March 2, 2008

IRVING, Texas - East Carolina completed a 5-1 weekend, defeating Towson and Fordham Sunday at the ECU Softball Field to earn the 2008 Pirate Clash championship. The Pirates improved their record to 16-5 and have won 12 of their last 15 contests. Tournament MVP Brooke Swann picked up both of the wins as she ended the weekend with a 4-1 record and one save.

UTEP (14-6) made history on Sunday, winning its first back-to-back tournament titles, as the team demolished Georgetown, 11-2 in five innings, to win the 2008 UTEP Softball Invitational. The Miners combined for 13 hits in the rout that included two doubles - giving UTEP 45 on the season - and two home runs.

EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina completed a 5-1 weekend, defeating Towson and Fordham Sunday at the ECU Softball Field to earn the 2008 Pirate Clash championship. The Pirates improved their record to 16-5 and have won 12 of their last 15 contests. Tournament MVP Brooke Swann picked up both of the wins as she ended the weekend with a 4-1 record and one save.

Facing the Tigers in the semifinal contest, ECU put up two runs in the top of the first and broke the game open in the fourth with three runs, taking a 5-1 lead. East Carolina put the game away in the top of the seventh, notching three runs to provide the final 8-3 margin.

The Pirates jumped on top in the championship game against the Rams in the top of the third when they put four runs on the board. The Pirates tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh with a RBI double by Erin St. Ledger and a double steal play that allowed Suzanne Riggs to score.

After dropping the first of two games on Saturday to Fordham 11-6, the Pirates rode a no-hitter from junior Brooke Swann to rout Delaware, 10-0. Swann allowed just two base runners through the first three innings as East Carolina stretched its lead to 8-0 with three runs in the top of the third. Stacey Andrews ripped a two-RBI double while Kaui Tom was able to plate Andrews on a groundout to second.

ECU took a pair of contests over Radford and Liberty to begin the Pirate Clash on Friday.

East Carolina travels to Orlando this weekend as it opens Conference USA play with a three-game series against UCF at the UCF Softball Complex. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday while wrapping up the series on Sunday with a lone game. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m.

MARSHALL
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hit a walk off home run to lift the Lady Mocs to a 6-5 victory over Marshall, Sunday afternoon at the 2008 Frost Classic at Jim Frost Stadium. Marshall (8-10) finished the game with nine hits, three coming from All-American catcher Rachel Folden.

Marshall second baseman Deanna Tourville hit her fourth and fifth home runs of the season, but it wasn't enough as the Herd couldn't withstand a late Wright State rally and lost to the Raiders, 9-3, Sunday morning. It was the first multiple home run performance from Tourville since her sophomore season when she hit two solo shots against Appalachian State. She finished the game with all three Herd RBI.

Folden hit her 44th career home run, but it too little again as the Herd fell to .500 with a loss against Buffalo, 11-6, Saturday evening. Marshall tallied six hits in the contest including two hits from Folden and sophomore Caitlyn Jackson, respectively. The Herd had five different student-athletes record an RBI in the contest.

Despite a three-run first inning, Marshall was unable to keep its lead and fell to the University of Kentucky, 10-4, Saturday morning. Jackson led the Herd hitters with three hits, a run and an RBI. Tourville recorded her third home run of the season with a solo shot over the left field wall.

Friday action in the Classic was cancelled due to inclement weather.

The Herd concluded tournament play at Chattanooga, Tenn., on Sunday and will gear up for conference play with a doubleheader at Memphis, Saturday, March 8 at 1 p.m. (ET).

MEMPHIS
North Texas staged a four-run seventh inning rally to defeat Memphis in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss on Sunday at the Residence Inn Invitational at the OU Softball Complex. The Tigers then lost 10-0 in five innings to No. 9/10 Oklahoma. Memphis falls to 9-8 on the season and finished the tournament 1-3 after losing the final three games.

Senior centerfielder Lindsay Kelso led the U of M with three hits in the two games with an RBI against North Texas and a double against Oklahoma. Freshman first baseman Kailey Kassner went 2-for-3 with two RBI against North Texas.

Memphis fell 17-0 in five innings to No. 9/10 Oklahoma on Saturday. The Tigers ended the day 1-1 after defeating North Texas 4-0 earlier. Memphis managed a combined three hits off Oklahoma ace D.J. Mathis

Against UNT, freshman Janelle Valle threw her second-straight shutout. Kassner and junior second baseman Leila Dolfo led the team with two hit performances. Kassner finished 2-for-2 and scored a run in the second inning, while Dolfo ended the game 2-for-4 with her team-leading 11th RBI of the season.

