GWU Softball Drops Final Two Home Games to Winthrop on Tuesday Afternoon
April 21, 2009 | Softball
Boiling Springs, N.C. – The Bulldogs fell behind early in both games of the conference doubleheader with the Winthrop Lady Eagles on Tuesday afternoon and could not quite battle its way back, dropping game one 11-3 and then falling in game two 8-5.
With the two losses, the Bulldogs fall to 17-24 overall and 6-11 in the Big South, while Winthrop improves to 22-19 and 11-3 in conference play.
Game 1: Winthrop 11, Gardner-Webb 3
The Winthrop Lady Eagles used a three-run home run in both the second and the third innings to pull out to an early 6-0 lead and not look back, taking game one 11-3.
After both teams failed to score in the first inning, the Lady Eagles got on the board in the top of the second, as catcher Lauren Levin sent a fly ball over the left field fence for a three-run home run, putting the visitors up 3-0.
Another three-run home run in the top of the third, this time off the bat of left-fielder Veronica Berrie, gave the Lady Eagles a 6-0 lead after three innings of play.
Winthrop added two more runs in the top of the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles by Mallory Hogan and Ashlee Revell, pushing the Lady Eagles out to a big lead at 8-0.
The Bulldogs did not give up, as over the next two innings Gardner-Webb scored three runs to cut the Winthrop lead to 8-3. Senior Angie Walls reached base on a throwing error by the Lady Eagles' shortstop, advancing to second to lead off the inning. After the next GWU hitter made an out, freshman outfielder Jane Savage hit a slicing line drive down the right field line for a triple, which plated Walls and put the Bulldogs on the board. Junior Ashley Whitlock then drove in Savage from third on a sacrifice fly to center to cut the Lady Eagles lead to six at 8-2.
In the bottom of the sixth it was Walls who drove in run, hitting an RBI single to right field to score freshman McKenzie Morenus from third and put the score at 8-3.
However, the Lady Eagles put the game away with three insurance runs on five hits and a GWU throwing error in the top of the seventh to help seal the 11-3 win.
Winthrop's Cari Wooldridge (6-9) picked up the win, allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits in seven innings.
Walls led the way offensively for the Bulldogs, as the senior was 1-2 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, while Savage was 1-3 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored.
For Winthrop, seven players had two or more hits on the day, as Levin was 3-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Game 2: Winthrop 8, Gardner-Webb 5
Despite scoring in its first at bat, the Bulldogs fell behind 3-2 after three innings and suffered a four-run fourth by the Lady Eagles in the 8-5 loss.
Gardner-Webb got on the board first in the second game of the doubleheader, as junior designated player Mandy Ward knocked a clutch two out double to left center field, plating both Melinda Dulkowski and Christa Fullwood to put the Bulldogs up 2-0 early
However, the lead would not last long as Winthrop scored a run in the top of the second on a Lenny Stoddart RBI double and two runs in the top of the third by way of an RBI single by Revell and a bases loaded walk to take a 3-2 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Lady Eagles used a four-run inning, highlighted by a three-run home run off the bat of Lisa Kingsmore, to pull out to a 7-2 lead.
The Bulldogs answered with a run of its own in the fourth, as Ward led off the inning with a blast that sailed over the left field wall for a solo shot, cutting the Winthrop led to four at 7-3.
After Winthrop got the run back in the top of the fifth by way of a Kingsmore RBI single, the Bulldogs pushed across two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a Fullwood two-run line-drive home run to left center, again putting the Bulldogs in striking distance down only three at 8-5.
Yet that was the last run the Bulldogs would score in the game, ultimately falling 8-5 to the Lady Eagles.
While GWU freshman hurler Kara Buchanan (1-1) suffered the loss, her first of the year, Winthrop's Megan Evans (14-7) got the win. Evans gave up five runs on seven hits while striking out seven GWU batters in 4.1 innings of action.
At the plate, Ward was 3-4 with a home run, a double, three RBIs and a run scored, while Fullwood was 2-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Harrell was 3-4 with a triple and a run scored, while Morenus was 2-4 for the game.
For Winthrop, the Lady Eagles were led by Tessa Thomas, who was 3-5 with a triple and three runs scored, and Kingsmore, who was 3-5 with a home run, four RBIs and a run scored.
The final game of the three-game conference series between these two teams will be played on Thursday, April 23, in Rock Hill, S.C. at 5 p.m. The game will be the final regular season game for the Bulldogs, as Gardner-Webb will next compete in the Big South Championship tournament on May 7-9.
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| Game 1 Box Score - Winthrop 11, Gardner-Webb 3 |
| Game 2 Box Score - Winthrop 8, Gardner-Webb 5 |
