College of Charleston
Presbyterian
Cougars split softball double-header with Presbyterian
5/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Redshirt-senior second baseman Amber Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) tied the program career mark for triples and her sister, senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.), drew her 33rd walk of the season to tie that mark as the College of Charleston (23-25, 9-11) split a double-header with Presbyterian (21-26, 4-14) in non-conference softball action at Patriots Point on Thursday, May 6. CofC earned a 3-2 victory in the first game before falling 2-1 in the nightcap.
After a pair of scoreless innings to start Game 1, the College of Charleston loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch to mount a rally in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) nearly missed a grand slam, belting a ball a foot below the top of the right field wall to score a pair of runs and notch her 15th double of the year.
The Cougars would add to that lead in the fifth inning when Amber Shifflett ripped her 12th double of the season, scoring freshman outfielder Kristy Giragosian (Charlotte, N.C.) to make it 3-0.
The Blue Hose got one run back in the sixth as three singles loaded the bases with one out. Senior pitcher Mary Gordon dropped a ball into left center that scored junior first baseman Katie Anderson from third to make it 2-1. The play would have gone for a hit had a PC runner not been forced out at third base on the ensuing throw.
Having held the Cougars scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, Presbyterian earned a leadoff walk in the seventh and followed with an RBI double to left by junior third baseman Taylor Staten to narrow the gap to 3-2. At that point, senior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) entered the game in relief. She struck out the first two batters she faced before Staten stole third. Following a walk that put runners on the corners, Mesko then dialed it up and struck out sophomore pitcher Leslie Hensley to end the threat and secure the one-run victory.
Anderson led the way in the opener for the Blue Hose as she went 3-for-3 with a run scored while freshman outfielder Tera Powell finished 2-for-4. Taylor Staten went 2-for-3 with an RBI to round out the offensive production for PC. Hensley threw a complete game, allowing seven hits and three runs to take the loss and fall to 9-12.
Amber Shifflett led the College of Charleston with a 2-for-3, one RBI, one run performance while her sister Kristie Shifflett was 1-for-2 with a two-RBI double and her 33rd walk of the year. The latter ties the single season record held by Amanda Cone (2001-04) while the double was her 15th of the year and improved her career total to 48, five shy of tying the program record.
Sophomore third baseman Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) went 2-for-3 and junior outfielder Katie Nutaitis (Vienna, Va.) finished 2-for-2 with a run scored. Junior pitcher Alexa Datko (San Diego, Calif.) threw six innings and allowed only two runs to collect the win and move to 6-10 on the year while Mesko threw one scoreless inning of relief to earn her first save of the year. It is the fifth of her career, putting her one behind Rachael Stern's (2003-05) program record of six.
It was another pitchers' duel in the nightcap but it looked anything like that with the first batter for the Cougars. Amber Shifflett opened things up by lacing a hard triple to the centerfield fence but would be stranded there as PC shut down the next three batters. While she didn't score, that triple was the tenth of her career, tying her for the all-time career mark at CofC.
When the score did change, it was Presbyterian that got on the board first with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Taylor Staten dropped a two-out single down the leftfield line and stole second before Katie Anderson singled down the right field line to score her and make it 1-0. The Blue Hose would add another run the following inning as Gordon pounded an RBI double to left center to push the lead to 2-0.
The College of Charleston would answer back in the bottom of the inning as Amber Shifflett got hit to lead off the frame and junior outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) singled to put runners on first and second with no outs. Following an out, both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Shifflett scored on a ground out by sophomore outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) to close to within 2-1.
That would be as close as the Cougars would get though as Brittany Howell, who entered one batter before the groundout, threw three scoreless innings of relief to close out the one-run victory.
Taylor Staten went 2-for-3 with a run scored for Presbyterian while Katie Anderson and Mary Gordon did the damage at the plate as they each notched an RBI on the evening. Gordon, who started and went four innings with just the one run allowed, picked up the win to move to 8-7 while Howell collected her first save of the season.
Amanda Lonergan led the Cougars with a 2-for-4 performance that included the only RBI of the game while Kristie Shifflett laced her 16th double of the season. That is the fourth highest single season total in program history. Amber Shifflett made the most of her one hit with her fifth triple of the year and also scored a run. Freshman pitcher Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.), who was perfect through the first 11 batters, went six innings and allowed the two runs to fall to 5-5 on the season.
The College of Charleston wraps up the regular season this weekend as they head to Chattanooga, Tenn. for a three-game series with defending champion Chattanooga. First pitch for both days is slated for 1 p.m.
NOTES
Amber Shifflett's triple to lead off Game 2 was the 10th of her career and tied her for the most in the history of the program ... Kristie Shifflett's walk in the first game was the 33rd of the season, tying the single season mark held by Amanda Cone.
