HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Unbridled elation gave way to thoughts of what could have been as three-seeded Catawba (27-15) used a late two-out error followed by an opportunistic three-run double to stun the Lady Railsplitters (23-23) in a 3-1 come-from-behind victory on day two of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Softball Championship at Byerly Park in Hartsville, S.C. With the loss, Lincoln Memorial will be forced to face the winner of No. 4 Wingate and No. 8 Coker in an elimination contest at 3 p.m.
Junior right-hander
Samantha Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) maintained her no-hit form through the first three frames, trading zeroes with Catawba ace Carley Tysinger until experiencing a minor hiccup in the bottom of the fourth. Caroline Turner and Natalie Naturile notched back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, snapping a string of nine consecutive hitless innings for Smith, and Gina Gerone loaded the bases with another base hit two batters later. Smith bore down, though, striking out Katherine Shumaker and grounding out Emily Honeycutt to hold the Indians scoreless.
The Lady Railsplitters let a similar opportunity slip away in the top of the fifth, as
Savannah Couch (Colonial Heights, Va.) and
Ashlea Hunter (Woodruff, S.C.) singled with no outs. Two strikeouts wedged around a groundout abruptly ended the frame and left both runners stranded.
Smith hung another zero on the board in Catawba's half of the fifth, and Tysinger followed in kind through two-thirds of the Lady Railsplitters' side of the sixth, grounding out
Meredith Johnson (Kenly, N.C.) and popping out
Jennifer Moose (Statesville, N.C.) to put the first two batters down without consequence.
Megan Tice (Orlando, Fla.) did not let that frame pass quietly, though, as the senior third baseman belted a two-out pitch over the left-field wall. The home run, which staked the Lady Railsplitters to a 1-0 lead, was Tice's second of the SAC tournament and third of the season.
The Lady Railsplitters' joy transformed to dejection just a half inning later. Naturile lined out and Taylor Adams struck out, but everything unraveled following a two-out error on a ball in play by Gerone. A small spark turned into a wildfire as Shumaker singled and Tysinger walked to load the bases after the miscue. Kim Fesperman came through with the game-winning hit, clearing the bases by ripping a 1-2 pitch over Hunter's head in centerfield for a double, making it a 3-1 Catawba lead.
Tysinger emphatically closed the door on the Lady Railsplitters in the top of the seventh, striking out
Jaclyn Cokeroft (Longwood, Fla.) and
Emilee Solomon (Knoxville, Tenn.) before grounding out
Kelly Dreier (Knoxville, Tenn.) to end it.
Smith was pinned with the loss despite allowing just six hits and striking out four over six innings. All three runs charged against her were marked as unearned.
Solomon, Moose, Tice, Couch, Hunter and
Kristen McAndrew (Belmont, N.C.) finished with a hit apiece for the Lady Railsplitters.
Tysinger went the distance for the Indians, striking out 13 while allowing six hits over seven innings. Tice's solo home run was the only run credited against her.
The Lady Railsplitters try to keep their SAC Championship run alive at 3 p.m., squaring off against the winner of No. 4 Wingate and No. 8 Coker. Live stats and video links are accessible at www.LMURailsplitters.com. Fans can also stay updated through Lincoln Memorial's official Twitter account (@LMURailsplitter).
