ANDERSON, S.C. - A pair of home runs, one in each game, proved to be the difference as Erskine claimed both ends of a doubleheader from Anderson in non-conference softball action Thursday afternoon at Smethers Field.
Anderson (10-5) had its home win streak stopped at four, while Erskine (6-1-1), playing its first road contests of the season, won its sixth straight contest.
Game #1
Erskine 5, Anderson 4
Senior third baseman Emily Monteith finished the contest 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while freshman Danielle Swygert added two hits in four at-bats and fellow freshman Abby Child went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Center fielder Charlotte Sieber posted two singles in four trips to the plate.
Erskine sophomore Larissa Shannon hit a two-out three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to lift the Flying Fleet to the win in game one.
The Trojans jumped on top early, as Monteith lifted a one-out popup that fell between the Fleet shortstop and left fielder, enabling the veteran to safely reach first. Child followed by hammering her fourth home run of the season over the left field fence to give AU a 2-0 lead after one inning.
Erskine evened the score in the third frame by capitalizing on a pair of singles and a double, while both hurlers settled down in the fourth and fifth innings, as the two teams managed to get just a combined three runners on base.
The Trojans took a 3-2 lead in the sixth when junior Amber Duncan ripped a one-out single to center field and crossed the plate three batters later when Kinsley Durham drew a bases-loaded walk.
Erskine posted a two-out rally in the final frame for the win, as Colleen Gardner singled through the left side and Lindsey LaPrad followed with a single to right, setting up Shannon's heroics. The native of Newberry, S.C., lifted a hooking fly ball well over the right field fence to give the visitors a 5-3 advantage.
Anderson rallied to draw within one when Monteith beat out an infield single, her third hit of the contest, with one out and crossed the plate on Sieber's two-out single back up the middle. But with runners on first and second, AU was unable to push the tying run across.
Senior Casey Deer tossed a complete-game seven-hitter, surrendering five runs, while striking out five and walking just one.
Game #2
Erskine 2 Anderson 1
Junior Brooke Lucas went two-for-three in the nightcap, including a
double, while Swygert, Monteith and Duncan each collected a hit in
three at-bats.
A late-inning home run, this time off the bat of Erskine sophomore Morgan Purcell, provided the winning margin as the Fleet claimed the win.
The Trojans again jumped ahead early when Swygert was hit by an errant pitch to lead off the game. She moved to second on a single up the middle by Monteith and crossed the plate on a costly error by the Fleet infield as they attempted to complete a double play.
Deer kept the Fleet off the scoreboard by scattering four hits over the first five frames, but EC gained the 2-0 lead when Purcell's fly went over the center field fence with LaPrad on first.
The Trojans managed a pair of singles in the sixth and seventh innings but were unable to cross the plate.
Anderson gets back in action with two games at Southern Wesleyan on Saturday. The Trojans face the host Warriors at 10:30 a.m., then square off against Auburn-Montgomery at 1 p.m.
