West and Williams Secure First Day Sweep at Winthrop adidas Tournament
March 14, 2008
Rock Hill, S.C. - Behind a three-run homer by junior catcher Jaime West in the early game and an RBI triple from freshman outfielder Whitney Williams in extra innings in the second contest, the Charlotte 49ers (13-14) rallied past Providence 4-2 and Vermont 6-5 in the opening day of the Winthrop adidas Tournament Friday afternoon. West led the team with four RBI on the day, while four other 49ers each contributed one RBI apiece for a balanced offensive attack.
In the first game, sophomore pitcher Emily Jeffery gave up just one run on six hits in six innings pitched, striking out eight while walking one and collecting one error. Freshman Katy Hackett came in for an inning of relief, giving up one run in facing only four batters.
Providence jumped to an early lead with an RBI double through the left side before Charlotte responded with a double from sophomore utility Keri Palma that scored sophomore outfielder Serena Smith. Charlotte shot ahead offensively in the fifth with a West bomb up the middle to take a three-run lead, which Providence would whittle to two with a homer to right field in the bottom of the seventh--still not enough to steal the victory.
In the late game, an unearned run by junior shortstop Cee Brooks in the bottom of the fifth pushed the contest into extra innings, tying the game at 3-3 before Williams' triple in the eighth with two outs and one on base proved to be the game winner. Hackett, coming in as relief for sophomore starter Gina Allen, tallied her second save of the day on eight strikeouts and two hits.
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Charlotte opened scoring in the first with a Malene run off a wild pitch before Vermont tallied one run in each of the second and third innings. The 49ers answered in the bottom of the third with a Brooks RBI double before Vermont reclaimed the one-run lead in the fourth. After Brooks' run in the fifth, the game remained tied through the seventh before Vermont scored two runs in the top of the eighth off an early triple and sacrifice fly. Charlotte would take the game, though, in the bottom of the inning when Palma scored on an infield error, Malene singled to right field and Williams' tripled down the left line.
The 49ers return to action tomorrow in the second day of the Winthrop adidas Tournament when they take on Furman and Gardner-Webb at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
