Offenses Shine as Softball, Elon Split
4/5/2008 4:24:00 AM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern softball team cranked out eight runs and 12 hits in game one and Elon responded with 11 runs and 12 hits in game two to split a Southern Conference doubleheader on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field.
The 8-2 win and 11-2 loss evens GSU's record at 22-22 and 4-4 in the SoCon. Elon moves to 16-15 and 5-3.
“I feel like even though we were evenly matched with them in terms of wins and losses, I think we are better,” said Georgia Southern head coach Natalie Poole. “We are a better team than we showed and I'm really disappointed with our performance in the second game, especially considering we had four errors on top of our seven walks and 12 hits.”
GSU junior Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) collected five hits and three RBI on the afternoon, going 3-for-4 in game one and 2-for-4 in the nightcap. Sophomore Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.) had two hits in each contest.
Game one starter Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) allowed two unearned runs on two hits in the top of the first inning but gave up just three hits after that and the Eagle offense scored in every inning but the fifth.
Laliberte (10-7) walked five and struck out five.
“I felt confident in (Laliberte),” said Poole. “I wasn't overly concerned because she usually can adjust from inning to inning so I was happy to see that she settled in. She recognized that she had a poor first inning and she attacked after that. I thought she did a really good job of keeping their hitters off balance.”
Side and Siliga each had a RBI single in the first inning make up the deficit and the Eagles eventually scored eight unanswered runs.
“I thought that we had a good number of hits,” said Poole. “We kept the ball down; very few of our outs were in the air which is something we've been working on. We capitalized when we had runners in scoring position so we did a really good job at the plate in the first game.”
Melanie Helterbran (5-5) took the loss.
Game two was Elon's turn to shine. The Phoenix rallied from an early 1-0 hole to go ahead 7-1 after five innings and added four more in the seventh.
“I just don't feel like we pitched well,” said Poole. “We didn't come out looking good on the mound and we didn't relieve well. Never do we want to be in a situation where we have to go through four pitchers.”
Elon's Brandi Jones went 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBI, including a bases-clearing, three-run triple. She added a two-run single in the third.
Carol Lilley (5-4) went the first 5.2 innings for Elon, allowing nine hits and two earned runs. GSU starter Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) lasted 3.2 innings and gave up six runs (two earned) and five hits. She falls to 8-7.
The series concludes Sunday with a single game beginning at 1 p.m.
The 8-2 win and 11-2 loss evens GSU's record at 22-22 and 4-4 in the SoCon. Elon moves to 16-15 and 5-3.
“I feel like even though we were evenly matched with them in terms of wins and losses, I think we are better,” said Georgia Southern head coach Natalie Poole. “We are a better team than we showed and I'm really disappointed with our performance in the second game, especially considering we had four errors on top of our seven walks and 12 hits.”
GSU junior Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) collected five hits and three RBI on the afternoon, going 3-for-4 in game one and 2-for-4 in the nightcap. Sophomore Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.) had two hits in each contest.
Game one starter Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) allowed two unearned runs on two hits in the top of the first inning but gave up just three hits after that and the Eagle offense scored in every inning but the fifth.
Laliberte (10-7) walked five and struck out five.
“I felt confident in (Laliberte),” said Poole. “I wasn't overly concerned because she usually can adjust from inning to inning so I was happy to see that she settled in. She recognized that she had a poor first inning and she attacked after that. I thought she did a really good job of keeping their hitters off balance.”
Side and Siliga each had a RBI single in the first inning make up the deficit and the Eagles eventually scored eight unanswered runs.
“I thought that we had a good number of hits,” said Poole. “We kept the ball down; very few of our outs were in the air which is something we've been working on. We capitalized when we had runners in scoring position so we did a really good job at the plate in the first game.”
Melanie Helterbran (5-5) took the loss.
Game two was Elon's turn to shine. The Phoenix rallied from an early 1-0 hole to go ahead 7-1 after five innings and added four more in the seventh.
“I just don't feel like we pitched well,” said Poole. “We didn't come out looking good on the mound and we didn't relieve well. Never do we want to be in a situation where we have to go through four pitchers.”
Elon's Brandi Jones went 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBI, including a bases-clearing, three-run triple. She added a two-run single in the third.
Carol Lilley (5-4) went the first 5.2 innings for Elon, allowing nine hits and two earned runs. GSU starter Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) lasted 3.2 innings and gave up six runs (two earned) and five hits. She falls to 8-7.
The series concludes Sunday with a single game beginning at 1 p.m.
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