March 12, 2007

Final Stats

Tallahassee, Fla. - Western Carolina concluded play in the 2007 Florida State Invitational on Sunday morning, falling in nine innings to the Georgia State Panthers, 5-4. The Catamounts could not hold on to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, allowing the Panthers to plate three runs to force extra innings. In the second extra frame, Georgia State scored the game-winner on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Sophomore right hander Lauren Ross tossed the first six innings for Western (6-14), allowing three earned runs while scattering four hits and striking out a career-best eight. Junior Savannah Filley pitched the final 2.2 innings in relief, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, on just one hit with a pair of walks. Filley suffered her fourth loss of the season, however, allowing the winning run in the ninth.

Western was without a base hit until freshman Tatum Hargett laced a two RBI single to left field in the top of the sixth inning to give the Catamounts the 2-1 lead. Scoring on the play were Filley, who walked, and sophomore Stephanie Beatty, who reached on a fielder's choice. WCU managed to load the bases with two out as junior transfer Jamie Swank was hit by a pitch, but a pop-up to second ended the threat, stranding three.

The Catamounts extended their lead to 4-1 in the top of the seventh inning. Sophomore Mendy McKenzie, who led WCU with two of its three hits on the day, singled to open the frame and came around to score on three consecutive walks by Beatty, freshman Serena Smith and Filley, with the latter earning the junior an RBI. Sophomore Beth Hauser drove in the final run with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Smith from third.

In the home half of the seventh, Georgia State capitalized on back-to-back walks to open the frame, with a hit batsman loading the bases with no outs. Beatty gathered in a routine ground ball and threw home to freshman Danielle Reese for the first out, but a two RBI single by shortstop Rachel Cunningham sliced WCU's lead to one, 4-3. A sacrifice fly to center tied the game at four, with Beatty recording the third out on a ground ball.

With the international tiebreaking rules in effect, Western was able to move a runner to third base in the top of both the eighth and ninth innings. However, the would-be, go-ahead run in Hargett was gunned down at home in the eighth, with a triple play erasing WCU's threat in the ninth.

The Panthers took advantage of a WCU error in the bottom of the ninth to put runners on the corners with no outs. Following a ground out that put two runners in scoring position and an intentional walk to load the bases, GSU's second baseman Mary Kathryn Branan flied out to center field for the sacrifice, driving in the game-winning run.

Western returns home for a busy week of action at the Catamount Softball Complex. The Softball Cats host North Carolina A&T on Thursday (March 15) in double-header action beginning at 3:00 pm. This weekend, WCU will host Detroit, Radford and defending champion, UNC Wilmington, in the Best Western Catamount Classic. Games get under way at 5:00 pm on Friday afternoon and will culminate with the Championship Game on Sunday at Noon.