ETSU softball takes one of two from Jacksonville

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Briana Knight went 2-for-3 with four RBIs in game one.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 26, 2006) - ETSU softball pounded Jacksonville for nine hits and eight runs in game one, notching the 8-0 decision over the Dolphins, Sunday at the JU Softball Complex. Jacksonville rebounded in the day's second game, closing out the series with an 8-3 victory. ETSU is now 9-22, 2-4 in conference action, while Jacksonville stands at 18-24, 2-2 in the A-Sun.

Sophomore Briana Knight (Brier, Wash.) paced the Lady Bucs at the plate in game one, going 2-for-3 with a season-best four RBIs. The Lady Bucs got on the board in the first inning, when a sacrifice fly from Knight plated Stephanie Gaynord (Manassas, Va.) for the eventual game winner.

ETSU exploded for five runs in the third, starting when a bunt single from Knight scored Gaynord. Gaynord led the team with two runs scored in game one, four on the day. ETSU got its second score of the inning when Jessie Hackworth (Clinton, Tenn.) roped a double to left, sending Knight home.

Amanda Haverman (Kirkwood, Mo.) kept the inning going with a single to center, before Mary Catherine Vercoe (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) blew the game wide open with a three-run homerun over the left field fence. The blast was the freshman's third of the season.

The Lady Bucs tacked on another two runs in the sixth, thanks to a double from Knight, which scored Courtney Jenkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Stephanie Cope (Maryville, Tenn.).

Vercoe had an outstanding game overall, also getting the win on the mound in her second shutout of the season. The rookie gave up just four hits in 6.0 innings in the run-rule shortened contest, while striking out three and walking two. Vercoe improves to 3-8 with the win. JU's Katie Dobson took the loss, falling to 7-10.

The Dolphins bounced back in game two, getting out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. JU got its first run of the inning when a sac-fly from Beth Glasscock scored Jillian Mirante. Renee LaCroix then singled to left, scoring Kacey Yourous. The third run of the inning came on a Shannon Jenson single, which plated Janine Palumbo.

The Lady Bucs crossed a run of their own in the second, with Victoria Gast scoring on a successful double steal to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Dolphins kept the pressure on however, scoring another run in the fourth, and tacking on two in each of the fifth and sixth innings.

ETSU got lone runs in the fourth and fifth, the first coming on an RBI single from Jenkins, and the second when Haverman hit into a fielder's choice that scored Gaynord. The Lady Bucs missed a big scoring opportunity in the fifth, leaving the bases loaded.

Jenkins was tagged with the loss to fall to 2-9. The senior gave up eight Dolphin hits and six runs in four innings in the circle. Brittany Lehrschall (Leland, N.C.) took the mound in relief, allowing two runs on three hits. Jacksonville's Jenson got the win, improving to 8-13 overall. Jenson allowed just two ETSU hits on the game, while fanning eight.

ETSU takes the field again on Tuesday, March 28, when it welcomes Western Carolina to Johnson City. The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m., at Metro-Kiwanis Park.