CHATTANOOGA, TN – Fourth-seeded Georgia Southern clubbed three home runs among its 12 hits to eliminate No. 6 seed UNC Greensboro from the Southern Conference Softball Championship on Friday, 9-2.
The Spartans finished the season with a 26-33 mark.
Brittany Ausley and Jordan Jewett had two hits each for UNCG.
Georgia Southern (28-24) blew open a 3-1 game with a five-run fifth inning, sending seven batters to the plate. After Michelle Beasley and Nina Iduate hit one-out singles and moved up on a wild pitch, SoCon Freshman of the Year Marie Fogle dropped down a perfect safety squeeze bunt to score Beasley. Robyne Siliga followed with an RBI single to score Iduate, and one out later, Sam Russo lifted a three-run home run to right to make it 8-1.
The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, as Fogle drew a one-out walk and Siliga belted a two-run home run to center field. Megen Smith led off the second inning with a home run of her own to left center to make it a 3-0 game.
UNCG got a run back in the bottom of the third inning, as Laura Olenderski dropped a bloop single into shallow left and Ausley roped a double to the gap in left center to plate Olenderski with the Spartans' first run.
The Spartans added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Jewett dropping in a bloop single down the left field line. A wild pitch moved her second, but Georgia Southern starter Kristan Glover got a pair of groundouts for the first two outs. Glover would not escape the inning unscathed, however, as Kaitlin Merkt followed with a sharp single to left to score Jewett. Leslie Furness drew an eight-pitch walk to put runners on first and second, but Glover got a strikeout to end the frame and strand a pair of Spartans.
Russo added an RBI single in the top of the seventh for the final margin. She finished the game 3-for-4 with four RBI for the Eagles.
Glover improved to 8-4 on the season, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk in seven innings. SoCon Pitcher of the Year Brianna Streetmon worked around a one-out double from Ausley in the seventh to nail down the win.
Amber Harrell (10-13) took the loss, snapping her five-game winning streak. She allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in two innings. Hannah Angel allowed five runs on five hits in three innings, while freshman Cory Mattson allowed a run on five hits in two innings.
The Spartans went 2-2 at the SoCon tournament, marking the third straight year season UNCG has won two games at the tournament. Coach Jennifer Herzig is the only coach in UNCG history to win at least two games in the SoCon tournament in three straight years.
The game was the final one in the careers of seniors Angel, Furness, Lyndsay Mouse and Mary Catherine Vercoe.
AGATE
Georgia Southern 9, UNC Greensboro 2 (May 08, 2009 at Chattanooga, Tenn.)
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Georgia Southern.... 210 050 1 - 9 12 0 (28-24)
UNC Greensboro...... 001 001 0 - 2 8 0 (26-33)
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Pitchers: Georgia Southern - Kristan Glover; Brianna Streetmon(7) and Mackenzie Williams.
UNC Greensboro - Amber Harrell; Hannah Angel(3); Cory Mattson(6) and Whitney Sirois; Leslie Furness.
Win-Kristan Glover(8-4) Loss-Amber Harrell(10-13) T-1:50 A-105
HR GSU - Robyne Siliga (9); Sam Russo (8); Megen Smith (3).
- UNCG -
