March 21, 2007

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (11-18) split its doubleheader with Gardner-Webb (22-15) falling 8-0 and winning 8-5 Wednesday at Varsity Field.

Sophomore hurler Lauren Ross got the win in the second game and also hit her third homerun of the season. She tossed a complete game and had a season-high nine strikeouts against the Bulldogs, improving to 4-4 on the season.

The Catamounts had 13 hits in the game and had five batters with multiple hits. Mendy McKenzie, Nikki Bost, Stephanie Beatty, Mollie Fowler and Jamie Swank each had two hits.

Western Carolina opened the second game with a scoring frenzy. The Catamounts posted four runs on six hits in the first inning. Bost and Beatty notched back-to-back singles and Tatum Hargett accounted for the first run of the game when her RBI single scored Bost. Ross followed with a three-run bomb over the left field wall.

The Catamounts took advantage of a pair of walks, with two outs, given up by the Bulldogs Christine Murray that placed Bost and Beatty on first and second. Savannah Filley made the most of the opportunity with a three RBI homerun shot over the left field wall.

Mandy Ward put the Bulldogs on the board with one swing of the bat with a leadoff homerun in the third inning. Gardner-Webb added two more runs to close out the inning.

McKenzie led off the sixth inning with a single up the middle and Bost followed with a single that fell just inside the right field foul line. Beatty pushed across the eighth run of the game for the Catamounts when her RBI single up the middle plated McKenzie.

A wild pitch strikeout and a pair of walks by Ross loaded the bases for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ross walked her third consecutive batter of the inning to allow the Bulldogs to score the first run of the inning. With bases loaded, Ross battled to get Abbie Looper to strike out. Still with bases loaded, Gardner-Webb's Polk ground out to the shortstop but it allowed Jessie Williams to score. Ross forced Melody Harrell to ground out to end the inning and the Bulldog threat.

Gardner Webb struck first in the opening game, when Lindsey Whitfield hit a two run homerun over the left centerfield wall in the second inning. Catamount pitcher McKenzie gave up a one out walk to the Bulldogs' Joanna Ward to set up Whitfield's two-run shot. The Bulldogs tacked on the third run of the inning off an RBI single by Looper which scored Williams. Kelly Linsley attempted to also score on the play but she was gunned down by Catamount second baseman Tatum Hargett at the plate.

Jessie Polk led off the third inning for Gardner-Webb and after back-to-back steals, scored on a sacrifice fly by Harrell. When McKenzie gave up the fifth hit and fourth run of the game, she was replaced by Filley. After giving up a walk, Filley forced the remaining two Bulldog batters to fly out to end the inning.

Gardner-Webb had five hits and four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to assist in the shortened five inning game. McKenzie took the loss in the game and falls to 5-10. She also had two strikeouts in the game.

Filley and Hargett were the only Catamounts to pick up hits in the game.

Western Carolina will begin defense of its regular season conference title beginning this weekend with the opening of Southern Conference play. The Catamounts host Appalachian State on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch of the doubleheader on Saturday begins at 1 p.m. and the single game begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday.