Softball Wins Series, Edges Chattanooga 2-1
5/4/2008 4:20:00 AM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Georgia Southern senior Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) earned her 17th victory of the season by holding Chattanooga to one run as the Eagles closed out the regular season with a 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field.
GSU improves to 34-28 overall and 13-8 in the Southern Conference, good for second place, the highest finish by the school since 2002. UTC falls to 35-19 and 13-5. They clinched the SoCon title Saturday.
Laliberte's win (17-11) is a new personal best and ties for the second-most in a season in school history. She currently holds a 1.68 earned run average.
Laliberte allowed eight hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out five. Chattanooga's lone run came on a homer in the seventh.
“Any time we can keep their momentum down or spread out their hits then it gives us a chance and I thought Mel did a good job of that,” said GSU head coach Natalie Poole. “We didn't give up a ton of back-to-back-to-back hits and that kept them off balance. I thought that she recovered well after she gave up a hit.”
Sophomore Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) went 2-for-3 and scored the game's first run in the fifth inning on a single by junior Amanda Hall (Haddock, Ga.). Iduate extends her hitting streak to nine, the longest of her career.
Sophomore Lindsey Hopkins (McDonough, Ga.) also collected two hits for the Eagles.
“Our steady people who are getting on are our slappers,” said Poole. “They're doing a good job of getting on the bases. But I saw a couple of hitters who continue to make adjustments as the game goes on and that definitely made a difference. We just kept hacking away and took some better swings at the plate.”
GSU picked up a much-needed insurance run in the sixth when junior Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) walked with the bases loaded.
For Chattanooga, Tara Tembey went 3-for-4 and Michelle Fuzzard added two hits.
Fuzzard (5-3) gave up eight hits and two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.
The second-seeded Eagles will face Appalachian State in the first round of the SoCon Tournament. Official pairings will be released by the conference.
“I'm excited (about the tournament),” said Poole. “I know the tournament is a completely different ball game but I'm excited about our position ? it's the highest finish we've had since my first year here ? and my hope is that we'll approach the conference tournament the way we should: with a strong mindset to take it one game at a time.”
GSU improves to 34-28 overall and 13-8 in the Southern Conference, good for second place, the highest finish by the school since 2002. UTC falls to 35-19 and 13-5. They clinched the SoCon title Saturday.
Laliberte's win (17-11) is a new personal best and ties for the second-most in a season in school history. She currently holds a 1.68 earned run average.
Laliberte allowed eight hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out five. Chattanooga's lone run came on a homer in the seventh.
“Any time we can keep their momentum down or spread out their hits then it gives us a chance and I thought Mel did a good job of that,” said GSU head coach Natalie Poole. “We didn't give up a ton of back-to-back-to-back hits and that kept them off balance. I thought that she recovered well after she gave up a hit.”
Sophomore Nina Iduate (Norcross, Ga.) went 2-for-3 and scored the game's first run in the fifth inning on a single by junior Amanda Hall (Haddock, Ga.). Iduate extends her hitting streak to nine, the longest of her career.
Sophomore Lindsey Hopkins (McDonough, Ga.) also collected two hits for the Eagles.
“Our steady people who are getting on are our slappers,” said Poole. “They're doing a good job of getting on the bases. But I saw a couple of hitters who continue to make adjustments as the game goes on and that definitely made a difference. We just kept hacking away and took some better swings at the plate.”
GSU picked up a much-needed insurance run in the sixth when junior Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) walked with the bases loaded.
For Chattanooga, Tara Tembey went 3-for-4 and Michelle Fuzzard added two hits.
Fuzzard (5-3) gave up eight hits and two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.
The second-seeded Eagles will face Appalachian State in the first round of the SoCon Tournament. Official pairings will be released by the conference.
“I'm excited (about the tournament),” said Poole. “I know the tournament is a completely different ball game but I'm excited about our position ? it's the highest finish we've had since my first year here ? and my hope is that we'll approach the conference tournament the way we should: with a strong mindset to take it one game at a time.”
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