Game 1 Boxscore: Furman 6, Presbyterian 3
Game 2 Boxscore: Furman 5, Marshall 0
Greenville, S.C. -- Furman pitching allowed just one earned run over 14 innings of work as the Paladins downed Presbyterian, 6-3, and blanked Marshall, 5-0, on Saturday afternoon in the Spartan/Paladin Invitational at Pepsi Stadium.
The sweep gave the Paladins nine wins in their last 10 games and improved Furman to 11-3 on the season.
Furman opened the day with its third win over Presbyterian this week as junior Emily DeMonte surrendered just one earned run on 10 hits over seven innings to up her record to 6-0 in the circle. The Sumter, S.C., native fanned three batters without issuing a walk in the complete-game effort.
After the Paladins took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a PC error, the Blue Hose struck for two runs on a pair of Furman errors in the top half of the fourth inning. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Furman plated four runs to regain the lead. Cash reached on an error and moved to third as Candace Johnson singled and advanced to second in the throw. Lindsey Bert walked to load the bases and Hannah Reynolds worked a free pass to force in a run and knot the contest at 2-2. Johnson scored a wild pitch from reliever Alex Cook to give Furman the lead and AnnaRose Borrelli hammered a two-out, two-run double into the gap to extend the margin to 5-2.
Johnson delivered an insurance run in the sixth inning on an RBI single and DeMonte worked out of a seventh-inning jam to secure the victory.
Starter Sarah Ramsbottom suffered the loss for PC after allowing five runs, just one earned, on three hits in four and 1/3 innings. She walked four and struck out three batters.
Johnson and Emma Ogburn registered two hits apiece for the Paladins, while Lauren Duggar singled, walked and swiped two bases. Jonnie Petree, Chelsea Lyons and Megan Anderson each totaled two hits for the Blue Hose (1-10).
In the final game of the day, Bert tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout to propel Furman to a 5-0 victory over the Thundering Herd. The Tallahassee, Fla., product walked three and fanned three en route to improving her record to 5-2 in the circle.
Furman took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on Carolina Cash's two-run homer to left field and upped its advantage to 4-0 when Brittany Houston and Lauren Duggar scored on Marshall errors in the fourth inning.
The Herd loaded the bases with one out in the top of the sixth inning, but Bert got a strikeout and grounder to second base to escape the jam unharmed.
Houston went 2-for-2 with two runs, while Johnson added two more hits and an RBI for the Paladins.
Starter Kailee Williamson (2-3) took the loss for Marshall (5-8) after giving up three runs on four hits in three and 1/3 innings of work.
The Spartan/Paladin Invitational concludes on Sunday with Marshall battling Winthrop at noon and Furman taking on the Eagles at 2 p.m.
Live stats will be available for both games and Furman's contest will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network. Links for the video stream and live stats will be posted at FurmanPaladins.com.
Spartan/Paladin Invitational
- games at Furman's Pepsi Stadium unless otherwise noted
Friday
2:00 - Furman 3, Marshall 1
Saturday
12:00 - Marshall 8, Presbyterian 0 (5 inn.)
2:00 - Furman 6, Presbyterian 3
4:00 - Furman 5, Marshall 0
Sunday
12:00 - Winthrop vs. Marshall
2:00 - Winthrop at Furman
