Lenoir-Rhyne, Augusta State Prevail On Day One At NCAA Southeast Softball Regional
HICKORY, N.C. -- No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne (51-7) and Augusta State (39-15) won on the first day of the 2010 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament Friday at Bears Field. L-R defeated Mars Hill (28-17), 3-1, after Augusta State downed Armstrong Atlantic State (33-19) by a 7-2 score.
On Saturday, Lenoir-Rhyne and Augusta State will face off at 1:30 p.m., followed by Mars Hill and Armstrong Atlantic State at 4 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Mars Hill 1
L-R pushed its winning streak to six games and defeated South Atlantic Conference-rival Mars Hill for the fourth time this year in the second contest of the 2010 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament.
Lenoir-Rhyne got on the board in the bottom of the first when senior outfielder Brittany Cherry (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) scored on a double by junior shortstop and South Atlantic Conference Player Of The Year Kat Rivers (Royston, Ga.). Cherry was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.
The Bears added two more runs in the third frame thanks to a one-out, two-run home run by sophomore catcher Sarah Atkins (Newport News, Va.). Cherry, who reached on a bunt single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore second baseman Carlee Carpenter (Newton, N.C.), also scored on a play.
Mars Hill avoided the shutout with a run in the top of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by freshman designated player Taylor Morris (Weddington, N.C.) but couldn't get any closer.
L-R freshman Alex Smith (Cocoa, Fla.), the 2010 SAC Freshman Of The Year, improved to 24-4 on the year after limiting Mars Hill to just one run on three hits. The Lady Lions' Tiffany Farthing (Kure Beach, N.C.), a senior, fell to 12-6 after being tagged with the loss.
Rivers finished with two doubles while Cherry scored twice to lead the Bears.
Augusta State 7, Armstrong Atlantic State 2
Augusta State scored five runs in the first three innings en route to defeating Armstrong Atlantic State, a Peach Belt Conference rival, in game one of the 2010 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament Southeast Regional.
Armstrong Atlantic State got on the board in the top of the first with a single run. Junior Erin Billingsley (Buford, Ga.) doubled down the left field line and was driven home from third two batters later by freshman Shelby Duff's (Springfield, Ga.) single to left field. The Pirates were able to get runners on second and third with two outs but the Jaguars defense held up.
Augusta State took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first frame. After sophomore Kristen Jones (Plant City, Fla.) doubled to right field, sophomore Kacee Camp (Harlem, Ga.) got just enough on her drive to right field to hit the top of the fence and bounce out of the park for a two-run home run.
The Jaguars got two more runs in the bottom of the second to push their lead to 4-1. With freshman Laura Brown (Martinez, Ga.) on first base and junior Kacey Sims (Tallahassee, Fla.) on third, Augusta State called a double steal, scoring Sims. After senior Leann Barber (Wrightsville, Ga.) singled to second base, Brown scored on a throwing error on a play at the plate.
Augusta State added another run in the third frame to go up 5-1. Jones hit a lead-off home run to left field for the Jaguars second round-tripper of the contest.
The Pirates got a run back in the top of the fourth. With one out and sophomore Heather Walker (Peachtree City, Ga.) on second base, junior Amber Janus (Auburn, Ga.) singled to right field to score Walker and close the gap to 5-2.
Augusta State increased its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, sophomore Sara DeMuth (Plant City, Fla.) singled to right centerfield that scored Jones from second base.
The Jaguars added a run in the bottom of the sixth frame. Barber hit two-out double to left field and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. She was driven home on the next at bat by Alysha Krier (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) with a single up the middle for the final 7-2 margin.
DeMuth picked up the win in the circle for Augusta State, improving to 16-8 on the season as she scattered seven hits and three strike outs over the complete game allowing just two runs. AASU freshman Megan Barnwell (Brooklet, Ga.) fell to 15-8 on the season with the loss as she allowed five earned runs in five innings pitched.