March 21, 2008

Box Score

Greenville, S.C. - Sophomore Lana Mackey tossed a one-hit shutout and drove in the game-winning run to guide Furman past Georgia Southern 3-0 as the rivals split a Southern Conference softball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium. The Eagles blanked Furman 3-0 in the nightcap.

Mackey fanned nine batters, walked just three and allowed only a first inning single to notch her third shutout of the season in the SoCon opener for both teams. The Perry, Ga., native improved to 7-8 in the circle.

Furman got all the runs it would need in the bottom of the fourth inning. Stephanie Cushing drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Abby Robertson. Brythe Blankenship singled to center field and moved to second on the throw to the plate. After Georgia Southern pitcher Melissa Laliberte retired Morgan Hughey for the second out of the inning, Mackey looped a two-run single into right-center to give Furman a 2-0 lead. Blankenship added a third run in the sixth lifting a sacrifice fly to left to score Robertson.

Laliberte (8-5) took the loss for the Eagles after allowing two earned runs on four hits in six innings of work. Robertson paced the Furman offense with a 2-for-2 effort at the plate.

In game two, Georgia Southern's Megen Smith tossed a four-hit shutout to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 victory.

The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as Michelle Beasley singled to center field to drive in Sam Russo. After Aubrey Tweatt scored on a wild pitch in the fifth, Beasley scored on a Robyne Siliga single in the seventh to cap the scoring.

Furman threatened in the sixth and seventh innings, but stranded a total of five runners in the final two frames. In the sixth, Kate Termini led off with a single and Bethany Ullrich followed by reaching on an error to put runners on second and third with no one out. Smith settled down to retire the next three batters to leave the runners stranded at second and third. Furman loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, but Smith got Ullrich to pop out to the shortstop to end the game.

Russo and Siliga each collected two hits for the Eagles. Termini went 2-for-3 to lead the Furman at the plate. Ullrich (4-4) suffered the loss for the Paladins allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings. The freshman walked two and struck out three.

Smith walked just one batter while striking out two in seven innings to up her record to 8-5 on the season.

Furman moves to 11-2 overall and 1-1 in the SoCon. Georgia Southern goes to 19-17 overall and 1-1 inside the league.

Furman and Georgia Southern will play the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.