SUWANEE, Ga. - Rhodes opened up their season knocking off two nationally ranked opponents with a 7-0 win over Transylvania and a 4-2 victory against Washington-St. Louis. Heading into the weekend seven of the leagues team have started play with Birmingham-Southern, Centre and DePauw opening up their campaigns this week.
- AROUND THE SCAC -
Austin College had a busy week, going 1-7 over an eight game stretch. The 'Roos dropped a pair of games to UT-Dallas to start off the week and then went 1-3 at the LeTourneau Tournament, where they lost twice to LeTourneau and split a pair of games with Hardin-Simmons. The 'Roos finished off the week by dropping a pair to UT-Tyler by scores of 2-1 and 12-4. Stefanie Faith continued her monstrous start to the season, hitting .391 with four homers, two doubles, a triple, nine runs scored and 11 runs batted in over the eight game stretch. Faith now has six homers and 20 RBI on the season, with those 20 RBI putting her on pace to challenge the SCAC career mark. Faith is hitting .436 for the year with a 1.026 slugging percentage and already has 40 total bases. Carolyn Stone drove in four runs last week and Sam Smith scored four runs while Suzanne Beltran hit .333 for the week. Sam Matulis went 1-2 on the mound with a 3.60 earned run average in five appearances.
Centre opens the 2011 softball season on Friday, March 4 when it takes on Defiance in a double header match-up.
#4 DePauw opens the 2011 softball season on Saturday, March 5 when it takes on LaGrange and Maryville in games played at LaGrange.
Hendrix went 1-3 in the Wyndham Las Colinas Classic, hosted by University of Dallas, on Saturday and Sunday. The Warriors ended the weekend on a high note after a mercy rule victory over Dallas on Sunday afternoon. Hendrix was handed a 3-1 loss to Nebraska Wesleyan University and a 4-2 setback to Cornell College on Saturday, before dropping a 5-2 game to Nebraska Wesleyan in Sunday’s opener. Hendrix exploded for a 10-1 win over Dallas, led by senior Jaclyn Herrera, first year Alex Sullivan and sophomore Paula Burr at the plate in the final game on Sunday. Herrera was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI, Sullivan 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Burr went 3-for-4 with two triples and three runs scored. The Warriors combined for nine runs in the first three innings against Dallas and added their final run in the fourth. Dallas scored its only run in the fifth. Junior Ashley Halbert picked up her first win of the year win after 4.0 innings, three strike outs, two walks and just one hit. Herrera suffered the loss against NBU on Sunday after giving up seven hits, three earned runs and six free passes in 6.0 innings. Hendrix was held to just four hits and scored its two runs in the sixth inning. Hendrix tallied six hits, but left five runners stranded against NBU on Saturday and Halbert suffered the 6.0 inning loss after allowing just six hits. She struck out four and walked two in her second loss of the season. Herrera was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. Cornell racked up 12 hits (11 singles) and Hendrix collected six hits, while both teams left 10 runners on base. Herrera lost her first game of the season after a complete game with five strike outs and three walks.
Millsaps dropped four games this weekend against Mississippi College and Webster University. They fell 2-1 against Webster on Friday at Mississippi College and then lost 15-5 to the Choctaws in the second game. Saturday's games with the Gorlocks and Choctaws had to be moved from Millsaps' campus out to Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland due to field conditions. Millsaps dropped game one on 4-3 to Webster and 6-4 to Mississippi College. The Majors had their chances in both games. They scored three runs with no outs in the third, but couldn't tie game one and then stranded 12 runners on the paths against the Choctaws. The Majors will return to action this Saturday with a pair of games at Birmingham-Southern. They will face Berry College in a neutral site game at 3:00 p.m. before taking on the Panthers at 5:00 p.m.
Rhodes knocked off a pair of nationally ranked opponents this weekend at the Chick Fil A Classic, going 3-1 on the weekend to start the 2011 season. The Lynx kicked off the season with a 7-0 win over #19 Transylvania, behind a 1-hit, 15 strikeout performance from Senior Sara Bowen, in a game that saw 6 different Lynx collect RBI. After a 12-4 loss to Huntingdon, the Lynx bounced back Sunday morning to defeat the Hawks 2-0, behind another 1-hit shutout from Bowen. Bowen racked up 12 strikeouts in the game, and also had both of the Lynx RBI, with her 2-run double in the third accounting for the game’s only runs. Rhodes capped off the weekend with a come-from-behind 4-2 win over #7 Washington University. Senior Cindy Bitters tossed 5 strong innings, giving up just 2 runs on 6 hits to the potent Bears offense, but the Lynx still trailed 2-0 in the bottom of the 5th. Katie Stich doubled, then Megan Matthews and freshman Jessica Becher singled to load the bases. With 2 outs, senior Allison Conn singled to score 2 runs, followed by a 2-run double from Bowen to give the Lynx a 4-2 lead. Conn led the Lynx offense all weekend, hitting .462 (6 for 13) with a .500 on base percentage and 4 RBI. She scored 6 runs on the weekend and in the process became Rhodes’ all-time leader in runs scored. Bowen was 2-0 with a save on the weekend, tossing 16 innings of scoreless softball, giving up just 3 base hits while striking out 30 batters and allowing just 2 walks. Rhodes is in action this weekend, hosting the Holiday Ham Classic, featuring Piedmont, Agnes Scott, and Millikin.
Sewanee will open up the 2011 season on March 3rd, when they travel to Nashville, Tennessee for a doubleheader with Fisk University. The Tigers got their only two wins of the season in 2010 against Fisk, winning 8-0 and 12-4 on April 12th.
Southwestern improved to 6-6 on the season after going 3-1 in home games this week. They faced Concordia on Saturday and got two great pitching performances from Lyndsy Maus and Lauren Zearfoss. The Pirates took game one 3-0, scoring all three runs in one inning and fell in extra innings in game two despite a sensational outing by Zearfoss. Neither team could score in regulation and CUA was first on the board in the top of the eighth. Southwestern matched the one run in their half of the inning to extend the game. With the international tie breaker in place Concordia scored three runs in their half of the inning and the Pirates' comeback fell just short as they dropped game two 4-3. Sunday's match-up pitted the Pirates against Texas Lutheran who defeated Southwestern in two games earlier in the season. Maus once again threw well, maintaining a no hitter through six innings, but TLU scored two in the seventh to go up 2-1. SU answered with a run of their own and played solid defense in the eighth to keep the door open. The Pirates capitalized and scored one run in the bottom of the eighth to win 3-2. Southwestern wasted no time scoring again in game two and scored three runs in the second and then two in the fifth for the 5-0 win. Southwestern remains at home for a double header against Our Lady of the Lake on Tuesday before their off weekend.
Trinity went 0-4 for the week, but played two of Division III’s top teams on the road. The Tigers lost a pair of games at No. 25 UT-Tyler on Friday, then were swept by defending national champion East Texas Baptist – currently ranked eighth nationally. The Tigers lost the opening game to UT-Tyler 9-0 in five innings, but rebounded nicely in game two. After trailing by two in the seventh, the Tigers tied the game with a pair of runs to force extra innings, but eventually fell 6-5 in eight. Against East Texas, Trinity lost 4-2 in the opener, then were shut out 5-0 in the second game. Trinity has the week off, but the Tigers return home for a mid-week doubleheader against Evangel University on March 9, then will be back on the road for six games over the next two weeks.
To view the entire SCAC Fastpitch Weekly for week two, click here.
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