Box Score March 12, 2006
Final Stats
Rock Hill, S.C. - Eastern Kentucky plated two runs in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, coming from behind to edge Western Carolina, 4-3, Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the Silver bracket at the 2006 adidas/Winthrop Invitational.
WCU freshman Heather Pritchard led the Catamounts on the day going 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the top of the second inning. She was named to the Winthrop Invitational All-Tournament team, hitting 7-for-12 over the three days with a double, home run, and two RBI.
Freshman pitcher Mendy McKenzie was saddled with the loss despite holding the Colonels hitless through the first three and two-thirds and striking out three on the day. She threw six full innings and gave up seven hits and was responsible for all four EKU runs.
The Catamounts climbed on top early capitalizing on several Colonel errors. In the second inning, WCU freshman Jenny Jackson reached on a throwing error and was moved to third two batters later when classmate Stephanie Beatty singled down the right field line. Beatty stole second, drawing a throw from home which rolled into center field allowing Jackson to scamper home for the game's first run.
An inning later, Pritchard delivered a one out homer to right field to push the lead to 2-0. The Catamounts would add another run in the frame after sophomore Savannah Filley drew a walk after Pritchard's long ball, scoring on a fielding error by the EKU right fielder as she lost the fly ball in the sun.
Western would hold onto the three-run shutout advantage until the sixth inning. Eastern Kentucky (10-9) plated two runs in the sixth inning, one off an RBI double to left and the second on an infield error, to close to within one, 3-2, entering the seventh.
In the final frame, the Colonels leadoff hitter doubled to right center and scored the tying run on a RBI single by the second batter. An arrant throw to home on the play allowed the game-winning run to move to second base. However, the threat was neutralized on a heads up play by first baseman Lauren Ross, who fielded a grounder and tossed to Beatty to tag the runner out. With the go-ahead run now on first with one out, EKU put together two singles to the right side, with an intentional walk sandwiched in between, to load the bases and eventually drive in the game winning run. The game ended with the bases still loaded and two outs.
In addition to Pritchard's 2-for-3 outing, McCubbins and Beatty were the only other Catamounts to record hits as Western struck out a school-record 14 times, which was also a career-high for Colonel pitcher Kelsey Anderson.
On the season, Western dropped to 13-9 overall, but went 3-2 in tournament action and made its first-ever appearance in a season tournament championship game. Pritchard hit a sizzling .583 over the three days, scoring seven runs and drew five walks. Three Catamounts hit two home runs as McCubbins, Filley, and junior Ashley Adams each hit a long ball, as well as Jackson who delivered her first career grand slam. Adams led Western over the five games, driving in nine runs with McCubbins tallying seven RBI and Jackson with six.
Western returns to action on Wednesday, March 15 in double-header action at the Catamount Softball Complex. The Cats host the Siena Saints for two with a 1:00 pm start. WCU will also host the Best Western Catamount Classic tournament this weekend in Cullowhee. Action in the five-team tournament begins Friday at 2:00 pm, with Western taking the field first in the night cap at 7:00 pm.
