Greenville, S.C. – Furman rallied past UNC Greensboro in nine innings in game one and junior
Chrissy Fleming delivered a walk-off triple in the seventh inning of game two as the Paladins swept Thursday's Southern Conference doubleheader at Pepsi Stadium, 5-4, 9-8.
With the sweep, the Paladins (14-22, 6-2 SoCon) moved into a tie for first place with Samford in the SoCon standings. UNCG fell to 23-15 overall and 3-2 in league play.
In game one, UNCG rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh. Two innings later, Brooklynn Maxwell doubled off the glove of the second baseman to score Delaney Cumbie and give the Spartans a 4-3 lead.
Furman answered in the bottom of the ninth as
Alex Rose Molinar drew a leadoff walk and
Chrissy Fleming followed with a single to left field.
Ashlee Lykins shot a single through the left side and off the glove of the shortstop to score Molinar with the tying run. After an infield single by
Caitlin Goldwait and a putout at the plate on
Riley Ludlam's fielder's choice, Lykins beat a throw to the plate on
Kiley Perry's bouncer to the left side of the infield to score the winning run.
Junior
Sierra Tufts (8-8) went nine innings in the circle to earn the victory for the Paladins, while reliver Jorde Chartrand (5-5) suffered the loss for the Spartans. Tufts allowed four runs on nine hits. She walked four and struck out three batters. Chartrand gave up two runs on six hits over 5.1 innings of work out of the UNCG bullpen.
Furman took the lead in the second inning on
Alex Rose Molinar's first homer of the season before UNCG jumped in front on Maxwell's two-run blast in the top of the third.
Riley Ludlam put the Paladins back on top with a two-run blast in the bottom of the frame and Furman held the advantage until UNCG plated the tying run in the seventh to force extra innings.
Goldwait went 5-for-5 at the plate for the Paladins to tie Amy Jakubowski's single-game school record for hits, which was set on April 9, 1995, versus Marshall. Lykins, Ludlam, and Molinar each added two safeties apiece to help Furman total 13 hits in the series opener.
Cumbie finished 3-for-4 with a double and Maxwell and Samantha Lagrama notched two hits each for the Spartans.
In the nightcap, Furman rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to build a 7-2 lead and looked like it might cruise to victory. UNCG, however, mounted a furious rally with six runs in the top of the seventh.
A fielding error by the Paladins and one-out, RBI double by Anna White started the Spartans' seventh-inning comeback. Grace Loftin and Jaden Cheek followed with back-to-back singles to trim the margin to 7-4 and chase Furman's
Kiley Perry from the circle. Sophomore
Lauralee Scott came on to try and close out the game but hit the first batter she faced before issuing consecutive bases loaded walks that cut the Paladin lead to 7-6.
Starter
Emme Buzhardt reentered the circle with the bases loaded and one out. She issued a free pass to Jessie Shipley that forced in the tying run and Blayke Batten delivered a sacrifice fly to left field to give the Spartans an 8-7 lead.
Perry led off the bottom of the seventh and hammered the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for her second homer of the game and league-leading 11
th roundtripper of the season. Molinar worked a one-out walk against UNCG reliever Salem Ward and Fleming lined a triple into the right-centerfield gap to chase home the Paladin shortstop from first base to secure the extra-inning win.
Buzhardt (5-5) worked a total of 3.2 innings to earn the victory. She allowed just one earned run on six hits and struck out three. Ward (5-4) took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings of relief.
Perry went 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and three runs scored.
Sylvia Burroughs, Molinar and Fleming each went 2-for-3 in the game two victory with all three reaching base safely three times.
Four Spartans collected a pair of hits, highlighted by Loftin's 2-for-4 performance with two RBIs.
Weather permitting, the Paladins and Spartans will conclude their three-game series at 2 p.m. on Friday.
