Box score
ANDERSON, S.C. - A pair of home runs, one in each game, proved
to be the difference as Erskine claimed both ends of a doubleheader
from Anderson in non-conference softball action Thursday afternoon
at Smethers Field.
Anderson (10-5) had its home win streak stopped at four, while
Erskine (6-1-1), playing its first road contests of the season, won
its sixth straight contest.
Game #1
Erskine 5, Anderson 4
Senior third baseman Emily Monteith finished the contest 3-for-4
with two runs scored, while freshman Danielle Swygert added two
hits in four at-bats and fellow freshman Abby Child went 1-for-3
with a home run and two RBI. Center fielder Charlotte Sieber posted
two singles in four trips to the plate.
Erskine sophomore Larissa Shannon hit a two-out three-run home
run in the top of the seventh inning to lift the Flying Fleet to
the win in game one.
The Trojans jumped on top early, as Monteith lifted a one-out
popup that fell between the Fleet shortstop and left fielder,
enabling the veteran to safely reach first. Child followed by
hammering her fourth home run of the season over the left field
fence to give AU a 2-0 lead after one inning.
Erskine evened the score in the third frame by capitalizing on a
pair of singles and a double, while both hurlers settled down in
the fourth and fifth innings, as the two teams managed to get just
a combined three runners on base.
The Trojans took a 3-2 lead in the sixth when junior Amber
Duncan ripped a one-out single to center field and crossed the
plate three batters later when Kinsley Durham drew a bases-loaded
walk.
Erskine posted a two-out rally in the final frame for the win,
as Colleen Gardner singled through the left side and Lindsey LaPrad
followed with a single to right, setting up Shannon's heroics. The
native of Newberry, S.C., lifted a hooking fly ball well over the
right field fence to give the visitors a 5-3 advantage.
Anderson rallied to draw within one when Monteith beat out an
infield single, her third hit of the contest, with one out and
crossed the plate on Sieber's two-out single back up the middle.
But with runners on first and second, AU was unable to push the
tying run across.
Senior Casey Deer tossed a complete-game seven-hitter,
surrendering five runs, while striking out five and walking just
one.
Game #2
Erskine 2 Anderson 1
Junior Brooke Lucas went two-for-three in the nightcap, including a
double, while Swygert, Monteith and Duncan each collected a hit in
three at-bats.
A late-inning home run, this time off the bat of Erskine
sophomore Morgan Purcell, provided the winning margin as the Fleet
claimed the win.
The Trojans again jumped ahead early when Swygert was hit by an
errant pitch to lead off the game. She moved to second on a single
up the middle by Monteith and crossed the plate on a costly error
by the Fleet infield as they attempted to complete a double
play.
Deer kept the Fleet off the scoreboard by scattering four hits
over the first five frames, but EC gained the 2-0 lead when
Purcell's fly went over the center field fence with LaPrad on
first.
The Trojans managed a pair of singles in the sixth and seventh
innings but were unable to cross the plate.
Anderson gets back in action with two games at Southern Wesleyan
on Saturday. The Trojans face the host Warriors at 10:30 a.m., then
square off against Auburn-Montgomery at 1 p.m.