Greenville, S.C. – Furman's
Sierra Tufts hurled a five-hit shutout in game one and the Paladins pounded out a season-high 13 runs on 16 hits in the second game to sweep a doubleheader from Western Carolina 1-0, 13-6 on Saturday afternoon at Pepsi Stadium.
Game 1: Furman 1, WCU 0
In the series opener between the Paladins and Catamounts, Tufts tossed a complete-game shutout and junior
Riley Ludlam hammered a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to hand Furman a 1-0 victory.
Tufts, who improved to 7-13 in the circle, scattered five hits to record her fourth shutout of the campaign, while fanning six Catamounts and allowing just three walks.
With some help from her defense, Tufts escaped several jams and stranded eight WCU runners over seven innings. The Chula Vista, Calif., product left two on base in the second inning and induced a popup to third base with the bases loaded to end the third. After a Catamount runner reached third base with nobody out in the sixth, Tufts got a groundout and a double play to end the inning and strand the runner. The following frame, she started a double play on a popped-up bunt and fanned the next batter to strand a runner in scoring position.
Ludlam stepped in the box to start the bottom of the seventh and clubbed a 1-1 pitch over the right-center field fence to secure the victory. The round tripper marked the fifth clout of the season for the Fort Myers, Fla., native.
Savannah Rice (10-12) suffered the loss for Western Carolina. She allowed a run on three hits and struck out five over six-plus innings of work.
Lauren Woodall notched her first career hit for the Paladins in the series opener.
Game 2: Furman 13, WCU 6
In game two, Furman notched a season-best 16 hits, including three home runs, to rally from a 5-1 deficit and down the Catamounts 13-6.
Western Carolina plated four runs in the top of the first on a pair of two-run base hits and added a single run in the top of the second to grab a 5-1 advantage.
After
Ashlee Lykins' infield single and
Alex Rose Molinar's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame trimmed the deficit to 5-3, Western Carolina responded with a run in the top of the third to increase its lead to 6-3.
Furman turned the game around and grabbed the lead with a four-run frame in the bottom of the third inning.
Emily Bartlett opened the inning with a single and pinch runner
Hana Hashioka scored when
Natalie Morgan followed with a double into the left-center field gap.
Marina Griffin singled up the middle to score Morgan and pull the Paladins within a run. Following a sacrifice bunt, a hit by pitch and a ground out, Lykins worked a base on balls to load the bases. Molinar, who recorded a season-high three hits, laced a double down the right field line to plate two runs and give Furman a 7-6 lead.
Morgan and Griffin belted back-to-back solo homers in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 9-6 before Bartlett's two-run blast highlighted a four-run bottom of the fifth to push the Paladins' lead to 13-6.
Molinar went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, while Morgan finished 3-for-4 with a double, homer and two RBI. Lykins, Bartlett, Griffin and
Caitlin Goldwait collected two hits apiece. Griffin's homer marked her first career clout.
Freshman
Emme Buzhardt (4-1) earned the victory for the Paladins after surrendering just two runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings of relief. She walked one and struck out one.
Tessa Juett (4-10) suffered the loss for the Catamounts. The starter allowed seven runs on nine hits in three innings in the circle. Brooklynn Brewington went 3-for-3 with a triple and three stolen bases to pace the Western Carolina offense.
The Paladins (17-26, 5-6 SoCon) and Catamounts (18-28, 4-10 SoCon) conclude their three-game weekend series on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
