Game 1 Boxscore: Furman 4, Presbyterian 3
Game 2 Boxscore: Furman 5, Presbyterian 1
Clinton, S.C. -- Furman rallied from a 2-0 deficit to claim a 4-3 victory in game one and cruised to a 5-1 victory in game two as the Paladins swept a non-conference softball doubleheader versus Presbyterian on Wednesday afternoon at the PC Softball Complex in Clinton, S.C.
The sweep gave Furman six wins in its last seven outings and improved the Paladins to 8-3 on the season. The Blue Hose slid to 1-8.
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning in game one, Furman exploded for four runs to take control. Cammy Pereira opened the rally with a leadoff single to right field and scored on Emma Ogburn's double down the left field line. Caroline Cash followed with a triple to score pinch runner Hannah Seaver before crossing the plate to give the Paladins a 3-2 lead on Emily DeMonte's pinch-hit single off the glove of the pitcher. With two outs, Lindsey Bert reached on an error and Marissa Guimbarda doubled the Furman lead with an RBI single to left field to plate Candace Johnson.
Presbyterian pulled to within a run in the bottom of the sixth on Lindsay Harris' RBI single, but Bert induced a popup to strand two Blue Hose and get out of further trouble. She retired PC in order in the seventh to improve to 3-2 in the circle. Bert, who notched her 600th career strikeout in the victory, allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings, while fanning seven batters.
Cash finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a triple and an RBI, while Bert, Borrelli and Ogburn each registered a double to power Furman's nine-hit attack in game one.
Kaylee Allen (0-5) took the loss for Presbyterian after allowing three runs on six hits over four innings. Jonnie Petree notched two hits for the Blue Hose and Chelsea Lyons added two hits and two RBI.
In the nightcap, DeMonte limited PC to just one run over seven innings to improve to 5-0 in the circle.
Furman put up two runs in the top of the first inning. Lauren Duggar walked, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error before racing home on Bert's line drive single off the glove of the shortstop. Three batters later, Ogburn lined a single to left field to double the lead at 2-0.
In the fourth inning, the Paladins plated three runs to blow the game open. Brittany Houston lined a double over the leftfielder's head and Johnson drew a two-out walk to set the table. Houston scored on Hannah Reynolds' infield single before Bert laced a two-out double into the gap to drive in two more runs.
DeMonte allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings, while walking two and fanning three Blue Hose. Bert finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI as Furman registered 10 hits in the second game.
Alex Cook (0-1), who surrendered two runs on three hits in one inning of action, took the loss for Presbyterian.
Furman travels to Cyrill Stadium at USC Upstate to take on Marshall on Friday at 2 p.m. as part of the Spartan/Paladin Invitational before entertaining PC, Marhsall and Winthrop at Pepsi Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.
