Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore
Greenville, S.C. – Senior Lauren Collier tossed a complete game in the series opener to help Furman to a 4-2 victory and doubleheader split with Appalachian State in Southern Conference softball action on Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium. The Mountaineers bounced back to claim a 7-3 decision in game two.
The split kept Furman in second place in the SoCon at 28-22 overall and 12-7 in league play, but the Paladins' loss in game two secured the SoCon regular season title for Georgia Southern. Appalachian State moved to 18-30 overall and 6-13 in the league. The Paladins can clinch at least a share of second place in the final SoCon standings with a win in Sunday's regular season finale.
Game 1
Collier tossed a complete game and held Appalachian State to just two runs on seven hits to lead Furman to a 4-2 win in the series opener on Saturday.
The Mountaineers broke on top in the first inning as Dani Heichen scored on Lindsay Loudermilk's two-out double into the right-center field gap.
Furman answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Sieara Bishop and Ambree Muller opened the inning with singles and the Paladins loaded the bases when App State starter Alissa Schoelkopf hit Collier with a one-out pitch. Bishop scored on a wild pitch to tie the game and Muller raced home when Andrea Abbatiello's two-out grounder skipped over Schoelkopf's glove for an error to give Furman a 2-1 lead.
The Paladins plated a key insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Abbatiello drew a leadoff walk and moved to second base on Nikki Legg's sacrifice bunt before Taylor Jenkins lined a double to the left field wall to give Furman a 3-1 lead.
After Appalachian State strung together three hits to score a run in the top of the sixth on Cara Parker's RBI single to center field, Furman restored its two-run lead in the bottom of the inning. Muller reached on an error, went to third on Natalie Clemmon's single and scored on Collier's flyout to right field.
Schoelkopf (4-9) allowed four runs, two earned, on five hits to suffer the loss for the Mountaineers. She finished with three walks and four strikeouts in six innings of work.
Collier fanned four Mountaineers and did not allow a walk while improving to 17-10 in the circle.
Game 2
In the second game of the doubleheader, Appalachian's Sydney Laws carried a no-hitter into the sixth and held Furman to just two earned runs on three hits to lead the Mountaineers to a 7-3 win.
An error led to an Appalachian State run in the first inning and Parker doubled the lead by opening the top of the fifth with a solo homer to left-center field. Cynthia Gomez singled with two outs in the frame to score Carolina Rogers and up the Mountaineer lead to 3-0.
Furman got on the board without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the fifth. Bishop reached on an error by the shortstop and went to third when Clemmons' line drive to center was dropped. Bishop scored on a wild pitch to slice the lead to 3-1, but Laws retired the next two batters to strand Clemmons at third base.
After Appalachian State extended its lead to 4-1 in the top of the sixth, Furman cut the margin to a run when Legg reached on a one-out infield single and Taylor Jenkins launched a two-run homer off of the light tower in left field.
The Mountaineers responded by putting the game out of reach in the top of the seventh with three runs. After Kristen Terry doubled and Gomez was hit by a pitch following a sacrifice bunt, Sarah Warnock lined a two-run double to the wall in left-center and scored on Loudermilk's single up the middle for the finale 7-3 scoreline.
Laws struck out two Paladins without allowing a walk in seven innings of work to improve to 5-8 in the circle. Furman starter Alex Sappington (5-3) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on six hits in five and 1/3 innings. She walked two and struck out two.
Four Mountaineers each registered two hits to power a 12-hit outburst for Appalachian State while Legg, Jenkins and Bishop recorded the only hits for Furman.
The Paladins and Mountaineers are scheduled to play the regular season finale and rubber game of their three-game series at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Prior to the first pitch, head coach Kyle Jamieson and his staff will honor the program's six senior, who will be playing their final game at Pepsi Stadium.
Live stats of Sunday's game are available through StatBroadcast at FurmanPaladins.com. In-game updates will be available on Twitter by following @FurmanSoftball.