The Tigers next will play a doubleheader at Alcorn State on Tuesday before hosting a doubleheader with Central Arkansas on Wednesday and a three-game series with Marshall to open conference play on Saturday and Sunday.

SOUTHERN MISS
South Alabama had a late rally and scored a 1-0, eight-inning victory over Southern Miss Saturday night to complete pool play of the Easton Purple and Gold Challenge at Tiger Park. The Golden Eagles (9-10) lost their seventh-straight contest after finishing the tournament 0-3. They did not advance to Sunday's championship round.

Southern Miss had its best opportunity to score in the eighth. After a fielding error by USA second baseman Krista Rodden that allowed Ashlyn Harmon to reach base, Allison Bullard put down a sacrifice bunt. But USM could not take advantage of the runner in scoring position to push a run across.

Penn State hit two solo home runs to grab a 3-0 victory on Saturday afternoon. The biggest Southern Miss threat came in the bottom of the sixth. Bullard led off the frame with a double and Kristin Chaney was then hit by a pitch. After a sacrifice bunt by Brandi Alonzo, Brittney Pigott lined out to leftfield. Kristin Pilgrim followed with an intentional walk to load the bases before Jennifer Fox hit into a force out to end the inning.

Southern Miss got home runs from Lauren Castellvi, Fox and Pigott and a solid relief pitching effort from Hannah Griffin, but the Golden Eagles could not overcome No. 9 LSU in an 8-5 loss in the opening game of the Challenge.

The Golden Eagles return to action, Wednesday, March 5, when they play host to McNeese State in a doubleheader at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Game time is set for 5 p.m.

TULSA
For the fifth time this season, Tulsa split a pair of decisions on the same day. In seven opportunities of playing two games in one day, the Golden Hurricane has won a game and lost a game on five of those dates. Included in that stat is the final day of the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge in Baton Rouge, La.

Tulsa, the fourth seed for bracket play, defeated top-seeded Penn State, 4-1 to start the day. The Hurricane then fell in the championship game to host LSU, 6-1, to fall to 8-10 on the year. Lauren Lindsay and Jordan Kinard were named to the All-Tournament team.

Tulsa split another pair of decisions Saturday. The Golden Hurricane defeated South Alabama, 3-2 in extra innings then fell to host LSU, 4-2.

In the first game of the day, the Hurricane broke open a scoreless game with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Sophomore Vanessa Vice led off TU's half of the fifth with a single to center field. After a sacrifice bunt, Vice would advance to third on a single from fellow sophomore Christian Timmons. Both runners would advance a base on a wild pitch, with Vice scoring from third. Timmons would score on a RBI grounder from senior Lindsey Tower.

In the eighth, TU sophomore Jackie Lawrence held USA to just a single and no runs. Sophomore Lauren Lindsay led off TU's half with a walk, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. A single up the middle from senior Sara Dyer scored the game winner for the Hurricane.

Against the host Tigers, TU started off with a bang. Lindsay shot her fourth home run of the season, a team-best, over the centerfield fence on the game's second pitch. The Tigers would take the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, thanks to four unearned runs and go on to the win.

A trio Tulsa hitters extended their hitting streaks on Friday afternoon, but it was not enough as Penn State took a 4-1 victory. Lindsay recorded two hits, including a double, for the Golden Hurricane to extend her hitting streak to nine games. Dyer's RBI single in the sixth inning extended her streak to seven games. Timmons reached base on a bunt single to start the seventh inning, giving her a hit in six consecutive contests

The Hurricane will return to the friendly confines of the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex on Wednesday, March 5th, hosting Oklahoma in a single game at 6 p.m.

UAB
Jennifer Nelson struck out 12 and Holly Krzan homered as UAB (13-9) wrapped up the Magic City Classic with a convincing 7-0 win over Columbia Sunday afternoon. Nelson (7-6) was on cruise control from the get-go striking out the side in each of the first three innings. Krzan's line drive shot over the left field fence was her second home run of the tournament and third of the season.

Nelson stayed true to her style this season, striking out 12 and eight in a row after allowing a seeing-eye single in the first. The nine outs were all ground balls and only one ball truly reached the outfield.

UAB split its games at Saturday, scoring two runs in the final inning to defeat Samford, before falling to Georgia Southern. The Blazers erased a one-run deficit to defeat the Bulldogs, 4-3, in the first game. Jennifer Nelson drove in the go-ahead run with two outs helping to improve to 17-4 against Samford.

