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Furman Handles Elon, Advances In SoCon Tournament Winner's Bracket 7-1
May 10, 2007
Greensboro, N.C. - Blake Murray tossed a four-hit, complete game and blasted her first career home run to guide Furman to a 7-1 victory over Elon Thursday afternoon at the Southern Conference Tournament at UNCG Softball Stadium.
The win advances seventh-seeded Furman (19-33-1) into Friday's winner's bracket final where the Lady Paladins will face sixth-seeded Western Carolina at 3 p.m. The winner will move on to the championship round on Saturday.
Murray improved to 9-16 on the year and secured her second win of the tournament by limiting the Phoenix to just a solo homer on four hits. The sophomore fanned five batters while issuing four walks over seven innings.
Furman got all the offense it would need with a three-spot in the bottom of the third. Lynn Parmer opened the frame with a single and Amber Kiser and Abby Robertson each singled to load the bases with one out. Stephanie Cushing followed with a two-run single to right field and Megan Jaudon reached on an infield hit to score Robertson.
Ashlee Crewe got Elon on the board in the fourth with a solo blast, but the Lady Paladins answered the following inning when Jaudon's bunt single scored Kiser from third to give Furman a 4-1 lead.
In the sixth, Lana Mackey reached on an error to start the inning and moved to second on Danielle Franklin's sacrifice bunt. After a Parmer single, Murray crushed her first career homer to up Furman's lead to 7-1.
Kiser paced Furman's 12-hit attack going 3-for-4 with two runs while Murray batted in three. Cushing and Jaudon each collected two RBI while Parmer went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Furman's victory marks the second straight year that the Lady Paladins have downed Charleston and Elon to advance to the winner's bracket final. It also marks the third consecutive season the Lady Paladins have won at least two games in SoCon Tournament play despite not having been seeded higher than seventh.
