 10-9 victory as Shifflett lined out to left to end the game.
Jenny Side did the majority of the damage for Georgia Southern as she went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs while Iduate, junior first baseman Megen Smith and senior first baseman Sam Russo each added an RBI to round out the offensive production for the Eagles. Freshman pitcher Kaitlynn Szczepanksi threw 0.2 innings of relief to pick up the win and move to 3-1 while Streetmon earned the save.
Amber Shifflett led the College of Charleston with a 3-for-5 day that included a pair of doubles and a career-high tying four RBIs while her sister Kristie Shifflett was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and two RBIs. Kristi Woodall, Katie Forbes and Erica Kaufman each had an RBI and senior catcher Amanda Maurer (Haubstadt, Ind.) went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) entered in relief and threw 2.1 innings, allowing two runs and three hits, to take the loss and drop to 5-3 on the season.
The College of Charleston is off until next weekend when they will host Furman in a crucial Southern Conference series. The double-header portion of that set will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May1 and will be Senior Day. The series will conclude with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, May 2.
