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Elon, Furman Split in Doubleheader Action
April 14, 2006
Elon, N.C.- A Phoenix rally in the bottom of the seventh inning and a single by Paige Goss pushed Elon to a 5-4 come-from-behind win over Furman in the second game of a Southern Conference doubleheader on Friday afternoon at East Field. The Lady Paladins downed Elon 11-4 in the first game of the day.
Down 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Debbie Zeigler walked and Jaimie Rao and Rebecca Rijavec notched base hits to load the bases before Laurin Smith drew a walk to send pinch runner Courtney Milligan home to cut the lead to two, 4-2. With the bases still loaded, Erica Ayala singled through the right side to send Rijavec and pinch runner Brandi Jones home and tied the game 4-4. Nicole Ellis then notched a single to load the bases before Goss singled to right field to score Smith and end the game 5-4.
Elon (19-19, 5-5 SoCon) got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Goss drew a walk and Tracey Dahlen singled to shortstop before a sacrifice bunt by Zeigler moved the runners to second and third. Rao then grounded out to the shortstop to plate Goss and go ahead 1-0.
The Lady Paladins knotted the game in the top of the third inning. With runners on second and third, Joni Lockridge grounded out to the second baseman to score Jessica Mathis from third.
Furman (23-29, 4-10 SoCon) took a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Megan Jaudon and Danielle Franklin each notched singles to put runners on first and second before Abby Robertson singled through the right side to plate Jaudon. The throw from Elon's right fielder Nicole Ellis to home in an attempt to get Jaudon out, bounced off the back stop allowing Franklin to come across home plate and give the Lady Paladins a 3-1 lead. With Robertson on third base, Blake Murray knocked an RBI single through the right side to send Robertson home and put Furman ahead 4-1.
Melanie Helterbran (1-2) picked up the win for Elon after tossing one inning and giving up no runs on no hits. Starter Samantha Schroeder tossed five and two-thirds innings and gave up four runs (three earned) on nine hits while striking out five batters. Carol Lilley tossed one-third of an inning in relief and gave up no runs on no hits.
Murray (5-13) suffered the loss for the Lady Paladins. She tossed one-third of an inning and gave up one run on three hits. Mathis threw six innings for Furman, giving up four runs on three hits and striking out one batter.
Amber Kiser led the Lady Paladins from the plate, going two-for-two while Mathis also posted two hits.
In game one, Elon got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when an RBI single by Rijavec plated Dahlen to put the Phoenix on top 1-0.
The Lady Paladins responded in the top of the second inning. A bunt single by Kiser scored Franklin from third base to knot the game, 1-1. With runners on second and third, Lockridge singled to centerfield to score Kiser and Murray and give Furman a 3-1 edge.
In the top of the third inning, Amber Nelsen led off with a walk. Franklin then knocked a grounder to third base, but a throw to second to attempt to get Nelsen out sailed over the second baseman's head, allowing Nelsen to score and putting Franklin on second. With runners on first and third, Robertson stole second and an overthrow to second base allowed Franklin to score from third to give the Lady Paladins the 5-1 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Dahlen doubled and Zeigler singled to put runners on first and second before Smith singled up the middle to score Dahlen and cut the lead to three at 5-2. With runners on second and third, Rao grounded out to the shortstop to plate pinch runner Milligan and cut the lead to two, 5-3.
The Lady Paladins took an 8-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning when Mathis blasted a three-run homer out of left centerfield.
Elon added one run in the bottom of the fifth when, with runners on first and second, Rao singled up the middle to plate Smith and cut the lead to four, 8-4.
Furman added two runs in the top of the sixth when an RBI single by Nelsen scored Stephanie Cushing from third to put the Lady Paladins ahead 9-4. Then, with the bases loaded Murray drew a walk to push Megan Jaudon home and go up 10-4. The Lady Paladins added another run in the seventh inning when Kiser scored from third on a grounder by Cushing to put Furman ahead 11-4.
Murray picked up the win for the Lady Paladins after tossing five innings in relief. She gave up just one run (no earned runs) on seven hits while retiring five batters. Starting pitcher Vanessa Williams threw two innings and gave up three runs on six hits.
Helterbran suffered the loss for Elon after throwing two innings and giving up three runs on four hits while fanning two batters. Whitney Meeks tossed three and one-third innings in relief, giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and striking out three. Lilley threw one and two-thirds innings and gave up one run on one hit.
Kiser, Lockridge, Cushing, Jaudon and Robertson all posted two hits a piece for the Lady Paladins while Mathis posted three RBI and Lockridge tallied two RBI.
Zeigler led the Phoenix from the plate, going three-for-four while Rijavec and Rao each posted two hits. Rao paced the team with two RBI.
Elon (19-19, 5-5) and Furman will return to action on Saturday, April 15 at 1 p.m. at East Field to conclude the conference series.
