CHARLESTON, S.C.-Towson recovered from
a 0-3 day one of the Lowcountry College Softball Invitational to
down Notre Dame and Campbell on Saturday, defeating the Camels 4-2
in the tournament's championship game at Buccaneer Field.
The Camels move to 20-10 with
the 1-2 day, while Towson goes to 13-10. Charleston Southern fell
to 10-21 after their loss, and the Irish improved their mark to
13-8 on the year with their win over the Camels to start the
day.
The Irish eventually took the
tourney's consolation title, beating the hosting Buccaneers
10-2.
In game one for CU, Notre
Dame senior second baseman Katie Laing singled in the Irish's first
run in the top of the third. Sarah Smith, another Irish senior,
pushed a run across in the sixth, while freshman catcher Sadie
Pitzenberger also collected an RBI.
Notre Dame added a pair in
the seventh as well, when sophomore Ashley Ellis knocked in a run,
followed by another Smith RBI.
Lauren Stephan, a CU
freshman, took the loss, allowing 11 hits, five runs, one earned,
with five strikeouts and four walks in seven innings of work,
falling to 9-6 on the year. Brittany Barger, an Irish junior, came
away with the win to move to 10-5, giving up five hits with four
strikeouts and one walk as she went the complete seven innings to
get the shutout.
Sophomores Amanda Littlejohn
and Shayla Cullum paced the Camel offense, both going 2-for-3 at
the plate. Stephan picked up CU's only other hit, lacing a
double.
After being shutout 5-0 in
game one of against Notre Dame, Campbell came back to score nine
runs against Charleston Southern, winning 9-1 in five innings, led
by senior outfielder Courtney Quinn's six-RBI performance at
Buccaneer Field.
Quinn became the third Camel
this season to drive in six in a game, and just the sixth in school
history to accomplish the feat. Littlejohn has racked up six twice
in her career, once this season against the College of Charleston,
while junior first baseman Karlie Love grabbed a half dozen RBI
against Howard.
The Glencoe, Ala. native
pushed three runs across in the second inning, posting a double
after freshman second baseman Keeli Michael singled in a run,
giving the Camels a 4-0 advantage. After the Buccaneers' senior
left fielder Jill Shondel batted in a run, Quinn answered back in
the bottom of the fourth, blasting her 11th home run of
the season, a two-run shot, putting the Camels up 6-1.
In the bottom of the fifth,
Quinn added another RBI, doubling in a run, while freshman Katie
Hinton knocked in two with her second career triple, sealing the
9-1 Campbell win.
The 2008 Camels become the
third fastest CU softball squad to 20 wins with the victory,
reaching the mark in just 29 contests. The 1993 team reached 20
wins after 26 games, while it took Campbell 28 games to reach the
mark in 2001.
Sophomore hurler Brittany
Stanley grabbed the win over CSU, tossing the two-hitter while
giving up one run and one walk, fanning four Bucs to go to 10-3 on
the season. Caitlin Allen, falling to 0-4, gets the loss for
Charleston Southern, going 3.2 innings and giving up six runs on
seven hits, issuing five walks with three strikeouts.
The tourney final matched the
Camels with Towson, a team CU downed 10-5 on day one.
Towson grabbed an early lead in the
day's last game, capitalizing on two hits and a pair of wild
pitches, as freshman Sammi DiPompo and senior Stephanie Fudurich
knocked in runs. The Tigers added another run in the second on a
Nina Navarro single.
The Camels finally got on the
board in the bottom half of the inning, as sophomore Robin Leathers
batted in freshman Amanda Miller.
After two scoreless innings,
both teams tallied runs in the fifth, with Towson scoring on a
Meaghan Clark single, and Campbell on a Karlie Love homer, capping
off her 3-for-3 outing to bring the score to a 4-2 Tiger
advantage.
Stanley, on in relief for CU,
induced two more scoreless innings against the Tigers, but the
Camel offense could not spark a late rally, and fell
4-2.
Pitching her second game of
the day, Stephan (9-7) took the loss for CU, going just 2.1
innings, her shortest outing of the year. The freshman surrendered
three runs on seven hits against the Tigers, striking out two
without a walk. Brittany Stanley took on 4.2 innings of relief,
allowing one run on three hits with one strikeout and no walks.
Sophomore Shannon Johnston picked up the win for Towson, striking
out three Camels while allowing two runs on eight hits with one
walk.
The Camels return to the
Eakes Complex in their next contest, taking on South Carolina State
in a 4 p.m. twinbill on Tuesday, March 18.
