April 30, 2003
LADY PALADIN SOFTBALL DOWNS GEORGIA STATE 6-1, EARNS DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Jessica Matthews broke open a 1-1 tie with a three-run double in the sixth inning and Meagen Johnson tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief as Furman defeated Georgia State 6-1 to earn a split of a doubleheader Wednesday evening at Bob Heck Field.
Centerfielder LaKerah Barr got Furman on the board in their first at bat The Stone Mountain, Ga., native reached on a bunt single. Caroline Evans sacrificed Barr to second and Johnson moved her to third on a single. With one out, Johnson and Barr executed a double steal to give Furman the 1-0 lead.
Georgia State knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Meghan McCoy reached on a double to left field and scored on a two-out single up the middle by Elizabeth Watson.
In the sixth, Evans led off the inning by reaching on a throwing error. Johnson followed with a single to center. After Johnson and pinch runner Kristen White moved up on a wild pitch, Kate Morrison drew a base on balls to load the bases. Matthews delivered a bases clearing double to left-center to give Furman a 4-1 lead it would never relinquish.
The Lady Paladins added to their lead in the seventh. Ali McNulty opened the frame with a double down the left field line. A Barr bunt single gave Furman runners at first and third with nobody out. Evans followed with a single up the middle to score pinch runner Karen Myers. Morrison reached base on a fielding error two batters later allowing Barr to score for the final 6-1 margin.
Johnson, 9-12 on the season, picked up the win in relief. She allowed no runs and only two hits, while striking out three Panthers.
Barr, 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Johnson (3-for-4) paced the Lady Paladins at the plate.
Freshman Alex Pratt (0-4) suffered the loss for Georgia State allowing six runs on eight hits in six innings of work.
In game one, Georgia State's Lindsey Bryant belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to lead the Panthers to a 5-0 win.
Pitcher Lindsey French tossed a complete-game shutout while limiting the Lady Paladins to only five hits to pick up her 11 win of the year. French struck out eight Lady Paladins without allowing a walk.
Starter Rachel Henley (8-13) suffered the loss for Furman. Henley gave up five runs on only four hits in three innings of work.
With the win in game two, Furman improved to 19-29 on the season and snapped a 12-game losing streak. Georgia State fell to 22-33.
The Lady Paladins return to action this weekend when they host UNC Greensboro in the final regular season series of the year. The three-game set opens with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.