Charlotte, N.C. – Chandler Sparkman tossed five innings of one-hit shutout relief and homered as part of a four-run first to lead the College of Charleston to a 6-3 win over Wagner in the opening game of the Green and White Invitational.
The Cougars (8-8) finished the day with a 5-2 loss to Valparaiso and wrap up tournament play on Sunday with a 12:15 doubleheader against host Charlotte.
Sparkman earned her first victory as a Cougar, allowing only three base runners and striking out six after entering the game with two on and nobody out in the third. She fanned two in that inning and worked a perfect fifth and sixth frames before running into her only trouble in the bottom of the seventh.
The Seahawks reached Sparkman for a single with two outs to bring up the tie run, but the junior right hander put the game on ice with a strikeout to extend the Cougars' winning streak to three.
Sparkman followed a two-out walk to
Lexee Emanuel in the first with a blast over the center field fence for her second homer in as many games. A
Savannah Huff double and a pair of walks loaded the bases, and Charleston added to its lead on a hit by pitch and infield single by
Dexlie Inman.
Wagner responded with three in its half of the inning and drew two walks to start the third before Sparkman slammed the door shut. Back-to-back doubles by
Madi Brown and Emanuel in the fourth, and an RBI double by Inman in the fifth gave the Cougars two insurance runs.
The doubles by Brown and Inman, part of a 12-hit Charleston attack, left them tied for the team lead with seven.
Kelly Sinclair had two hits in her first game back after missing seven contests with a leg injury.
In the game against Valparaiso, the Crusaders jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Huff pulled a drive down the left field line for her first career homer in the fourth and Sinclair doubled in Inman in the fifth to get the Cougars within a run. But the Crusaders answered with two in the sixth to secure their victory.
