Softball: Feb. 27 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
McNeese State 5, Texas Tech 0
Lamar 6, Dartmouth 2
Lamar 13, Texas Southern 1 (5)
Nicholls 14, Jackson State 11
Nicholls 9, Mississippi Valley State 1 (5)
UIW 7, Jackson State 5
Southern Mississippi 2, UIW 1
Central Arkansas 2, East Carolina 1
Sacred Heart 3, Central Arkansas 1
Florida Atlantic 3, Northwestern State 2
Ball State 9, Northwestern State 8
Tennessee-Martin 6, Southeastern Louisiana 0
Southeast Missouri 10, Southeastern Louisiana 8
Jacksonville 9, Abilene Christian 0 (5)
Campbell 3, Abilene Christian 1
Florida Atlantic 8, Stephen F. Austin 0 (6)
No. 7/7 LSU 9, Stephen F. Austin 0 (5)
McNeese State 5, Texas Tech 0
LAKE CHARLES, La. – You knew it was going to be a good night for McNeese pitcher Emily Vincent after she retired the first seven Texas Tech batters in a 5-0 shutout Friday night at the Cowgirl Classic.
Vincent struck out five of the first seven batters faced ended the game with 10 strikeouts and gave up only two hits and walked three. A double in the third and a single in the fourth were the only hits giving up by the junior from Sulphur. Vincent helped her cause at the plate by going 1 for 3 with a RBI.
Hailey Drew and Taylor Goree both collected two hits apiece and Drew picked up two RBI and Goree knocked in one run.
McNeese took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single to left by Vincent. McNeese added a run in the second on a RBI by Goree for a 2-0 Cowgirl lead. McNeese opened the fourth frame with three straight hits coming from a Brooke David double and singles by Melissa Arriaga and Goree. RBI singles by Goree and Drew gave McNeese a 4-0 lead.
Vincent got herself out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth after striking out Lea Hopson to end the Red Raider threat. Vincent retired the next six batters and the Cowgirls scored its final run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Drew.
Vincent ended the game by striking out Kierra Miles to improve to 5-1 on the season and lifted McNeese’s record to 11-5.
The Cowgirl Classic will continue Saturday with Memphis taking on Texas Tech at 12 p.m. McNeese will face Texas Tech again Saturday at 3 p.m. before a 6 p.m. game against Memphis.
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Lamar 6, Dartmouth 2
Lamar 13, Texas Southern 1 (5)
AUSTIN, Texas – The thermometer may have indicated it was the coldest day of the season for the Lamar Lady Cardinals, but the stats showed it was their hottest day of the season.
With temperatures in the low 30s made to feel even brisker by strong winds, the Lady Cardinals erupted for a total of 19 runs over two games Friday at the Texas Invitational hosted by the University of Texas.
Lamar (5-8) started out the day with a 6-2 win over defending Ivy League champion Dartmouth before rolling over Texas Southern, the defending SWAC champion, by a 13-1 score in five innings.
Laura Napoli pitched a complete game in the win over Dartmouth, scattering seven hits and striking out two as she improved her record to 3-4. Jenna Holland had two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs. Casey Cromwell also had two hits for the Lady Cardinals, who played errorless ball.
Shannon Sain was the hitting star for Lamar in the second game, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and five RBIs. Holland went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, while Stephanie Meeuwsen added two hits. Lauren Dannelley (2-4) pitched the first four innings, allowing just one hit and one unearned run. Amie Cisneros pitched an inning of scoreless relief.
For the day, Lamar hit .360 (18-of-50) as the Lady Cardinals ended their six-game losing streak.
Lamar is scheduled to play two games on Saturday, facing Dartmouth at 10 a.m. and the host Longhorns at 1 p.m. Both games will be shown live on the Longhorn Sports Network and on ESPN3. Lamar wraps up the weekend at noon Sunday with a rematch against Texas Southern.
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Nicholls 14, Jackson State 11
Nicholls 9, Mississippi Valley State 1 (5)
GULFPORT, Miss. – The Nicholls State University softball team opened play in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic on Friday and the Colonels came away with two wins by defeating Jackson State, 14-11, in the opener before run-ruling Mississippi Valley State, 9-1, in the night cap.
Nicholls (8-5) will continue the classic on Saturday, taking on MVSU again at 5:30 p.m. before an 8 p.m. matchup with Southern Miss.
The Colonels racked up a season-high 19 hits to defeat Jackson State, 14-11, in a high-scoring affair on Friday afternoon to open up play in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic.
