Box Score May 11, 2006
Final Stats
Chattanooga, Tenn. -
For over eight and a half innings, freshmen pitchers Jenny Jackson from Western Carolina and Yancy Moose from Appalachian State nearly matched each other pitch-for-pitch, both maneuvering in-and-out of trouble while maintaining a scoreless tie, waiting for the other to flinch. With two outs and runners on the corners, Jackson, the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, yielded first as the Mountaineers edged the Catamounts, 1-0, in nine innings in second round action of the 2006 SoCon Championship from Jim Frost Stadium.
A lead off double to right center field by junior Kasey Motsinger put the Mountaineers within scoring position. In securing two outs, including a ground out and pop up to short, Motsinger advanced to third when centerfielder Ashley Gaston split the two with an infield single also to short.
With runners at first and third, ASU senior Mary Lutz swatted a dribbler in between first and second that Catamount first baseman Lauren Ross dove for, but could not corral but only redirect towards a hard-charging Samm Keppel from second. The Hendersonville, N.C., native, scooped the ball and dove for first, trying to beat Lutz to the bag to negate Motsinger racing home from third, but the base runner reached a split second before Keppel could apply the tag to complete the infield single and secure the game-winning run.
Western Carolina, the regular season champions and top seed, was eliminated from contention in the 2006 tournament while the Mountaineers advance to play the loser between #6 Elon and #7 Furman. In other tournament action, second-seeded College of Charleston was also eliminated as No. 3 Georgia Southern scored nine earned runs off the Cougars starting pitching en route to an 11-2 win at Hargraves Field, making the Eagles the highest seed remaining.
"I am just so proud of this team - very proud," said head coach Megan Smith, who was honored by her peers by being voted the SoCon Coach of the Year on Wednesday night. "This team did more than anyone expected and really played their hearts out all season long and that's all any coach can ask. Things today just did not go our way, but I am still very proud of this team. They want to and can not wait to get back here next season already."
Western (41-20) was not without its chances, however, stranding 11 runners in the extra-inning affair to run the two-game total to 22 on the day when including the first-round, 5-3, loss to UNC Greensboro on Thursday morning. The Catamounts managed to move a runner into scoring position at second base in six of the nine innings without scoring, which included having runners at second and third in both the second and fifth innings and stranding the bases loaded in the third.
Jackson was the hard-luck loser, dropping to 15-6 on the season despite throwing eight and two thirds, scattering seven ASU hits and pitching around just a little bit of trouble. In the second inning, Appalachian State (28-29) threatened to push a run across, putting runners on the corners with just one out coming on a sacrifice bunt. With catcher Kristyn Hurt on third, Gaston hit a sharp ground ball back to the circle where Jackson knocked it down, recovered, and threw home where McCubbins successfully blocked home plate and applied the tag to keep the game scoreless. After the trouble spot in the second, Jackson held the Apps off the base paths for three-straight innings, tallying 1-2-3 offerings in the fourth through sixth, and only allowed two runners to second, including the action in the ninth.
Moose earned the win, her 10th of the season, for ASU going nine innings with four strikeouts and five walks while limiting the Catamounts, who led the league in batting this season, to just three hits.
The bottom of the Catamount lineup again provided the hits, with base runners scattered throughout the order. Ross collected one hit on a 1-for-4 outing while Beatty collected the other two WCU hits on a 2-for-4 performance. McCubbins led Western in on-base percentage, earning her way on three times including a pair of walks and a hit by pitch while freshman Heather Pritchard went 0-for-1 officially with a walk and three successful sacrifice bunts while attempting to move McCubbins into scoring position.
Despite falling short of its weekend goal of a Southern Conference tournament championship, the inaugural season of Western Carolina softball has to be chalked up as a raving success. The Catamounts burst onto the scene, leading the SoCon as the first team to 20, 30, and the only squad to secure 40 wins in the regular season. Offensively, WCU amassed 81 home runs, shattering the previous record in the conference of 63 set by College of Charleston just last season. Adams led the conference with 21 and sophomore Savannah Filley was second with 14 as five Cats reached double-digit, round-trippers.
In its inaugural season, Western Carolina became the first-ever, first-year program to capture the league's crown becoming the fifth different team to win the SoCon regular season joining Chattanooga (8), College of Charleston (2), Furman (2), and Georgia Southern.
Smith and company are scheduled to return each member of the 2006 squad, adding a trio of talented freshmen in Tatum Hargett (Welcome, N.C./North Davidson HS), Danielle Reese (Welcome, N.C./North Davidson HS), and Serena Smith (Mooresville, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus HS) who all signed National Letters of Intent to Western Carolina back in the fall.
