Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore
Greenville, S.C. – Western Carolina plated three unearned runs in the top of the fifth in game one to down Furman, 5-4, and Mallory Broome hurled a one-hit shutout to guide WCU to a 1-0 win in game two as the Catamounts swept a Southern Conference doubleheader from the Paladins on Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
The sweep improved Western Carolina to 15-25 overall and 5-9 in the SoCon while Furman slipped to 18-17 overall and 6-7 in league play.
Game 1
The Catamounts totaled three unearned runs in the fifth inning of game one and held off a late Furman rally to escape with the victory in the opening game of the series.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the top of the fifth, Karley Harkey started the Catamount rally with an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Amelia Griffin reached on a Stephanie Spain error and stole second base to put two runners in scoring position. Jordan Fulton bounced a grounder to shortstop that Sieara Bishop fired to the plate, but the throw was not in time to get Harkey. Taylor Sigmon followed by reaching on a fielder's choice to drive in Griffin when she beat a throw after second baseman Taylor Jenkins hesitated on a possible throw to the plate. Hayley Pace capped the three-run rally by lining a 1-2 pitch into left-center to score Fulton and give the Catamounts a 5-2 lead.
Hannah Pace walked, Nikki Legg singled and Bishop walked to load the bases for Furman in the bottom of the sixth before Natalie Clemmons lined a two-out, two-run single up the middle. Western Carolina pitcher Jordan Garrett ended the threat with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base by getting Ambree Muller to fly out to left. The right-hander then retired Furman in order in the seventh to secure the victory for the Catamounts.
Garrett allowed three earned runs on seven hits in the complete-game effort to improve to 10-9 in the circle. She walked four batters and struck out seven.
Lauren Collier suffered the loss for the Paladins to fall to 9-8. The junior gave up five runs, just two earned, on six hits in seven innings of work. She walked one batter and matched a career-high with nine strikeouts.
Western Carolina took the early lead in the first on an RBI single by Pace and RBI double from Shemekia Scotton. Hannah Pace cut the Western Carolina lead in half with a line drive off of Garrett's leg to drive in Stephanie Field in the second and the Paladins pulled even on Field's RBI single in the third inning.
Hayley Pace went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI for the Catamounts while Legg collected two hits for Furman.
Game 2
In game two, Western Carolina starter Mallory Broome (3-6) scattered three Paladin hits to toss a complete-game shutout as the Catamounts claimed a 1-0 victory.
Broome walked just two batters and struck out four in the seven-inning effort as Furman stranded a base runner in five of seven innings.
The Catamounts picked up the only run of the game in the top of the seventh. Heather Chastain opened the frame with a double down the left field line and moved to third on Amber Steinhardt's sacrifice bunt. After Megan Crowe reached base on an infield single, Harkey lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in pinch runner Sarah Perrine with the lone run of the game.
Shelby Parker (3-4) was the tough-luck loser for the Paladins after allowing just one run on five hits in seven innings. She struck out eight batters and walked only two.
Bishop, Clemmons and Spain each recorded doubles for the Paladins.
Furman and Western Carolina conclude their three-game series with a single game on Sunday. First pitch at Pepsi Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Fans can follow live statistics for the series finale by logging onto www.FurmanPaladins.com. Live updates are also available on Twitter by following @FurmanPaladins.