Nicholls received three hits each from Haley Stevenson, who also drove in three runs, Payton Gremillion, and Kayla Prater. Five of the hits went for extra bases, led by two triples by Prater. Alexis Huss also had two extra base hits, tallying a pair of doubles.
Nicholls jumped all over the Tigers in early going, taking a 6-1 lead after three innings. Prater put the Colonels on the board in the first with a RBI triple, and after adding three runs on three hits and two errors in the second, the Colonels pushed two more across the plate in the third. Huss doubled home Prater, who led the frame off with a triple, and Stevenson drove in the sixth run with a single to center.
Nicholls added four runs in the top of the fifth off five hits to push the lead to 10-1, but JSU tagged Hannah Haydel (3-2) with three runs to prevent the run-rule. Haydel left the game in the inning, allowing four runs on six hits in 4.1 innings of work.
The runs continued to come across the plate in the late innings as Nicholls scored a run in the sixth before Jackson State tacked on four runs to cut into the lead, making the count 11-8.
In the final inning, Caitlyn Carroll doubled to center to drive in two of the Colonels’ three runs. Down 14-8, JSU loaded the bases with two outs and came up with a double to clear the bases, but Taylor Hastings forced a groundout to end the game. Hastings pitched 2.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowing four earned runs on five hits.
Sophomore Jackie Johnson surrendered just two hits to Mississippi Valley State and the Colonels scored three runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pick up a run-rule 9-1 victory.
Johnson struck out three in five innings of work, allowing a single run in the top of fourth after Nicholls had built a 3-0 lead. The Colonels scored in the first on an unearned run and Laura Neil drove in two in the third on a single to left.
In the top of the fourth, Johnson ran into trouble by loading the bases with no outs. MVSU broke up the shutout on a bases loaded walk with one out, but Johnson retired the next two batters to leave the runners stranded.
Nicholls answered in the bottom half with three runs after also loading the bases with no outs. Danielle Phillips singled up the middle for two runs and Jessica Taylor added an RBI on a groundout for a 6-1 advantage.
The Colonels filled the bases up again in the bottom of the fifth, setting up a walkoff triple by Prater. On a 2-1 count, Prater sent the ball up the middle and all three Colonels scored to end the game by mercy-rule at 9-1.
Gremillion was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and Brooke Morris added two hits.
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UIW 7, Jackson State 5
Southern Mississippi 2, UIW 1
GULFPORT, Miss. – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team started the 2015 Mississippi Gulf Coast Softball Classic with a 7-5 victory over Jackson State and then lost 2-1 to Southern Miss on Friday at the Gulfport Sportsplex.
It was a sloppy first game of the tournament for the Cardinals (2-13) as they committed five errors. They were able to overcome the defensive struggles with a solid offensive performance. They took an early 1-0 lead on a Katie Helm (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) two-out single to score Alex Zepeda (Sinton/Sinton HS).
The Tigers (4-13) tied the game in the bottom of the third inning. UIW exploded for six runs in the top of the fourth inning to take control of the contest. Alex Alonzo and Kristin Hebert (Humble/Atascocita HS) each had two-run doubles in the inning.
The Tigers tried to claw their way back into the game. They scored twice in the fourth, once in the fifth and once more in the seventh inning. They were able to send the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh, but Hebert was able to get the final two outs to secure the win.
Hebert tossed a complete game allowing nine hits, three earned runs and two walks while striking out four. No one on the Cardinals had more than one hit, but Zepeda scored twice to lead the team. Kelsey Townsend took the loss for Jackson State after allowing six hits and seven runs in 3.2 innings. Lyndsey Colvin led the JSU offense going 2-for-3 with two runs, a double and an RBI.
The second game was a pitcher's duel between UIW's Brooke DuBois (Pearland/Pearland HS) and Southern Mississippi's Samantha Robles. DuBois allowed two runs to the Golden Eagles in the top of the first inning then held them scoreless the rest of the way. Similarly, Robles allowed a run and two hits in the bottom of the first inning only to hold the Cardinals without a hit the rest of the game.
Taylor Johnson (Schertz/Clemens HS) led off the bottom of the first with a single for the Cardinals and later came around to score on a ground ball. The Cardinals had the bases loaded with two outs, but were unable to get the key hit. UIW was able to put a runner in scoring position twice over the rest of the game, but could not find the tying run.
Robles pitched a complete game to earn the win for USM. She allowed two hits, one run and two walks while striking out eight in the process. DuBois also pitched a complete game allowing five hits, five walks and one earned run while striking out two.
The Cardinals close out the tournament on Saturday with a 10 a.m. game against Jackson State and a 12:30 p.m. game against Mississippi Valley State.
