Spartanburg, S.C. – Freshman
Rachel Hawkins drove in a pair of runs and
Emme Buzhardt picked up her second save of the season as Furman topped Wofford, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game series Sunday afternoon at Hope Field on the Wofford College campus.
With Furman clinging to a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning and two runners on base, Buzhardt came out of the bullpen to retire Abbi Campbell and end the Wofford threat. The senior righthander retired six of the final eight batters she faced across the sixth and seventh innings to earn her second save of the year and secure Furman's first Southern Conference win.
A sacrifice fly from Hawkins and RBI double from Wofford's Hope Ingle opened the scoring in the first before the Paladins grabbed the lead for good in the top of the third inning when
Kate Stoltzfus scored on Hawkins' RBI single. The Paladins added to their advantage in the fourth. A pair of walks and a
Caitlin Goldwait single loaded the bases for
Sylvia Burroughs, who lofted a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in
Katie Peeler.
Wofford answered by taking advantage of a two-out error by the Paladins in the bottom of the fourth, but Furman responded in the top of the fifth with help from Hawkins once again. The Paladin third baseman opened the frame with a single and advanced to second on a
Madison Petty sacrifice.
Taylor Miller followed with a chopper to second base that was misplayed, allowing Hawkins to score and extend the lead to 4-2.
Starter
Angelina Ricciardi (5-4) retired two of the first three batters in the bottom of the fifth prior to Rivers Sampson's RBI double. She walked the next batter before Buzhardt entered to squelch the rally. Ricciardi gave up just one earned run on five hits over 4.2 innings to earn the victory. She walked four batters and struck out four.
Hawkins went 2-for-2 with a base on balls to lead the Furman offense while Goldwait registered three hits.
Natalya Salo (3-3) took the loss for Wofford allowing three runs to the Paladins on three hits over four innings in the circle. She walked three batters and recorded seven strikeouts. Brianna Stanley and Sampson picked up two hits each for the Terriers (18-11, 2-1 SoCon).
The Paladins (11-21, 1-2 SoCon) continue their eight-game road trip with a three-game series at East Tennessee State next weekend in Johnson City, Tenn.
