ELON, NC – UNC Greensboro swept a Southern Conference doubeleheader at Elon on Saturday, taking a 7-1 win in game one and a 4-3 victory in game two to assure the Spartans of the sixth seed in the upcoming league tournament.
Junior Amber Harrell matched her career high with 12 strikeouts in game two, moving her into third in UNCG history with 425 for her career. Freshman Jordan Jewett was a combined 5-for-9 on the day.
UNCG (24-30, 9-11 SoCon) entered played Saturday seventh in the league standings, and with the sweep and Furman's split at Georgia Southern, locks up the sixth seed and avoids the play-in game between the eighth and ninth seeds at the SoCon tournament in Chattanooga, TN, next week.
Game two came down to the final pitch, as Patti Weber's line drive home run down the left field line made it a 4-3 game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Harrell, sitting on a season-high 11 strikeouts at the time, got Melanie Helterbran swinging on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.
UNCG jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning of game two. After Brittany Ausley led off the game with a double to left center, Lyndsay Mouse struck out but reached on a wild pitch, which moved Ausley to third. Mouse stole second, Jewett followed with an RBI single, and Alex Emeterio followed with a two-run single to stake the Spartans to an early lead. Elon starter Pam DelPizzo settled in after that, striking out the next three batters to stop the bleeding.
The Spartans made it a 4-0 game in the third, as Whitney Sirois hit an RBI single to left to plate Jewett. The Phoenix (14-31, 5-15 SoCon) answered with two runs in their half of the inning, getting an RBI double from Brandi Jones to score Hannah Shelton and seeing Jones come in on a UNCG throwing error.
The Phoenix continued to make it interesting, but Harrell was up to the challenge each time. The biggest threat came in the sixth inning, as Elon loaded the bases with two outs on bloop singles from Kaitlyn Piazzolla and Ashlee Crewe and a DelPizzo walk. Harrell got out of trouble then just as she would in the seventh, striking out Shelton to retire the side.
Harrell (8-12) won her third straight decision, allowing three runs – two earned – on seven hits and a walk. She moved past UNCG great Winn Hazlegrove, who had 416 strikeouts from 1992-95. Harrell trails only teammate Hannah Angel (472) and UNCG pitching coach Vanessa Oakes (565), putting the top three strikeout pitchers in school history in the dugout at the same time for the remainder of the season.
DelPizzo fell to 4-12, as she surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks in six innings.
Jewett and Emeterio had two hits each in the game, while Shelton had two for the Phoenix. Ausley, Mouse, Mary Catherine Vercoe and Sirois also had hits for the Spartans.
The Spartans also drew first blood in game one, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Jewett, Emeterio and Vercoe hit consecutive singles with one out to load the bases, and after Elon starter Erin O'Shea struck out Kaitlin Merkt – who hit a grand slam on Thursday against Virginia Tech – Leslie Furness drew a walk to force in Jewett with the first run of the day.
UNCG blew it open with a three-run fourth, which saw Laura Olenderski and Ausley draw back-to-back walks to chase O'Shea. Mouse was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no one out, and Jewett's single through the left side brought in Olenderski. A fielder's choice erased Ausley at home for the first out, but two more runs came in on the next play, as Vercoe knocked in Mouse with what should have been a groundout to shortstop. An Elon throwing error allowed Vercoe to reach, however, and Jewett was able to scoot home from second on the play.
After the Spartans added another run in the fifth on an RBI single from Mouse, the Phoenix spoiled UNCG starter Angel's shutout bid in the bottom of the sixth. Helterbran was hit by a pitch to lead off, and Piazzolla doubled to left center to put runners at second and third. Jaimie Rao followed by dropping a single in to left center to score Helterbran.
The Spartans added two more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away. Emily Akiyama sent the first pitch she saw out to left center for a leadoff home run, and Jewett later brought in Olenderski with an RBI single.
Elon, which stranded 10 runners in the game and 17 for the day, had threatened to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with some small ball, getting bunt singles from Jacqueline Gonzalez and Weber to lead off the inning. Helterbran dropped another bunt to sacrifice both runners over, but Angel got a strikeout and a flyout to center to escape unharmed.
Jewett was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, while Ausley, Mouse, Emeterio, Vercoe and Akiyama had a hit each.
Weber led the Phoenix with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.
Angel picked up her career-high13th win of the season, improving to 13-12 by allowing just one run on eight hits and four walks. She struck out six.
O'Shea took the loss, falling to 6-10 after allowing three runs on four hits and six walks in three innings. Helterbran pitched the final four innings, surrendering four runs – two earned – on four hits and a walk.
The Spartans return to action Sunday at 1 p.m., when they will try to wrap up the series sweep.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro 7, Elon 1 (May 02, 2009 at Elon, NC) (Game 1)
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UNC Greensboro...... 001 310 2 - 7 8 0 (23-30, 8-11 SoCon)
Elon................ 000 001 0 - 1 8 2 (14-30, 5-14 SoCon)
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Pitchers: UNC Greensboro - Hannah Angel and Leslie Furness. Elon - Erin O'Shea;
Melanie Helterbran(4) and Jaimie Rao.
Win-Hannah Angel(13-12) Loss-Erin O'Shea(6-10) T-2:22 A-0
HR UNCG - Emily Akiyama (3).
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy
O'SHEA faced 2 batters in the 4th.
UNC Greensboro 4, Elon 3 (May 02, 2009 at Elon, NC) (Game 2)
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UNC Greensboro...... 301 000 0 - 4 8 1 (24-30, 9-11 SoCon)
Elon................ 002 000 1 - 3 7 0 (14-31, 5-15 SoCon)
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Pitchers: UNC Greensboro - Amber Harrell and Whitney Sirois. Elon - Pam DelPizzo;
Melanie Helterbran(7) and Jaimie Rao.
Win-Amber Harrell(8-12) Loss-Pam DelPizzo(4-12) T-2:10 A-146
HR ELON - Patti Weber.
Weather: 81 degrees, partly cloudy
- UNCG -
