College of Charleston
Georgia Southern
Softball Splits Doubleheader with Georgia Southern
3/26/2011 10:02:00 PM | Softball
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston softball team split its Saturday afternoon Southern Conference doubleheader with Georgia Southern at Patriots Point. The Cougars claimed a 3-0 victory in the first game but fell in the nightcap, 4-3.
Alexa Datko (San Diego, Calif.) threw a complete-game no hitter in the opening game to snap the Eagles' five-game winning streak. The no hitter marked the first time Georgia Southern couldn't muster a hit since Tiffany McDonald threw a no hitter against the Eagles while pitching for Florida State on March 26, 2008.
In the second game, a three-run, seventh-inning Georgia Southern rally downed the Cougars and prevented the sweep, however.
After the split, CofC moves to 19-11 (3-5 SoCon) while Georgia Southern moves to 16-18 (6-2 SoCon). The teams play the third game of the series on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. which has been moved up from the originally scheduled start time.
In the opener, Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) snagged all three Cougar RBIs with her fourth-inning three-run home run. Woodall was 2-for-2 in the game.
Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) was 3-for-3 in the second game with two RBIs.
Carly Corthell (Reno, Nev.) picked up a hit in both games to extend her hitting streak to seven straight games and 22 out of CofC's last 23 games with at least one hit.
GAME ONE: CofC: 3, Georgia Southern: 0
Datko brought her best stuff to the opener and dealt seven innings of no-hit softball as the Cougars handed the Eagles just their second SoCon loss of the year. Datko walked three and struck out eight in the contest.
The Cougars managed the only runs they needed to take the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs already recorded, Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) drew a walk and Kelsey Hodgson (Woodstock, Ga.) was hit with a pitch to extend the inning to Woodall who capitalized with a three-run shot over the fence in right center.
GAME TWO: CofC: 3, Georgia Southern: 4
The Cougars looked to have the second game as well until Georgia Southern's three-run, seventh-inning rally declined CofC the sweep.
The Cougars gained an early lead when a pair of infield singles and an Eagle throwing error put Lizzy Vaughn (Placerville, Calif.) on third base with one out. Katie Nutaitis (Vienna, Va.) executed a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Vaughn and put CofC up, 1-0.
CofC padded the lead in the second when Woodall and Hillary Stringer (Summerville, S.C.) drew walks and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Forbes then singled back up the middle to score both runs, moving CofC ahead 3-0.
The Eagles finally managed their first hit as well as run of the afternoon in the fourth inning when Marie Fogle led off with a single to left field and Hanna Ennis doubled to the gap in the left centerfield to score Fogle from first.
Starting pitcher Stephanie Saylors (Easley, S.C.) regained her dominance over the fifth and sixth innings to shut down the Eagles but Georgia Southern sparked a go-ahead rally in the seventh.
Mackenzie Williams led the inning off with a double to right center followed by two singles and another double from Tabby Douberley to quickly plate the tying and go-ahead runs. Jen Rosene (Charlotte, N.C.) entered the pitching circle and prevented any further damage but CofC couldn't muster any offense in the bottom half of the seventh to counter the surge.
As mentioned, the series conclusion has been moved up to 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 27 in order to stay ahead of predicted storm conditions. Following that game, the Cougars pause from SoCon play to face South Carolina State and No. 1 Alabama next week.
