April 29, 2009

Gaem 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina softball (11-33) dropped a pair of games to East Tennessee State (27-24), 2-0, 10-7, in the Catamounts final regular season games of the year.

Freshman lefty hurler Katie King tossed a solid complete game, in the first contest of the doubleheader, but Western Carolina left nine runners on base and couldn't push a player across the plate. King takes the loss and falls to 5-17 allowing 10 hits, one earned run and striking out four.

East Tennessee State scored a run in the top of the first inning off an RBI single by Trisha Massenzo. The Bucs scored their second run in the top of the fifth off a Western Carolina miscue.

Catamounts Danielle Reese and Katie each had a pair of hits in the game. It was King's second and third hits of her career.

The second game was a run-fest with a total of 17 runs between the two teams after just two in the first game of the twin bill. ETSU had 17 hits and Western Carolina had 11 in the contest.

Western Carolina scored in the bottom of the first. Kristen Gay led off the inning with a single up the middle, stole second and then advanced to third off a wild pitch. An RBI single by Chelsea Schaffer, through the left side, scored Gay.

ETSU answered in the top of the second, with a lone run, to tie the game. The Bucs took the lead with their second run of the game in the top of the third.

The Catamounts posted three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-2 advantage. With one out, Gay started the scoring rally again with her second single of the game. Reese followed with a single to left field and Schaffer hit her second RBI single to again score Gay. Stephanie Beatty followed with a two RBI homerun over the centerfield wall.

ETSU pulled within run with a single run in the top of the fourth.

In the bottom of the fifth, Western Carolina struck again with three runs to go up 7-3. For the third time, Gay started a rally with a single and Reese followed with a single to centerfield. Schaffer notched her third RBI of the game scoring Gay off a single to right field and Reese also scored off an ETSU miscue. Keri Burnside's RBI single plated Schaffer for the third run of the inning.

In the next two innings, ETSU scored seven unanswered runs to take the lead and the win.

Freshman Megan Taylor started the game and went four innings before being replaced by Chere Monday. Taylor came back into the game in the top of the seventh but it was Monday who picked up the loss. Monday falls to 0-3 on the season.

Schaffer led the Catamounts going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. Gay also had three hits and scored two runs. Reese and Burnside had two hits apiece.

The Catamounts will be back in action at the Southern Conference Tournament held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Western Carolina will begin play in the tournament on May 6.