MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston ran its winning streak to six with a 4-0 blanking of Monmouth before seeing its run end with a 9-5 loss to Lipscomb later Saturday night on the second day of the Wyndham Garden Cougar Classic at Patriots Point.
The loss to the Bisons ended the longest winning streak to open a season in the 25-year history of the CofC softball program. The Cougars will look to get back on track Sunday at 1:30 when they host Winthrop in the final game of the tournament.
In the win over Monmouth, freshman Izzy Berouty worked five innings of shutout ball, allowing five hits and striking out three without walking a batter. She has not allowed a run over the first 12 innings of her college career but had to escape several trouble spots against the Hawks.
Monmouth (0-4) put two on with nobody out in the first and had singles in each of the next four innings, but Berouty (2-0) pitched around the potential jams each time. Brittany Violette relieved Berouty in the sixth and tossed a pair of 1-2-3 innings to complete CofC's second shutout of the young season.
Taylor Belfiore singled in Jordin Jones with two outs in the first for the only run the Cougars would need, giving the freshman eight RBI in her first six games. Katie Padilla doubled and scored on a base hit by Dana Horgan in the fourth, and CofC opened it up in the fifth on a two-run double down the left field line by Jones.
Lipscomb (6-3) scored in five of the first six innings to improve to 4-0 in the tournament. The Bisons put up a five spot in the second en route to building a 7-1 lead before withstanding a Cougar comeback that was sparked by a pair of freshmen.
In the fourth, Yari Felix dropped a two-run single into shallow left to pull CofC within 7-3. After Lipscomb added a run in the fifth, Lexee Emanuel made it a three-run game in the bottom of the inning when she hit her first career homer, a screaming line drive over the fence in left center. Emanuel finished with two hits, two runs scored and three RBI in the game.
But McCarley Thomas slammed the door shut in relief, giving up only two hits and striking out three in 2.2 innings. Starter Mandy Jordan won her fourth game of the season despite allowing six hits and five runs in 4.1 innings. Sydney Shipley started and took the loss for CofC, dropping to 2-1 on the year.