ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop dropped both games of a double-header as Charleston Southern scored late in both games for the wins, Sunday afternoon in Big South Conference softball action.
Winthrop grabbed early leads in both games, but Charleston Southern was able to rally late in both as it took game one 5-3 and the nightcap 2-1 in eight innings.
The Eagles (14-27, 4-8 Big South) scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth in game one for a 3-0 lead thanks to an RBI triple off the bat of Brittany Stoudemire and a two-run home run by Kelly Blea.
Chelsey Schoenfeldt walked with one out in the fourth and then scored on the Stoudemire triple. After Veronica Berrie lined out to the shortstop, Blea stepped up and hit a high fly ball to left field. Jana Matthews back up all the way to the wall and jumped up to try and rob Blea of a home run. The ball landed in her glove, but fell out and over the fence as she tried to haul it in.
The Buccaneers answered right back with four runs in the top of the fifth, highlighted by a three-run blast to straight away center by Megan Lombard. Trea Steele led off the inning with a double to right center, just the second hit allowed by Schoenfeldt to that point. Stephanie Sbardella walked to put two runners on with no outs. Jasmine Conley was brought in as a pinch-hitter and came through with a single to right center on a 1-2 count for the Bucs first run of the game. Schoenfeldt got the next two batters out, but her 2-0 pitch was hit out of the park by Lombard for the Charleston Southern 4-3 lead.
The Buccaneers added another run in the sixth on a squeeze bunt by Conley as Matthews slid underneath the tag by Blea at home.
Schoenfeldt fell to 7-10 on the year as she allowed four earned runs on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts in five and one-third innings. Natalie Becker pitched a perfect one and two-thirds with one strikeout to finish off the game. Morgan Dowdy earned the win as she allowed three runs on four hits with two walks as she improved to 8-16. Kimberly Hobbs earned her first save of the season as she tossed the final three innings allowing no runs on four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Winthrop scored in the bottom of the first of game one as Megan Chapman scored on a wild pitch and hung on until Charleston Southern tied the game in the fourth.
Becker started game two and was able to get out of a bases loaded jam in the first two innings, but Charleston Southern finally came through with the bases juiced in the fourth. Kimberly Braxton led off by drawing a walk and Lizzy Olmstead singled with a bunt to put runners at first and second. Conley sacrificed the runners over and then two batters later Erin Kegley walked to load the bases. This time Jessica Brock delivered with a single to right field. Melissa Adams, who was a pinch-runner at third, scored and Teja Durante in right field saved the Eagles as she nailed Olmstead at the plate as she tried to score from second.
Both teams battled into extra innings when Charleston Southern took advantage of Becker in the inning as she walked Kegley with the bases loaded on a 3-2 count. Kristin Kelleher walked with one out and pinch-hitter Hayes Holdsworth singled to right center. After Becker got Conley to strike out for the second out she walked Lombard to load the bases.
Dowdy started game two and allowed one run on three hits with a walk, but didn't factor into the decision. Hobbs entered the game again in the fifth and allowed no runs on no hits with a walk and five strikeouts as she improved to 11-11. Hobbs tossed six innings allowing four hits with a walk and 12 strikeouts against the Eagles in two relief appearances.
Becker took the loss and is now 4-9 on the year as she allowed two runs on seven hits with nine walks and seven strikeouts.
Schoenfeldt got a base hit in each of the games as she extends her hitting streak to 15 games. Chapman finished the day with three hits while Schoenfeldt, Blea and Berrie each had two.
Brock and Kegley each finished the day with three hits while Conley had two RBI and Lombard had three with her seventh home run of the season.
The two teams will wrap-up the three-game series on Monday at 5 p.m. at Terry Field.