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Central Arkansas 2, East Carolina 1
Sacred Heart 3, Central Arkansas 1
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Central Arkansas softball team took to the field for a pair of games at the Under Armour Invitational, hosted by the University of South Florida. The Bears got a pair of strong pitching performances from Kylee Studioso and Shivaun Landeros, but split on the day, taking down East Carolina 2-1 and falling to Sacred Heart 3-1.
Studioso (8-2) earned her ninth complete game of the season, scattering seven hits and a walk while allowing just one run and striking out eight.
The Bears (9-6) got on the board in the top half of the third inning, when right fielder Briana Whisenhunt laid down a sacrifice bunt in an effort to move third baseman Sam Forrest into scoring position. The ensuing throw sailed into right field, allowing Forrest to score all the way from first to put UCA up 1-0.
Central Arkansas added to its lead in the sixth, when catcher Jessie Taylor led off the frame with a solo shot dead centerfield for her third home run of the year.
Studioso, who had to work out of a two runner, no out jam in the third inning, ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh, as East Carolina (6-8) opened the inning with a double from shortstop Casey Alcorn and a single from first baseman Ali Ramirez. Designated player Kacie Oshiro looped a double down the left field line to plate Alcorn and give the Pirates runners at second and third with no outs. Studioso came through for the Bears though, forcing a pair of popouts and getting a strikeout to strand the tying run at third and give the Bears the victory.
Forrest led the Central Arkansas offense in the game, going 3-for-3 with three doubles and a run scored, while Taylor went 1-for-3 with a home run.
Sarah Christian (3-3) took the loss for the Pirates, allowing two runs and seven hits while striking out seven.
In their second game of the day, Central Arkansas got another solid performance in the circle, as Shivaun Landeros allowed three runs, just two of which were earned, on eight hits with five strikeouts in six innings. The Bears, despite generating chances all game, were unable to find the support required for the junior pitcher, stranding 12 runners as they fell to Sacred Heart.
The Bears grabbed an early lead in the top of the first as Forrest opened the game with a walk and then rounded the bases on a trio of passed balls.
The Pioneers took the lead in the bottom half of the first, as third baseman Kate Nadler led off with a single and came in to score on a double off the bat of first baseman Kelyn Fillmore. Shortstop Justine Sigthorp followed with a triple to center. The ball sailed just over the outstretched glove of UCA centerfielder Amy Gunnells, allowing Fillmore to score from second and giving Sacred Heart the 2-1 lead.
The Pioneers extended their lead to 3-1 thanks to an unearned run in the sixth.
Central Arkansas threatened in the top of the seventh, loading the bases to force a pitching change with no outs, but a fielder’s choice, a strike out, and a ground out ended the game.
Jamie Carlson (1-1) earned the win for SHU, overcoming six walks to allow one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in six innings. Adrianna Mallory picked up her first save of the year, striking out one in one inning of work.
The Bears play a pair of games tomorrow, facing Radford at 12:15 PM and Oakland at 2:45 PM.
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Florida Atlantic 3, Northwestern State 2
Ball State 9, Northwestern State 8
BATON ROUGE, La. – Northwestern State softball committed a combined six errors and was edged by one run in both a pitchers dual and high scoring affair on Day 1 of LSU’s Purple and Gold Challenge, falling 9-8 to Ball State and 3-2 to Florida Atlantic.
NSU (8-10) took an 8-4 lead against Ball State (7-8) into the bottom of the fifth inning before the Cardinals scored five times, four coming on a grand slam, to hold on.
Against Florida Atlantic (15-1), a Brittney Jones RBI double to left center field cut the lead to within two at 3-1 in the sixth. After Natalie Landry reached on an error, the Lady Demons drew consecutive walks from Kaytie Proctor and Natalie Rhodes to close the gap to one, at 3-2.
The Lady Demons return to play on Saturday against Ball State at 2:30 p.m. before closing out the tournament at 7:30 p.m. against host No. 7 LSU.
Northwestern State rattled off 11 hits against Ball State, highlighted by Kellye Kincannon’s three-run home run – the fifth of her season – but the Cardinals secured 15 hits and were helped by three Lady Demon errors.
Seven NSU players recorded hits, including Brittany Virgoe, who gave the Lady Demons a 1-0 lead on her third home run of the season in the first inning. Virgoe finished three for four at the plate including two RBIs and three runs scored.
Cassandra Barefield continued her hot streak, finishing with three hits of her own. Jones got aboard three times via a walk and drove in two runs on a third inning RBI single.
