March 20, 2010

Game 1 Game 2

Greenville, S.C. - Senior Lana Mackey picked up a win in the circle and belted two home runs to guide Furman to a doubleheader sweep of Samford 3-2, 5-2 and three-game sweep of the weekend series versus the Bulldogs at Pepsi Stadium on Saturday.

The sweep improved the Paladins to 5-7 overall and 3-3 in Southern Conference play while Samford slipped to 8-14 overall and 1-5 in league play.

In game one, Mackey hurled four scoreless innings of relief and delivered a two-run, game-tying home run in the bottom of the sixth to help Furman rally past the Bulldogs 3-2.

Trailing 2-0, Morgan Hughey opened the sixth with a walk and Mackey followed with a blast down the left field line to knot the game at 2-2. Brythe Blankenship then reached base on an error and came around to score the eventual game-winning run with help from another Bulldog error, fielder's choice and wild pitch.

Working in relief of Hannah Bradley, Mackey scattered three hits and fanned six Samford batters without a walk to pick up the victory and improve to 3-4 in the circle. The Perry, Ga., native also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI while Stephanie Field collected a double and two bases on balls.

Samford reliever Kayla Burris (0-1) took the loss allowing two runs on one hit in one inning of work. Alex Adams registered a pair of hits for the Bulldogs, including a solo homer.

In game two, freshman Kayla Suskauer limited the Bulldogs to just one hit over five scoreless innings of work to pick up her first career victory in a 5-2 Paladin triumph.

Suskauer (1-1), a Tampa, Fla., product, fanned two batters and did not issue a walk before Mackey tossed the final two innings and clubbed her second home run of the day in the sixth inning.

With the game scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Alyssa Williams reached on a one-out single and moved to third on Megan Schonhar's double to left-center field. After Samford recorded the second out, Field reached on an infield single to score Williams and Katie Michaels earned a base on balls to load the bases. Sophomore Jessie Homesley followed with a bases clearing double into the left-center field gap to give Furman a 4-0 lead.

Field and Schonhar each collected two hits for the Paladins while Homesley contributed three RBI.

Amanda Barrs (1-7) allowed five runs on seven hits to absorb the loss for Samford. She walked two batters and struck out two.

Furman returns to action Tuesday when it hosts USC Upstate at Pepsi Stadium. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 2 p.m.

All Furman home games and selected road contests will be available via GameTracker. Fans can follow Furman action by logging onto www.furmanpaladins.com and following the links on the athletics schedule or by surfing to the Furman softball page.