April 18, 2006

Western Carolina at South Carolina State - Game One

Western Carolina at South Carolina State - Game Two

Orangeburg, S.C. - Stepping out of conference on the road for the final time during this inaugural season, the Western Carolina Catamount softball team took two from South Carolina State on Tuesday afternoon, 4-1 and 4-0 at the Lady Bulldog Field. After trailing 1-0, WCU sophomore Savannah Filley drove in two runs on her first career triple to help win game one, 4-1. In game two, reigning Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week, freshman Mendy McKenzie, tossed a complete game one-hitter to blank SCSU, 4-0, in game two to earn her sixth shutout win of the season.

WCU (32-16) remained perfect against the Bulldogs on the season, sweeping two doubleheaders with South Carolina State this year with two wins in Cullowhee and two in Orangeburg.

Freshman Stephanie Beatty led the Catamounts on the day going 3-for-7 (.429) with a run driven in. Her classmate, Lauren Ross, and junior home run leader Ashley Adams each tallied two hits, with the latter driving in a pair or runs. Western, who came into the game with just three triples all season, nearly doubled that tally as both Filley and freshman Allyson McCubbins garnered three-baggers on the day with McCubbins' triple accounting for her lone hit of the day, although she did draw a pair of walks and scored once.

South Carolina State (7-30) took an early 1-0 lead in the home half of the second inning in the first game of the twin bill, scoring an unearned run with two outs. The Lady Bulldog lead would hold until the top of the fifth inning when freshman Samm Keppel doubled down the left field line, then moved to third when freshman Heather Pritchard singled through the left side two batters later. With two on and two out, Filley blasted her first career triple to right, plating Keppel and Pritchard. Filley would trot home one batter later as Adams singled in the third run of the inning for the 3-1 WCU lead.

Western would round out the game's scoring in the sixth as Ross led off with a double to center and was moved to third on an infield single by Beatty. Freshman Beth Hauser drove in her 13th run of the season by lifting a sacrifice fly to right scoring Ross from third.

Freshman Jenny Jackson threw all seven innings for the Catamounts, allowing one unearned run in the complete game victory, her 11th win of the season. Jackson scattered five SCSU hits while striking out six with no walks on the day.

Behind a strong, one-hit shutout pitching performance by McKenzie, Western scored a run in four of the seven innings to win game two, 4-0. McKenzie added nine strikeouts with just one walk to pick up her SoCon-leading 19th win of the year.

The Catamounts scored the only run they would need in the top of the second inning when Ross, who reached on a throwing error, was walked home with McCubbins at the plate accounting for the RBI, her 34th of the season. Two innings later, Western would again light the scoreboard on three-consecutive singles. Pritchard lined one back up the middle and then advanced to third when Filley put a shot through the right side on an 0-1 pitch. With runners at the corners, Adams singled through the left side to drive in her second run of the series.

Up by two, Western would add two insurance runs over the final two innings. In the sixth, McCubbins led off with her first-career triple to right field and was driven in by Pritchard. Then, in the visitors half of the seventh, Jackson delivered a one-out single through the left side and was moved to second by a Ross single along the infield and was later scored by Beatty.

League-leading Western Carolina (9-2 SoCon) returns to action this weekend, visiting UNC Greensboro (3-9 SoCon) for a three-game series in Southern Conference play, which will conclude WCU's current 10-game road swing. First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader between the Catamounts and Spartans is set for 1:00 pm, with game two to follow immediately, and Sunday's finale is set for 1:00 pm. Live stats will be available by visiting www.UNCGSpartans.com and clicking the LIVE STATS link on the right hand side of the page -- or by clicking HERE on game day.