Baylee Gray drew the loss, after coming in for Micaela Bouvier. Bouvier finished with 3 1-3 innings pitched, 10 hits and six earned runs. Gray was lifted after two hits and two earned runs without registering an out. Shelby Sells was successful out of the bullpen, tossing 2 2-3 innings, allowing three hits and no runs while striking out two.
In Game 1, Florida Atlantic jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third, helping by a Northwestern State error to lead off the inning. NSU was able to escape further damage by turning a 1-2-3 double play and forcing a pop up one batter later.
Sidney Salmans registered NSU’s first hit of the game in the fifth inning while Virgoe and Jones were responsible for NSU’s two other hits.
In the circle, Cagle drew the loss, tossing 4 2-3 innings, allowing one hit and six walks to finish with three runs, one being earned. Baylee Gray came on in relief, sitting down all four FAU hitters she faced.
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Tennessee-Martin 6, Southeastern Louisiana 0
Southeast Missouri 10, Southeastern Louisiana 8
HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team went 0-2 on the opening day of the Lion Scramble Friday at North Oak Park.
In the opener, Southeastern (4-9) finished with eight hits to just six for Tennessee-Martin (6-5) in a 6-0 loss. The Lady Lions stranded nine base runners, as freshman third baseman Sydney Booker and senior second baseman Vanessa Eng each had two hits.
In the second game of the day, the Lady Lions nearly erased a seven-run deficit in the final inning, before ultimately falling, 10-8, to Southeast Missouri (3-4). Junior outfielder Katie Lacour led Southeastern with three hits, while sophomore outfielder Sloan Jenkins and senior first baseman Teresa Lemos each had two RBI. Booker added her second home run of the season.
In the game versus UTM, the Skyhawks jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning versus SLU senior pitcher Tori Stamper (0-1). An RBI double by first baseman Kenzi Tate put the Skyhawks ahead.
Southeastern put a pair on with one out on consecutive singles by freshman outfielder Kinsey Nichols and senior shortstop Megan Moore in the bottom of the first against UTM pitcher Elizabeth Wiegand (3-2). However, Wiegand recovered to retire Booker and junior designated player Amber Sather to keep the lead at 1-0.
UTM padded their lead in the top of the second without the benefit of a hit. Shortstop Samantha McClure drew a leadoff walk, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored an unearned run on a groundout by centerfielder Carly Gonzales to put UTM up, 5-0.
Tate tripled to open the third inning for UTM and scored on a ground out by designated player Casey Vincent. Later in the frame, two more runs came in on a throwing error by Moore to make the Skyhawk lead, 5-0.
Southeastern had its best scoring chance in the bottom of the fifth inning, as consecutive singles by sophomore catcher Lacey Fritz, Jenkins and Eng loaded the bases with no outs. Wiegand recovered by retire Lacour, Nichols and Moore to keep SLU off the board.
UTM closed the scoring in the top of the sixth inning. Gonzales led off the inning with a single and later scored on an RBI single by Tate.
The Lady Lions made one last threat in the bottom of the seventh inning. Eng singled and Lacour was hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on with one out. Wiegand secured the complete game shutout by sitting down Nichols and Moore to end the game.
Southeast Missouri took a 1-0 lead in the day’s second game in the bottom of the first inning. Left fielder Taylor McDannold led off the inning with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Lindsey Patterson to earn the early advantage versus freshman Nicole Ayala (2-2).
SEMO added two more runs in the third inning. RBI singles by designated player Claire Wernig and shortstop Leah Duffe pushed the Redhawk lead to 3-0.
Southeastern cut into the advantage in the top of the fourth inning. Lemos and Fritz both drove in runs to pull SLU within one at 3-2. SEMO got the two runs back in the bottom of the frame, as RBI singles by McDannold and centerfielder Kayla Fortner pushed Southeast Missouri ahead, 5-2.
Booker pulled SLU back within two in the top of the fifth inning. The Madison, Alabama lined the first pitch she saw opposite field and over the right field fence to cut the Southeast Missouri advantage to 5-3.
SEMO seemingly put the game away in the bottom of the fifth inning, sending 11 to the plate in a five-run frame that pushed its lead to 10-3.
Southeastern would not go away quietly in the top of the seventh inning. Junior pinch hitter Sydney McCullough drove in the inning’s first run, before Jenkins followed with a two-run single. McCullough would later score on a passed ball, then Lemos drove in another run to cut the lead to 10-8.
Eng and Lacour followed Lemos’ RBI with consecutive singles to load the bases. However, Aubrey Denno came in to lock the win down in the circle, retiring Nichols to earn her first save of the season.
