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Furman Rally Falls Short, Charleston Wins 6-5 in 13 Innings
April 23, 2006
Charleston, SC -- Izmena Cabrera's walk-off single in the 13th inning lifted College of Charleston to a 6-5 win over Furman on Sunday afternoon at Patriot's Point Field. With Jessica Lyness starting the inning at second base due to international tiebreaker rules, Cabrera poked a single down the right field line to send home the winning run.
The Charleston win overshadowed a Furman comeback as the Lady Paladins scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings.
Amber Havnar (13-12) earned the win in relief for Charleston. Havnar pitched six innings out of the bullpen, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits. She struck out four and did not issue a walk.
Blake Murray (5-15) suffered the loss for Furman, giving up one run on one hit in 2.1 innings of work. The sophomore from Snellville, Ga. struck out one and walked one.
Cabrera and Shondra Schlichenmayer each recorded three hits for the Cougars. Abby Robertson led Furman, batting 3-of-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Stephanie Cushing and Danielle Franklin each knocked in two runs for the Lady Paladins
Charleston (26-25, 11-4 SoCon) got on the board in the first inning. Izmena Cabrera led off the inning with a single up the middle, and then moved to second on Leshe Russell's sacrifice bunt. Cabrera moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an illegal pitch.
Furman (25-33, 6-12 SoCon) answered in the top of the second as Abby Robertson belted a one-out double to left center. Danielle Franklin ripped an RBI single down the left field line as Robertson scored under the tag of Chareston catcher Jayme Durand.
The Cougars regained their lead in the bottom half of the frame. Kolby Schooley reached on an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jessica Lyness. Cabrera then followed with a double to left center field to plate Schooley, giving Chareston the 2-1 lead.
Charleston added to its lead in the third inning as Durand drew a walk. Howard grounded into a fielder's choice, and Renee Francis blasted a two-out triple to the right field fence, scoring Howard from first base.
The Lady Paladins tied the game in the top of the seventh inning as Jessica Mathis and Amber Kiser each reached on infield singles. Stephanie Cushing's two-out double to right field tied the score at three runs apiece.
Shannon Howard knocked a lead-off single to right field to start the eighth inning for Charleston. Pinch-runner Amber Schifflett advanced to second on Francis' sacrifice bunt. Shondra Schlichenmayer followed with a single through the left side to advance Shifflett to third base. Schooley then drew a walk to load the bases with just one out. Jessica Lyness popped out to second base, and Cabrera flew out to center field to end the threat.
Mathis led off the ninth inning with a single to center field. Kiser folowed with a sacrifice bunt, and reached first base as Charleston tried to throw out the lead runner at second base. Lockridge moved both runners along with a sacrifice bunt, but Cushing struck out and Megan Jaudon grounded out to second to end the inning.
Jaudon led off the tenth inning on second base, due to international tiebreaker rules. Nelsen reached on an error and advanced to second base on the throw, with Jaudon moving to third base on the play. Robertson was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Lady Paladins. Franklin recorded her second RBI of the game on a single through the left side. Jaudon came home on the base hit, and Nelsen was gunned out on the play trying to score. Blake Murray then laid down a textbook suicide squeeze to score Robertson from third base.
The Cougars added two runs in the bottom half of the inning as Schlichenmayer's double to right center field scored Howard from second base. Schlichenmayer then came home on Schooley's single up the middle.
In the top of the 12th inning, with Jaudon on second base, Nelsen and Robertson hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with nobody out. Franklin flew out to right field, Murray popped out to second base, and Mathis grounded into a fielder's choice to end the Furman threat.
Furman returns to action on May 6 and 7 as the Lady Paladins begin their final weekend series of the regular season against Chattanooga. First pitch for both days is scheduled for 1 p.m.
