March 12, 2008

Box Score

Greenville, S.C. - Meredith Mielke raced home with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of game one to give Furman a 3-2 victory and doubleheader split with the Charlotte 49ers Wednesday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium. Charlotte took game two 3-2.

Mielke was intentionally walked to start the ninth after Katie Michaels was placed on second according to the international tiebreaker rule. The Matthews, N.C., native moved to second as Michaels was erased on a fielder's choice and advanced to third when Abby Robertson drew a base on balls to load the bases. Brythe Blankenship hit a bouncer to shortstop, but Mielke beat the throw to the plate to give Furman the win.

Furman (7-10) opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth as Stephanie Cushing scored when Morgan Hughey reached on a two-out error by the 49er third baseman. Charlotte (11-14) evened the score in the next frame as Cee Brooks singled down the left field line to plate the 49ers first run. Furman regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly by Mielke, but Charlotte forced extra innings with Keri Palma's solo homer to left field.

Lana Mackey (4-7) captured the victory for Furman allowing just one earned run on four hits over nine innings. The Perry, Ga., product fanned five batters and issued just two walks. Mielke went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Robertson and Blankenship each collected two hits.

Katy Hackett (3-7) suffered the loss for Charlotte allowing three unearned runs on nine hits in 8.1 innings.

In game two, Charlotte pitchers limited Furman to one run on five hits and Serena Smith batted in a pair of runs to lift the 49ers to a 3-1 win.

The Paladins jumped ahead in the bottom of the second as Kate Termini scored from first on Lana Mackey's double to left-center field. After knotting the game at 1-1 on Smith's grounder in the third, Charlotte plated two runs in the fifth. Whitney Williams walked to open the inning and Sarah Malene singled to shortstop. Following a fielder's choice and wild pitch, Smith singled to right to score Malene and Jenny Rumbles scored when the throw from the outfield bounced to the backstop.

Emily Jeffery (6-6) notched the win for Charlotte scattering two hits and fanning four in four innings of relief. Smith drove in two runs and Malene registered two hits to lead the 49er offense.

Bethany Ullrich (3-3) absorbed the loss for Furman after giving up two earned runs on five hits in five innings of work. Mackey went 2-for-3 with a double and triple for the Paladins while Mielke totaled two hits.

Furman travels to Rock Hill, S.C., this weekend to compete in the Winthrop/adidas Invitational. The Paladins open tournament play against Vermont at 1 p.m. on Friday.