Longwood Claims Saturday Twin-Bill With Gardner-Webb
April 05, 2014 | Softball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. --- Senior Samantha Meenaghan (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) collected three hits for Gardner-Webb as Longwood swept a Big South Conference doubleheader from the Runnin' Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Varsity Field.
Longwood (24-7, 11-2 BSC) claimed game one by a score of 8-0 with an eight-run fourth, before holding off a late rally by Gardner-Webb (11-27, 1-9 BSC) en route to a 5-1 victory. The Lancers plated 13 runs on 22 hits in the twin-bill, while limiting the Runnin' Bulldogs to one run on four base knocks.
Meenaghan extended her hitting streak to a season-high seven games, raising her batting average to .425 with a 2-for-3 effort in game two. Taylar Pridgen (Trinity, N.C.) added a base knock of her own while also scoring a run in the night cap. Megan Champion (Knightdale, N.C.) picked up her 13th RBI of the season for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Jessica Childers (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) got the nod for Gardner-Webb in the opener, tossing the first three and two-thirds innings while walking two and striking out three. Ashley Rhyne (Crouse, N.C.) pitched the final one and one-third in relief, surrendering one run on two hits and striking out two. Alyssa Gutierrez (Wake Forest, N.C.) took the ball in game two, allowing three earned runs while walking one and striking out two in a complete-game effort.
Katie Shinrock, Casey Lifsey, Carly Adams, Chelsea Sciacca and Emily Murphy each tallied three hits for the Lancers, as Amy Putnam added a 2-for-3 effort in game two. Lifsey drove in a team-high three runs, while Shinrock and Murphy both added two RBI.
Libby Morris went the distance in game one, retiring 15 of the 16 batters she faced while striking out six en route to a one-hit shutout. Elizabeth McCarthy took the ball in the night cap, allowing one run on three hits in seven innings of work.
Game One: Longwood 8, Gardner-Webb 0
The game remained scoreless until the top of the fourth when Longwood plated eight runs on eight hits, including a two-run single by Shinrock to take an 8-0 lead. Morris would allow just one hit in the contest, retiring the first nine batters she faced before surrendering a leadoff single to Meenaghan in the fourth. She settled down from there, recording six straight outs to cap the win.
Game Two: Longwood 5, Gardner-Webb 1
Longwood opened the scoring in the top of the third, taking a 1-0 lead with a run-scoring single to right center by Murphy. Longwood would add two in the fourth and one in the fifth, pushing the advantage to 4-0 on a two-run single by Lifsey and an RBI base knock by Putnam.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fought back in the sixth, leading off the inning with back-to-back infield singles by Pridgen and Meenaghan, before Kellie Beres (Greenville, N.C.) dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third with one out. Champion cut the lead to 4-1 moments later, bouncing a grounder to short that scored Pridgen from third.
After Megan Gibbons (Benson, N.C.) walked to put runners at the corners, McCarthy countered with an inning-ending strikeout to quell the rally. Longwood answered with a run of its own in the seventh, stretching the margin to 5-1 on a sacrifice fly before McCarthy closed out the victory in the home half.
Longwood and Gardner-Webb will conclude the three-game series with a single tilt on Sunday at 2:00 pm on Varsity Field.
| Box Score: Longwood 8, Gardner-Webb 0 |
| Box Score: Longwood 5, Gardner-Webb 1 |
