Appalachian State scored three runs in the second inning and held off several Georgia Southern rallies late in the game to win 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field.
Sunday’s game concludes the regular season for both teams. ASU improves to 20-36 overall and 11-10 in the Southern Conference while GSU falls to 24-30 and 9-11.
“I’m a little frustrated that we didn’t win,” said GSU head coach Natalie Poole. “We knew that (Southern Conference) positioning was important in this game and we really needed to be able to win to put us in a better spot. But it didn’t happen. We out-hit them and played well defensively, but it just didn’t happen for us. We weren’t able to score the runs.”
Georgia Southern put a runner at third with one out in the first, but was unable to get the run across. The Mountaineers made the most of their opportunities in the next half-inning. A walk, single and double brought home the first run, and after a groundout, another single put ASU up 2-0. One out later, a walk loaded the bases for Lindsay Glover who singled home Keri Blackwelder.
Georgia Southern stranded five runners in the fifth and sixth innings. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but a groundball and a line-out ended the threat. One inning later, the Eagles put runners on the corners with no outs to chase out starting pitcher Kayla Richardson. Yancy Moose escaped by retiring the next three batters in order.
“We had quite a few chances with runners in scoring position and we didn’t step up with a hit, or we hit it right to someone,” Poole added.
Moose earned her second save with a 1-2-3 seventh. Richardson (8-9) went five innings and allowed eight hits and one earned run. Junior Melissa Laliberte lasted just two innings and gave up four hits and three earned runs (9-13). Senior A.J. Street finished the contest with five scoreless innings. Kasey Motsinger and Kristyn Hurt each went 2-for-3 for the Apps while freshmen Sam Russo and Elizabeth Branan had two hits apiece for the Eagles. Both teams await their opponent in the SoCon Tournament which begins Wednesday in Greensboro, N.C.
“I’m proud of their efforts and I’m proud of each and every one of these girls and we look forward to the tournament,” Poole said. “We know it’s a new opportunity.”
Lady Tigers finish third in state
The Claxton Lady Tigers finished third in the Class A State Track Chamionship Saturday in Albany behind champion Our Lady of Mercy (68 points) and second place Landmark Christian (66). The Tigers finished with 53. Endya Jones won the state championship in the triple jump for Claxton going 36 feet, 10 inches. She came in second in the long jump with a distance of 17'11 1/2". Deseree Holland came in sixth in the pole vault with a seven foot leap.
In the track events, Lacreasha Brewton finished sixth in the mile finishing in five minutes, 54 seconds. The 400-meter relay team of Kellie Adams, Jones, Ashley Kennedy and Myah Freeman took home the state championship with a time of 49.59 seconds. Kennedy was also state champion in the 400-meter run clocking in at 58.97 seconds. The 100-meter relay team also won the championship. The 1600-meter relay team of Brewton, Jones, Kennedy, and Kris Johnson finished second with a time of four minutes, nine seconds. Johnson placed sixth in the 800-meter run and Freeman placed fifth in the 100- and 200-meter runs.