Southeastern will close out the Lion Scramble on Saturday, facing St. Louis at 10 a.m. and Arkansas at 4 p.m.
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Jacksonville 9, Abilene Christian 0 (5)
Campbell 3, Abilene Christian 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Abilene Christian softball dropped both ends of its doubleheader Friday afternoon, losing 3-1 in the late innings to Campbell, and 9-1 to the Dolphin Classic hosts from Jacksonville University.
Senior Emily Seidel started both games for ACU (3-10) and struck out eight batters through 9.0 innings of work. She escaped a few jams while pitching with a 1-0 lead early against Campbell, but the Camels produced two runs in the third on four hits - the last two of which were RBI singles off the bats of Melissa Tullar and Kerstine Womack.
Womack's game-winning hit came with two outs.
Seidel continued to put base runners on from the fourth to sixth innings, however, the score remained the same until the top of the seventh when Camise Patterson - recipient of a leadoff walk - scored on a two-out double by pinch hitter Lia Batchelor.
Campbell (8-5) left 18 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the sixth.
ACU also failed to capitalize offensively throughout the game, leaving runners at third base in the third and fourth innings and runners at first and second in the sixth.
To begin the seventh, ACU pinch hitter Kaleigh Lightsey reached first base on a dropped third strike but her pinch runner (Tori Valdivia) was quickly extinguished from the basepaths after starting pitcher Julia Callicutt got Baylee Travers to hit into a double play.
Even with two outs, the Wildcats continued to scrap as leadoff hitter Taylor Brown singled through the left side and Cara Hoover drew a walk to bring the go-ahead run to the plate in shortstop Peyton Hedrick.
Hedrick tripled and scored a run in the first inning, but this time she couldn't get the ball out of the infield as the third baseman beat Brown to the bag for the game-ending force out.
Jacksonville (8-9) scored a run in the first to begin game two against the Wildcats and largely put it away in the third behind six runs that made it a 7-0 game. The big hits that inning included a two-run home run by Emily Sanchez and solo blast by Lexie Ballard.
ACU's Brown cut the Dolphins' lead to 7-1 in the fifth on a RBI single up the middle that plated Brianna Barnhill, but in the bottom of the frame leadoff hitter Danielle Baker ended the contest with a two-run home run to left field.
Baker led the Dolphins' offense in game two, going 3-for-4 with a single, double, home run, three runs and two RBI.
The Wildcats return to action Saturday morning for games against Savannah State (9 a.m.) and Cleveland State (11:30 a.m.). They face the Camels once more Sunday at 10 a.m.
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Florida Atlantic 8, Stephen F. Austin 0 (6)
No. 7/7 LSU 9, Stephen F. Austin 0 (5)
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Stephen F. Austin softball team struggled to get things going offensively on Friday in the first day of the Purple and Gold Challenge hosted by LSU at Tiger Park. The Ladyjacks (5-8) fell to Florida Atlantic 8-0 in six innings and were then handcuffed by No. 7 LSU in five innings, 9-0.
In the first game of the day against FAU (14-1), SFA was outhit 11-4 in the 8-0 decision. The Owls, who came into the tournament receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Polls, struck first for three runs in the first inning and then scored at least one run in four of the final five frames.
Brittany Lewis and Heather Hollingsworth each went 2-for-3 at the plate in the game to the lead the Ladyjacks. Lewis led off the sixth inning with a double down the left field line to represent the best chance for SFA, but couldn't finish the round-trip.
Makayla Sikes fell to 1-4 on the season after pitching the complete game for the Ladyjacks. She allowed 11 hits and fanned three in six innings.
Christina Martinez of FAU led the Owls offensively, going 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Amanda Wilson (4-1) picked up the win after striking out eight in six scoreless innings.
In Friday's nightcap, the Tigers of LSU (18-0) proved why they're the seventh ranked team in the nation and receiving first place votes. Three different players hit home runs and the team went 9-for-20 at the dish as a unit. Baylee Corbello (5-0) got the win after striking out nine batters and allowing three hits in five clean innings.
Shalie Day went a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk on the night while Hollingsworth connected for the Ladyjacks' other hit to finish 3-for-6 between the two games on Friday.
Callee Guffey (2-3) was charged with the loss for SFA after giving up nine runs - eight earned - on nine hits in three innings. Hannah Welch retired three consecutive batters in a relief appearance.
The Ladyjacks will return to action tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. in a rematch with Florida Atlantic before playing Ball State at 12:30 p.m.
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