Carson-Newman Stays Alive In Softball Regional With 2-0 Win Over Coker

Columbus, GA - Jessie Armstrong pitched a five-hit shutout and Katie Speaks homered as Carson-Newman stayed alive with a 2-0 shutout over Coker on Friday in day two of the 2007 Division II Softball South Atlantic Regional at South Commons Stadium. Coker ended its season with a 38-12 record.

Armstrong and Coker starter Somer Bigham were locked in a pitcher's duel through the first four innings of play. Armstrong limited Coker to three hits and Bigham scattered three hits as she pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the second when she got Hillary Hammond to line- out to third base.

The Eagles scored the game's only two runs in the fifth inning. Katie Speaks launched her second homer of the regional with a shot to right center to give CNC a 1-0 lead. Whitney Hickam and Mandy Stevens both singled to put runners at first and second. Sara Little then stepped up and delivered a run-scoring double to make the score 2-0. Shelly Catlett relieved Bigham and escaped further damage with a pop-out and a strike out.

Jessie Armstrong (15-9) scattered five hits, walked one, and struck out two in the complete-game effort. Bigham got the loss for the Cobras.

Whitney Hickam went 2-for-3 for Carson-Newman. Julia Nelson-Abbott went 2-for-3 for Coker.

Carson-Newman (35-15) faces the loser of Friday night's game between Armstrong Atlantic State and Georgia College & State Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at South Commons Stadium.

Augusta State 1, Lenoir-Rhyne 0

Columbus, Ga. - The No. 21 Augusta State University softball team (37-21) ended Lenoir-Rhyne's season, 1-0, in an elimination game Friday in the 2007 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament at South Commons Stadium in Columbus, Ga.

The Lady Jaguars will now play the loser of USC Upstate-Columbus State contest Saturday at 1:30 p.m., while the eighth-ranked Bears end the season with a 48-10 mark.

Augusta State scored the lone run of the contest in the bottom of the second inning when Ashley Roberts, who led off the inning with a double, (Loganville, Ga.) scored on a Lenoir-Rhyne error.

The combined pitching of Jacklyn Benenhaley (Mount Pleasant, Ga.) and Amy Dumas (McDonough, Ga.) shut out L-R on four hits.

Benenhaley (13-5) allowed three hits over four inning while Dumas struck out four batters in three innings for her fourth save of the year for the Lady Jaguars.

Junior Meredith O'Connor (Charlotte, N.C./Appalachian State University) fell to 24-3 despite allowing just two hits, one unearned run with three strikeouts.

Freshman Brittany Cherry (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) led the Bears with two hits.

Lenoir-Rhyne vs Augusta State
05/11/07 at Columbus, Ga. (South Commons)

Lenoir-Rhyne 0 (48-10)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Brittany Cherry rf....... 3 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0
Taylor Queen cf.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
Karie Pushard c.......... 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0
Leah Krohn 1b............ 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2
Brooke Starnes ss........ 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
Lindsay Dehart 2b........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1
Lauren Johnson 3b........ 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Erin Gier dh............. 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jessica Luper lf......... 2 0 1 0 0 1 6 0 0
Meredith O'Connor p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals................... 23 0 4 0 1 5 18 3 4

Augusta State 1 (37-21)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Tedder ss................ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0
Matta 2b................. 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0
Phillips 1b.............. 3 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0
Roberts 3b............... 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 4 0
Henson c................. 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0
Dumas dh/p............... 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Morrison pr............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cheely lf................ 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Sadlowsky cf............. 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1
Robbins ph.............. 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Southerland rf........... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Gerlach ph.............. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Benenhaley p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 19 1 2 0 0 3 21 9 2

Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Lenoir-Rhyne........ 000 000 0 - 0 4 2
Augusta State....... 010 000 X - 1 2 0
-----------------------------------------

E - Dehart, L. 2. DP - Augusta St. 1. LOB - Bears 4; Augusta St. 2. 2B -
Roberts(13). SH - Queen, T.; Henson; Cheely. SB - Luper, J..

Lenoir-Rhyne IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Meredith O'Connor... 6.0 2 1 0 0 3 19 21

Augusta State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Benenhaley.......... 4.0 3 0 0 1 1 14 16
Dumas............... 3.0 1 0 0 0 4 9 9

Win - Benenhaley (13-5). Loss - O'Connor, M. (24-3). Save - Dumas (4).
Umpires - HP: Shelly Mangrum 1B: Jeff Blanken 3B: Jason Martin
Start: 11:00 am Time: 1:23 Attendance: 81
Game notes:
2007 Division II Softball South Atlantic Regional...Game #5
Benenhaley faced 1 batter in the 5th.