Charleston, S.C. – Western Carolina softball split its second day of competition at the Low Country Invitational on Saturday, falling on the wrong side of a 10-1 decision against Akron before flipping the script on event co-host College of Charleston,10-4, in the nightcap. WCU split its two games for the second straight day.
Sophomore Courtney Marks led the team with four hits over Saturday's two games, including a career-high tying three hits against Charleston. Junior Maya McPherson tallied three hits, while classmate Lily Bell and senior Tate Stewman had two apiece.
Junior Sydney Dirks, sophomore AG Batson, and seniors Riley Pennington, Rylee Butler, and Taylor Waitley each collected hits on Saturday, with Butler and Waitley recording doubles and Batson connecting on her first homer of the season.
Game One – Akron 10, Western Carolina 1 (5 Innings)
Akron (3-7) used an eight-run second inning, followed by a two-run third to propel the Zips to the 10-1 run-rule decision over Western Carolina in the first of two games for the Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.
WCU's offense was held to just three hits for a second straight game, coming off the bats of Tate Stewman, Courtney Marks, and Maya McPherson. Stewman recorded the lone extra-base hit with a two-bagger.
The Zips used a bases-loaded two-out walk to get on the scoreboard, which was followed by a two-run single, RBI double, two-run triple, and RBI single to blitz the Catamounts for an eight-run lead through two. Akron tacked on a two-out two-run double in the third inning to push the lead to 10.
Neither team was able to get any traffic on the bases till the fifth as freshman Briony Bunsic worked around a leadoff single without harm.
In the home half of the fifth, the Catamounts had a one-out single from Marks followed by a double from Stewman before the Purple & Gold cracked the scoreboard on a Sydnee Bumgarner sacrifice fly. It was all WCU could manage, though, as Akron finished off the 10-1 victory.
Freshman Amari Burce (0-1) suffered the loss, lifted after 1.2 innings, allowing four runs and walking five. Bunsic tossed the remaining 3.1 innings, scattering nine hits and allowing six runs.
Macy Walters (1-2) went the distance for Akron, scattering three hits and allowing one run to earn her first victory of the season.
Game Two – Western Carolina 10, College of Charleston 4
Western Carolina exacted a little revenge in Saturday's nightcap, avenging a 3-2 Friday night loss by compiling four multi-run innings and rapping out 13 base hits to upend the College of Charleston, 10-4.
Courtney Marks led the Catamounts with three hits, while Lily Bell and Maya McPherson had a pair of base knocks apiece as WCU recorded its fourth double-digit hit performance of the season. Taylor Waitley and Rylee Butler both doubled, and AG Batson connected on a homer in the winning effort.
Western Carolina (4-2) wasted no time in the opening half inning as Bell and Tatum Martin reached and advanced on a wild pitch before Dirks deposited an RBI single to center for the 1-0 lead. The Catamounts kept the pressure on the Cougars with a run-scoring single off the bat of Marks to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Batson made the start in the circle and settled in with a quick 1-2–3 opening inning.
Charleston (6-4) broke onto the scoreboard in the second, loading the bases with back-to-back walks and a single with an RBI base knock, cutting the lead to one. Batson limited the damage, though, with three straight outs to keep the lead in WCU's favor.
Batson helped her own cause in the third with a two-run blast deep over the left field wall that pushed the Catamount advantage to 4-1. Following a Waitley double and a single from Marks, Tate Stewman laid down a bunt that allowed Waitley to scamper home and make it a 5-1 game.
Charleston responded in the home half of the fourth with a two-run single coming with two outs that cut the WCU's lead in half, 5-3.
WCU answered the Cougars' offense in the fifth with an RBI groundout from Bell, followed by a sacrifice fly from Tatum Martin that quickly doubled the advantage to four once again. The Purple & Gold continued the offensive pressure as a sacrifice fly from Stewman followed by WCU taking advantage of a Charleston defensive miscue to plate two more runs and make it 10-3.
In the sixth inning, Charleston faced Riley Pennington for her first full inning of work after getting two outs in the fifth. The Cougars led off with a double, followed by a sacrifice fly to make it a 10-4 game.
Amanda Fulton entered in the seventh to record three consecutive punchouts and secure the six-run win for Western Carolina.
Batson (2-0) earned the win, allowing six hits and three runs with a strikeout over 4.1 innings. Pennington tossed 1.2 innings, scattering three hits and allowing a run with a strikeout. Fulton slammed the door with three straight strikeouts to secure the win.
Erin McDaid (1-1) opened the night for Charleston as the first of six pitchers used, lifted after just an inning, surrendering four hits and two runs. Lily Thorpe tossed 1.0 innings as she allowed four hits and three runs. Kendall Thackston pitched two scoreless frames with a hit and two walks given up. Jules Raymond pitched the fifth, giving up two hits and two runs before Campbell Schaen allowed three unearned runs on two hits in the sixth. Ryley Kutter closed the game for Charleston in the seventh with a scoreless inning of work.
The Catamounts close the Low Country Classic on Sunday, battling UConn at 9 a.m. at the CSU Softball Complex as WCU plays on the campus of co-host Charleston Southern. The game will have live stats available through a link on CatamountSports.com.
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