No. 4 seed Charleston Southern used a fifth-inning rally to earn a 2-1 win over third-seeded Presbyterian College in game six of the 2011 Big South Softball Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting Thursday evening at Terry Field C in Rock Hill, S.C.
With the win, CSU is now 25-32, while Presbyterian College finishes its season with a 28-20-1 record.
PC scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Codee Yeske singled with two outs. She then stole second base and went to third on a throwing error. Morgan Dowdy threw a wild pitch, and Yeske slid home just ahead of the tag for a 1-0 PC advantage. Kimberly Hobbs came on in relief of Dowdy, and got Hensley to pop out to end the inning.
CSU bounced back with two fifth-inning runs for a 2-1 lead. Stephanie Sbardella reached on a throwing error to start the fifth inning. She moved to second on a Kristen Kelleher groundout. Airi Tedesco singled on the infield. She went to second on a groundout by Megan Lombard. PC then walked Erin Kegley. Jessica Brock drove Sbardella in with an infield single. Jana Matthews lined a single to short, plating Tedesco.
Tera Powell led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to left field. She then stole second. Amanda Miller sacrificed Powell to third base with one out. PC then attempted a squeeze play, but Hobbs threw to Kegley, who blocked the plate and tagged Howell out. Hobbs then struck out Katie Anderson to complete the sixth.
Hobbs struck out the side in order in the seventh to seal the 2-1 victory.
Quotes
Charleston Southern Assistant Coach Meredith Felts
"Obviously, I'm proud of the way our team bonded together tonight. It was a tough way to lose earlier today. Kimberly Hobbs was huge, coming off the bench for Morgan. She shut the door, and our team scored runs when we needed to. We still need to do a better job offensively, but have an opportunity tomorrow against Radford."
Presbyterian College Head Coach Dave Majeski
"It was the wrong ending to a record-setting season. With our most wins and our most League wins in our Division I history, the cards should have been dealt differently. I'm still proud of our girls for a strong season."
