May 14, 2004
Georgia Southern Eliminates Furman at Southern Conference Tournament 2-0
Chattanooga, Tenn. -- Third-seeded Georgia Southern advanced to the weekend at the 2004 SoCon Softball Championships by defeating seventh-seeded Furman, 2-0, behind the arm of freshman pitcher Logan Free.
Free was nearly flawless on the day from the plate as well as in the circle. She pitched her eighth complete game of the season, allowing only two hits while striking out seven Furman batters.
The Eagles' first run came thanks to a series of mistakes by the Furman defense, starting with a throwing error that allowed Heather Smith to advance all the way to second base. Smith then moved to third base on a Rachel Henley wild pitch and came home when catcher Karen Myers' throw to third sailed into left field.
That run proved to be all the Eagles would need as Free was dominate on the mound, facing just three batters over the minimum in shutting out the Lady Paladins.
GSU struck again with a single run in the fifth inning when Maria Laurato doubled in Aurora Johnson, widening the Eagles' lead to 2-0.
Furman's Rachel Henley took the loss to finish at 12-24 on the year. Henley struck out four batters on the day, pushing her season total to 202 to become just the second pitcher in Furman history to top the 200-strikeout mark in a single season.
With the win, Georgia Southern (30-28, 11-10) advances to face the loser of Friday's Chattanoga/Elon contest Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Furman closes the 2004 season with a 15-48 mark.