Fogle's Slam Forces Extra Innings Against Samford
4/3/2011 9:40:00 PM | Softball
STATESBORO, Ga. - A sixth-inning grand slam by junior Marie Fogle (Rincon, Ga.) tied the softball game between Georgia Southern (19-21, 9-3 SoCon) and Samford (8-29, 5-7 SoCon) on Sunday (April 3rd) afternoon. The Eagles, however, walked in the winning run in the top of the ninth to fall 11-10 to the Bulldogs. Fogle was 2-for-5 in the game with five RBI.
"We put up a great fight to stay in a position to win the game," said Head Coach Maggie Johnson. "A few less mistakes and the game goes our way."
Fogle's heroics came after the Eagles fell behind 10-5 in the sixth frame. She clubbed her 12th home run and second grand slam of the season to left field on the 99th pitch of the game by Samford's starting pitcher Kayla Burris.
Samford took advantage of three Georgia Southern errors in the third inning to take an early 6-0 lead. A triple by Aaren Fisher brought three runs home and was one of three Samford hits in the inning.
Junior Hanna Ennis (Snellville, Ga.) drove in a run with a double down the left field line in the bottom of the third, but Tabby Douberley's (Clyo, Ga.) double later in the inning brought three runs across as the Eagles cut the Samford lead to 6-5. The double was one of two hits for Ennis. Doublerley, who hit the game-winning home run on Saturday's (April 2nd) first game, finished the series with five total RBI, posting at least one in each game against Samford.
A single to score a runner on third in the fourth inning gave Samford a 7-5 lead and an error in the fifth put the Bulldogs up 8-5. Samford added two more runs in the sixth inning with a two-run single with two outs in the inning for a 10-5 score.
Georgia Southern mounted a rally in the sixth inning, scoring pinch runner Bethany Crenshaw (Warner Robins, Ga.) on an RBI single by Alexa Lewis (Lawrenceville, Ga.). With runners on second and third, Jorie Walker (Dublin, Ga.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Fogle with two outs. Fogle unloaded the bases with her grand slam to left field which tied the game, 10-10.
Both teams stranded two runners in the seventh inning to force extra innings. The extra-innings contest was Georgia Southern's second of the season.
Samford went down 1-2-3 in the eighth and the Eagles left runners on first and second in the eighth. Samford strung-together two hits to put runners on base in the ninth. A wild pitch allowed runners to reach second and third and forced relief pitcher Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) to issue an intentional walk to load the bases with no outs.
Freshman Allie Miles who started the game, returned to the circle with no outs and the bases loaded. Miles hit Whitney Terry with her third pitch and forced the go-ahead run to score as the Bulldogs took an 11-10 lead. Miles settled down to record three of her six strikeouts and retire the side with the bases full of Bulldogs.
Mackenzie Williams (Baxley, Ga.) drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth with one out, but a fielder's choice and a fly out to centerfield ended the game with a runner stranded on first.
Smith pitched well in two and a third innings of work. The Eagle senior scattered four hits but was handed the hard-luck defeat after she left the game. Samford had 13 hits in the game as Kayla Burris picked up her fifth victory of the season. She tossed all nine innings for the Bulldogs and struck out nine Eagle batters.
Georgia Southern closes its seven-game homestand on Tuesday afternoon against Kennesaw State at Eagle Field. The mid-week doubleheader starts at 3 p.m. The Eagles travel next weekend for a three-game SoCon series at Elon.
Fans may follow all the action of the 2011 Georgia Southern Softball season by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/softball or check in for scores at twitter.com/GSScores or facebook.com/GSAthletics for updates.
