College of Charleston
Furman
Cougars split first two games against Furman on Senior Day
5/1/2010 11:00:00 PM | Softball
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Senior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) threw a complete game shutout in the opener and sophomore third baseman Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) had three RBIs in the nightcap as the College of Charleston (22-23, 9-10) split the first two games against Furman (22-21, 10-9) in a Southern Conference softball series on Saturday, May 1. The Cougars notched a 2-0 victory in Game 1 before falling by an 11-8 score in the second game on Senior Day.
CofC got the only runs they would need in the third inning of the first contest as sophomore third baseman Kelley Dillon (Hanahan, S.C.) ripped a two-run double to right center to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. They would not threaten for the rest of the game but would not need to as Terri Mesko put together a strong effort in the pitching circle.
Mesko got out of a second and third jam with one out in the fourth inning before facing a similar situation the fifth. In that frame, sophomore catcher Alex Bimonte doubled to left to lead off the inning and advanced to third when sophomore designated player Hannah Bradley singled and stole second. Mesko then induced a pop up and got out of the inning on a fly out. She would allow only one hit over the final two innings, that a single, as she closed out the two-run victory.
Bimonte paced the Paladins the first two double performance of her career, going 2-for-3, while senior pitcher Lana Mackey threw six innings and struck out seven batters but took the loss to fall to 15-9.
Kelley Dillon had the big hit for the College of Charleston as she finished 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs on a double. Senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) went 1-for-1 and drew a pair of walks to push her season total to 31. That ranks as the third highest total in single season history behind Amanda Cone's 33 in 2004. Mesko earned the win with seven solid innings and struck out five batters to move to 11-7 on the season and pick up her sixth straight win in her last six decisions.
It was a far different type of game in the nightcap, however, as both teams found their offense. Dillon got the Cougars on the board with a first-inning sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 and they added three more runs in the third. Kristie Shifflett doubled to left center for the first run while sophomore outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Katie Forbes each added RBI singles.
Furman cut that deficit in half with a pair of runs in the fourth when sophomore outfielder Alyssa Williams doubled to left center and junior outfielder Katie Michaels pushed across the second run on a groundout. A four-run explosion on four hits and an error put the Paladins in the lead in the fifth inning, making it 6-4, and a Bimonte single made it 7-4 the following inning.
A four-run seventh, highlighted by a three-run homerun by junior second baseman Morgan Hughey, blew the game wide open at 11-4 but that homerun would be extremely important. Kristie Shifflett led off the bottom of the seventh with her 14th double and the College of Charleston closed to within 11-6 on a bases loaded double by Forbes. A 10-pitch walk to senior catcher Amanda Maurer (Haubstadt, Ind.) then reloaded the bases and put the tying run on-deck with no one out
Freshman outfielder Kristy Giragosian (Charlotte, N.C.) lofted a ball down the left field line that was caught deep in foul territory for a sac fly and made it 11-7 with one out. Following a full-count strikeout that brought the Cougars to their final out, redshirt-senior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) singled down the left field line to narrow the gap to 11-8. Without Hughey's three-run homerun in the top of the inning, that play would have tied the game. Following that play, the Paladins locked up the game with a force out at second.
Hughey led Furman with four RBIs and a 2-for-4 performance at the plate and Williams finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Katie Michaels added two RBIs and Bimonte and senior first baseman Brythe Blankenship each had an RBI. Sophomore shortstop Jessie Homesley went 3-for-5 and scored a run while Bradley threw six innings and struck out eight to pick up the win and move to 3-6. Mackey pitched an inning of relief, allowing only one hit, to pick up her third save of the year.
Katie Forbes led the College of Charleston with a 2-for-4, three-RBI day and Dillon finished 1-for-1 with a run, RBI and a pair of walks. Kristie Shifflett roped a pair of doubles as she went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. She also added her 32nd walk of the year, tying her own second-place performance in the program records from 2008. Her sister Amber Shifflett finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, walk, two steals and two runs and Amanda Lonergan posted a 2-for-3 day with an RBI. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) threw 2.1 innings of relief and allowed six runs, four earned, to take the loss and fall to 5-4.
The College of Charleston wraps up the series with a 1 p.m. finale tomorrow afternoon at Patriots Point.
NOTES
Prior to the games, the College of Charleston honored four seniors playing in their last home series ... they were catcher Amanda Maurer, pitcher Terri Mesko, designated player Kristie Shifflett and second baseman Amber Shifflett.
