CULLOWHEE, NC— Chelsey Schoenfeldt had a career day at the plate to lead Winthrop to a 14-4 and 9-3 victory over Western Carolina in a double-header, Wednesday evening.
The Eagles offense pounded out a total of 28 hits in the two games as they improve to 11-22 on the year while Western Carolina falls to 17-23.
After putting up a season-high 14 runs in the first game, Winthrop continued to swing the bats well in the nightcap as it scored nine runs on 16 hits. The Eagles had eight different players with a hit and four with two or more.
“We hit the ball well today and made good adjustments in the batter's box and were very patient,” said Winthrop head coach Mark Cooke. “We played very good and it was just a great team effort.”
For the second time of the day, Winthrop took the lead first with a run in the top of the second inning. Ashleigh Jackson led off the inning with a double to left and moved to third as Veronica Berrie singled to short. Two batters later, Megan Chapman singled to second with two outs and Jackson scored.
Winthrop put up five runs in the top of the third for a 6-0 lead as Brittany Stoudemire hit her second home run of the day, a three-run shot to right field. That was after Kathryn Eberlin and Chelsey Schoenfeldt hit back-to-back singles. Three batters later, Chapman drove in two runs on a double to center.
Winthrop loaded the bases in the fourth when Schoenfeldt led off with a walk followed by back-to-back singles by Stoudemire and Jackson. Kelly Blea drove in Schoenfeldt as her grounder to third led to an error and all base runners were safe for a 7-1 lead. However, Western Carolina got out of the jam without further damage as Berrie lined out followed by a fielder's choice from Teja Durante that led to a force out at home and Chapman ended the inning with a ground out to the pitcher.
The Catamounts scored in the bottom of the third on a single by Haley Pace.
Jenna Harbin hit her first collegiate home run in the top of the seventh when she hit a two-run shot over the left field fence for a 9-1 lead.
Western Carolina threatened the 7-1 lead in the fifth inning when it put runners on second and third against Jackson. Natalie Becker came in relief and walked the first batter to load the bases but then struck out the next three to prevent the Catamounts from chipping away at the deficit at all.
Jackson tossed four innings allowing one run on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts as she improves to 3-7.
Winthrop used three big innings to cruise to a 14-4 victory in game one of the twin bill. The Eagles scored four in the first, six in the fourth and four more in the fifth to end the game in five innings due to the eight-run rule. It was the most runs in a game for Winthrop since Feb. 27 in a 14-0 win over Morgan State.
Megan Chapman and McKenzie Corn started things off by drawing back-to-back walks to start off the game. Schoenfeldt stepped in and drilled a double to right field, scoring both runners for an early 2-0 lead. Winthrop took a 4-0 lead as Brittany Stoudemire followed Schoenfeldt with a two-run straight away home run.
Western Carolina fought back to pull within a run of the Eagles with three runs in the bottom of the second. Pace and Morgan Wyatt each had RBI singles while another run scored on two errors during the same play.
Neither team scored in the third, but Winthrop opened up the game in the top of the fourth with six runs highlighted by a couple of two-RBI hits. Kelly Blea led off with a single to left and was replaced at first by Courntey Gaddy. Gaddy moved to second on a ground out by Berrie and Teja Durante then reached first after getting hit with a pitch. That put runners at first and second for Chapman, who came through with a single to center that scored Gaddy. Jenna Harbin followed with a pinch-hit single that scored Durante and Chapman for a 7-4 lead. A Stoudemire RBI single to right and an Jackson sacrifice fly highlighted the remainder of the inning as Winthrop led 10-4 after three and a half innings.
Schoenfeldt, who extended her hitting streak to six games in the top of the first, came up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and belted her second grand slam in five days for a 14-3 lead. After Catamount pitcher Bekah Burkett got the first two batters out, Chapman walked to get things going. Chapman stole second and then Harbin walked for runners at first and second. Kathryn Eberlin loaded the bases as she drew a walk.
In addition to her offensive numbers, Schoenfeldt earned the win as she scattered nine hits over five innings allowing one earned run with a walk and four strikeouts to improve to 5-7 on the year.
Katie King suffered the loss as she allowed nine earned runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in three and one-third innings as she falls to 8-10.
Schoenfeldt and Stoudemire combined for seven runs, nine hits, and 12 RBI in the two games. Stoudemire tied her career-high in RBI with three in both games while Schoenfeldt's six in game one here a career-best. Each extended their current hitting streaks to seven games.
Chapman was the only other Eagle with two or more hits in game one as she was 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI. The three runs ties her career-best and is the second time in five games she's scored three runs. Chapman went 5-for-7 on the day and also was a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen bases.
Winthrop will be back in action this weekend when it heads to Conway, SC for a three-game series. The double-header will be Saturday, April 9 at 1 p.m. and the series will wrap-up on Sunday at 1 p.m.
