March 11, 2006

Final Stats

Rock Hill, S.C. - Tied at three entering the home half of the seventh inning, Western Carolina junior Ashley Adams singled up the middle, driving in freshman Allyson McCubbins who slid around the tag at home giving the Catamounts the 4-3 win over Southern Conference rival, Furman, in the night cap of the 2006 adidas/Winthrop Invitational.

Western (13-8) advances to the finals of the silver bracket in the 16-team tournament and will face the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 1:00 pm on Field B at the Winthrop Eagle Park.

Catamount starter, freshman Mendy McKenzie, went the distance surrendering just three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. The right hander from Clemmons, N.C., improved to 7-2 on the season.

The two squads battled through four and a half scoreless innings before the Catamounts struck first in the bottom of the fifth inning. Junior Nikki Bost reached on a FU fielding error and was sacrificed to second by McCubbins on a bunt. The next batter, sophomore Heather Pritchard, drew the free pass to put two on for Adams, who doubled to right center to plate the game's first two runs. Adams would later score when freshman Jenny Jackson lifted an RBI single down the left field line to give the Catamounts the 3-0 lead.

Furman (15-13) rallied, though, half an inning later to tie the game. The leadoff batter singled up the middle, while the second hitter in the frame was hit by a pitch to put two on with no one out for Stephanie Cushing who delivered her first career home run and three RBI to knot the game at three.

After sitting the Paladins down in order in the top half of the seventh, McCubbins opened the home half of the frame with a leadoff walk. Pritchard, who has been displaced from her normal catching position into the field at short, laid down a sacrifice bunt to move McCubbins into scoring position. After a Savannah Filley walk to put two on, Adams delivered a single through the middle. McCubbins rounded third and was headed for home before the Furman center fielder, freshman Amber Kiser, fielded the rolling grounder. Kiser delivered an accurate throw to home, but McCubbins' slide was to the outside edge of the plate and she avoided the tag by FU catcher, Megan Jaudon, to tally the winning run.

Following the tying home run, McKenzie rallied to hold the Paladins at bay, striking out five of the seven batters she faced over the final two innings and only allowed one base runner after an infield error. Offensively, Adams finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Jackson was 2-for-3 with the other run driven in.