MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston softball team split a Tuesday evening doubleheader with Bryant at Patriots Point after dropping 3-2 contest in the opener but bouncing back for a 2-1 victory in the second half of the twinbill.
The Cougars (16-9 overall) took 2-0 leads into the seventh inning of both contests, but surrendered a three-run rally in the first game which resulted in the loss.
“The first game was disappointing,” said head coach Linda Kalafatis. “We lost it defensively by making some poor decisions, and just didn't play winning defense.
“We bounced back and got the win, but we know we can play better than this. A lot of credit goes to Bryant; they played feistily and gave us everything they had. I just wish we had given everything we had.”
Freshman Samantha Martin (6-2) tossed a complete game in the game-two win and struck out a career high 14 batters.
Senior Lizzy Vaughn continued her offensive output with five hits on the day, going 3-for-3 in the first game and 2-for-3 in the second with a double and run scored in both contests.
The Cougars stay home to play host to No. 13 Texas A&M in a single game on Wednesday, March 11 with first pitch slated for 5 p.m.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 2, BRYANT: 3 (Box Score)
In game one, the Cougars plated a run in the first and an insurance run in the sixth, but doomed themselves when they allowed the come-from-behind, five-hit rally in the top of the seventh.
The Cougars struck early when Vaughn led off the Cougar half of the first with a double to the wall in left center and later scurried home on a passed ball for the early lead.
The 1-0 lead as Cougar starter Valerie Cassell pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless softball and struck out four hitters while scattering three hits in what would eventually be a no-decision.
The Cougars tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Rebecca Mueller and Kelsey Hodgson drew free passes, and when Chandler Frisbie executed the sacrifice bunt, the Bulldogs threw the ball away and allowed Mueller to score for a 2-0 lead.
The run would prove insufficient, however, as Bryant came back to life in the seventh to steal the victory from under the Cougars. They started the inning with three straight seeing-eye singles to load the bases before the Cougars could record an out, and an RBI groundout and two more singles represented the three runs Bryant needed to escape with the win.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: 2, BRYANT: 1 (Box Score)
With Martin having struck out eight hitters through three innings, the Cougar bats finally went to work with a two-out rally in the Cougar half of the third. After two long fly-outs to left field, Vaughn extended the inning with a single up the middle. Carly Corthell drew a walk, and Mackenzie Maples singled to right field to score Vaughn and leave runners on the corners. From there, the Cougars executed a double-steal to perfection with Maples baiting a throw to second base and Corthell sneaking home to claim a 2-0 lead.
Martin added two strikeouts in the fourth, one in the fifth, and one more in the sixth to carry a 2-0 Cougar lead into the seventh frame for the second time on the afternoon.
Bryant offered a scare with a two-out, RBI double from Madeline Valasquez cutting the lead in half, but two more seventh-inning strikeouts by Martin and a lazy pop-out to second base neutralized the threat and restored the Cougars' winning ways.
Freshman Brianna Davis earned her first career start in game two and went 1-for-3 with a fourth inning single.
The Cougars have now won 11 of their last 13 contests looking forward to Wednesday's clash with the 13th-ranked Aggies.