The Blazers pounded out 17 runs in two games, helping them to victories over Alabama State and Birmingham-Southern on the opening day of the Classic on Friday. The Blazers defeated Alabama State 5-2 and woke up the bats with a 12-0 take down of cross-town rival Birmingham-Southern

UAB will travel to No. 18 Mississippi State for a single game beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Starkville, Miss. The Blazers host No. 1 Alabama at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at George Ward Park.

UCF
UCF (14-10) took home second place at the Altamonte Springs Tournament Sunday afternoon after posting a 5-1 win over Vermont, before falling to Maryland, 1-0, in the championship game at the Merrill Park Softball Complex. Hillary Barrow and Breanne Javier both posted two hits on the day.

In the championship game against Maryland, both runs and hits were hard to come by for both teams, as the scored remained deadlocked, 0-0, through five innings. The winning run crossed in the bottom of the sixth inning for the Terps.

In the Knights' earlier game versus Vermont, UCF started the scoring in the second inning with Barrow crossing the plate after reaching on a hit by pitch, moving to second on a single by Ashleigh Cole and scoring on a fielding error by the Catamount shortstop. Cole and the Knights' defense retired 15-straight batters before a single by the Catamount second baseman and a triple cut the Knights lead to two runs in the sixth inning.

Cole picked up her fifth win of the season with the victory and moved her record to 5-4 on the season. She posted seven strikeouts, allowing only one run on three hits.

The Knights swept day two of tournament on Saturday afternoon after defeating Villanova, 11-4, and Vermont, 8-2. With the pair of victories, the Knights earned the No. 2 seed going into Sunday's bracket play. In UCF's win over Vermont, Allison Kime fanned 15 batters, a career high for seven innings of work.

Cole led the Black and Gold at the plate with two hits, including a home run against the Wildcats, and three RBI. The sophomore also earned the victory in the circle in the first game, allowing only two earned runs on seven hits.

Kime posted six strikeouts and allowed only one run and three hits, despite the Knights falling to Team USA, 1-0, in an exhibition on Friday night. The senior hurler and the Knights' defense held the three-time Olympic gold medalists scoreless through five innings of play in the contest.

Earlier in the day, UCF defeated Florida A&M, 10-6. Four different Knights recorded two hits in the game, with Tiffany Lane and Javier also posting two RBI a piece.

UCF is back on the road Wednesday when they take on in-state rival Florida at 6 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

UTEP
UTEP (14-6) made history on Sunday, winning its first back-to-back tournament titles, as the team demolished Georgetown, 11-2 in five innings, to win the 2008 UTEP Softball Invitational. The Miners combined for 13 hits in the rout that included two doubles - giving UTEP 45 on the season - and two home runs.

Ashley Perez and Amber Bennett were a triple shy of the cycle, each garnering a single, a double and a home run in the game. Bennett accomplished the feat for the tournament after posting a triple versus Binghamton Friday. Perez ended the day going 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI while Bennett was 3-for-4 with a run and one RBI.

UTEP lost 4-2 to UC Riverside in its fifth game of the invitational on Saturday. Stacie Townsend , despite the loss, fanned nine batters in 4.2 innings of play.

Bennett recorded three runs on three hits that included a triple, her first of the season, as UTEP defeated Loyola Marymount 8-2 and Binghamton, 6-1, on Friday. Bennett posted all three hits against Binghamton, going 3-for-4 in the outing. As a team, the Miners combined for 16 hits for the day including two doubles and Bennett's triple. Ashley Ellis, drove home a team-high five runs while posting three hits, a run and one of the Miners' doubles.

UTEP combined for 22 hits en route to a 12-4 and 12-6 doubleheader sweep of Northern Colorado in the opening round of the UTEP Invitational on Thursday. Andi Zolton contributed four of the Miners' hits along with three runs and three RBI. Zolton also accounted for two of UTEP's six stolen bases in the sweep. Camilla Carrera also had a stellar performance, knocking in a team-high five runs for the Miners, including four in the first game. She finished with two runs on three hits, one double and one stolen base.

Nichole Tunget and Curran each received a victory and Tunget had the Game two save. Tunget struck out five batters in the first game and seven in the second to combine for 12 on the day.

The Miners look to take the momentum into next week, as they open their Conference USA season in a three game home series against UAB on Saturday, March 8. The first pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 3:00 pm at Helen of Troy Field with the series concluding on Sunday a noon.