Furman 7, ETSU 4
ETSU 3, Furman 2
Johnson City, Tenn. -- Junior AnnaRose Borrelli drove in five runs to power Furman to a 7-4 victory in game one and ETSU hit back-to-back first-inning homers en route to a 3-2 win in game two as the Paladins and Bucs splits a Southern Conference softball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Betty Basler Field in Johnson City, Tenn.
The split left Furman at 29-19 overall and 9-4 in SoCon play. The Paladins are tied for first place with UNCG, who swept a twinbill versus Chattanooga on Saturday. ETSU moved to 23-22 overall and 8-5 in the SoCon to stay within one game of the league lead.
Sunday's series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch. Live statistics for the game will be available through StatBroadcast at FurmanPaladins.com.
Furman 7, ETSU 4
The Paladins scored two runs in the third and added two more in the bottom of the seventh to pull away from ETSU, 7-4, in the series opener.
Furman struck for three runs in the top of the first inning as the first three batters reached base and Borrelli cleared the bases with a three-run double to left-center field. ETSU answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the second. Mykeah Johnson got the Bucs on the board with a two-out, RBI single before Nikki Grupp launched a two-run homer to left field to even the game.
With two outs and nobody on in the top of the third, Borrelli hammered a solo homer to center field, her eighth of the season. After Lindsey Bert doubled and Casey Bigham was hit by a pitch, Candace Johnson lined a single to left field to plate Bert and up the Paladin lead to 5-3.
The Bucs pulled within 5-4 on a single run in the fifth, but Furman added insurance in the seventh. Elise Smith started the rally with a pinch hit double off the centerfield fence and pinch runner Caroline Nageotte moved to third on Courtney Jacobs single. Carolina Cash drove in Nageotte with a sacrifice fly to right field and Borrelli registered her third hit of the game to score Jacobs.
Bert improved to 17-9 in the circle by holding ETSU to four runs on seven hits in seven innings. She fanned five batters and issued three walks.
Borrelli finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs, while Jacobs went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.
Madison Ogle (9-12) took the loss for ETSU after allowing six runs on seven hits in six-plus innings of work. Ogle notched five strikeouts and walked just one batter.
ETSU 3, Furman 2
In the nightcap, Tiffany Laughren and Taylor Carter belted back-to-back home runs to left with two outs in the bottom of the first to stake the Bucs to a 3-0 lead that they would not surrender.
Furman mounted a fifth inning rally as Jacobs and Johnson opened the frame with singles before Cash's base hit put Furman on the board. Cash swiped second base and ETSU's throw sailed into center allowing Johnson to race home and cut the lead to 3-2. The Bucs, however, retired the next three batters to strand Cash at second. In the seventh, Johnson reached on a leadoff single and moved to second on Borrelli's one-out walk, but ETSU reliever Sharlene Godoy got Elise Smith to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
Godoy worked two scoreless innings and allowed only one hit to earn her second save of the season. Starter Lindsey Fadnek (7-3) limited Furman to a pair of runs on eight hits in five innings to pick up the win.
Furman's Emily Demonte (9-10) took the loss allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings. The right-hander fanned four batters and walked just one.
Johnson and Taylor Miller each collected two hits for the Bucs, while Johnson, Brittany Houston and Emma Ogburn tallied two hits apiece for the Paladins.
Following this weekend's series, Furman returns home to conclude the regular season with a three-game set versus Chattanooga at Pepsi Stadium on May 4-5. The 2017 SoCon Softball Championship will take place May 10-13, at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information
