April 25, 2006

Gardner-Webb at Western Carolina - Game One

Gardner-Webb at Western Carolina - Game Two

Cullowhee, N.C. - Sophomore Savannah Filley and freshman Jenny Jackson proved to be the heroes on Tuesday evening as Western Carolina swept its final non-conference doubleheader defeating Gardner-Webb, 5-2 and 6-4, at the Catamount Softball Complex. Filley smashed a three-run home run in the fourth inning to propel WCU to the win in game one while Jackson pitched a complete game to earn the win. In the night cap, it was Jackson blasting a three-run, walk-off home run to left center to give Filley the win on the mound.

The twin bill marked the return home for Western (37-16), who had played its previous 10 on the road. The Catamounts improved to 16-3 in Cullowhee, while running its current winning streak to a school-record seven games. All told, WCU has won 13 of its past 14 games and moves to 3-0 all-time versus Gardner-Webb coupled with the 12-3 win in Rock Hill, S.C., earlier this season.

Jackson led the team on the day, hitting 3-for-7 (.429) with three RBI all coming on her 10th home run of the season. Filley and freshman Lauren Ross each hit 2-for-5 with homers number 13 and 10, respectively. Also getting in on the home run derby was junior Ashley Adams, who lifted her SoCon-record 20th over the fences on Tuesday in a 2-for-6 afternoon with a pair of runs driven in.

Western pushed across two early runs in game one capitalizing on three Bulldog errors in the frame. Freshman Allyson McCubbins drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on an error by Gardner-Webb's catcher, who tossed the ball into centerfield while attempting to throw behind freshman Heather Pritchard at second. The error allowed Pritchard to move to third where she was plated by Adams on an RBI single to left center one batter later. The Catamounts continued to threaten until a double-play ended the inning with two left on base.

After putting runners on first and second in both the second and third innings without scoring, Western added some insurance in the fourth. Junior Nikki Bost led off with a double to right center and moved to third on an infield groundout by McCubbins. The next batter, Pritchard, laid down a picture perfect bunt for an infield single to put runners on the corners with one out. Filley then laced an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left center driving in three for the 5-0 lead.

Gardner-Webb (11-35) scored twice in the sixth inning as sophomore JoAnna Ward hit a two-run home run to right center with two out to score freshman Lindsey Whitfield, who reached on an error, and Haley Scism, who was on by fielder's choice. Adrienne Smith singled on the first pitch after the long ball, but Lindsay Cox grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Jackson went the distance to secure the win in the first game, tossing seven innings with three strikeouts and one walk while giving up the two runs, only one of which was earned, on eight total base hits. For GWU, sophomore Taryn Beck gave up five runs, three earned, on seven hits in six innings of work. She struck out six, but gave up four walks in a 135-pitch outing.

With the biggest Southern Conference series in the program's infancy looming on the horizon - and its ace in the circle, the Catamounts appeared sluggish in the early going in the second game of the twin bill. Yet a lot had to do with the pitching of Bulldog starter, Scism. The Concord, N.C., sophomore limited the Catamounts to three hits entering the bottom of the sixth inning and was clinging to a 4-0 lead, threatening to blank WCU for the first-time at its new facility.

But the sixth inning proved to be the beginning of the end for Scism and the Bulldogs. With one out, Adams homered down the left field line to delete the goose egg from the WCU score column. The next batter, Jackson, singled to left and scored when Ross hit a towering shot to straight away center to pull Western to within one. After freshman Stephanie Beatty walked, Canton, N.C., native, Brittany Underwood, making her first career start, registered her first career extra base hit, doubling to right center on a 2-2 pitch, moving Beatty to third to continue the threat. However, the Catamounts would have to settle for the three runs in the frame as GWU tallied back-to-back outs to end the inning.

Entering the seventh down by one, Pritchard opened the final frame by reaching on a fielding error by the Bulldog first baseman, Ward, but was erased on a close play at second on a fielder's choice by Filley. With a pinch runner, Hendersonville, N.C., native Sam Stepp at first, Adams worked the count full and stayed alive with multiple foul balls before drawing the one-out walk. With two on, Jackson blasted a 1-0 pitch over left center field for the second walk-off home run in school history, joining Filley in that regard.

Early in the game, it was all Gardner-Webb as the Bulldogs took the early lead with a lead-off home run by Whitfield to left in the fourth and a two-run home run by Christie Barlow, coupled with a manufactured run scored by Kelly Linsley and driven in on the fielder's choice by Jessi Williams as a part of the three-run fifth. But over the final two innings, GWU only managed one base runner and never safely reached second base.

Freshman Mendy McKenzie earned the starting nod for Western, going five full innings, surrendering four earned runs while fanning four and walking three. She also gave up both homers, marking the first home runs she's allowed since giving up one on April 1st at Appalachian State, a run of ten-consecutive appearances without allowing a round tripper. Filley came on in relief in the top of the sixth, pitching the final two hitless and scoreless innings while walking one and striking out three to ear her fourth victory of the season.

The league-leading Catamounts host second-place College of Charleston this Saturday and Sunday for a three-game SoCon set. First pitch in Saturday's doubleheader is set for 1:00 pm, with the final game also starting at 1:00 pm on Sunday.