2.11.2012

WESTERN CAROLINA BOX SCORE

GEORGIA STATE BOX SCORE

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Longwood University split its first two games of the 2012 softball campaign Saturday during the first day of the Georgia State First Pitch Classic in Atlanta, Georgia.  The Lancers (1-1) opened with an 11-10 victory past Western Carolina University of the Southern Conference before falling 3-2 to host Georgia State University of the Colonial Athletic Association.  Longwood was led against WCU by junior Jordan Cox|Springfield (Robert E. Lee) with two home runs and four RBI, classmate Brooke Short|Hurt (Altavista) and freshman Megan Baltzell|Stafford (Mountain View) each with home runs as well, and freshman Libby Morris|Dillwyn (Buckingham) pitched a complete game 7.0 innings with six strikeouts for a win in her first collegiate start.  Cox added her third home run of the day against GSU, while freshman Kori Nishitomi| Kaneohe, Hawaii (Maryknoll) also had an RBI.  Longwood will play East Tennessee State University of the Atlantic Sun Conference on Sunday, February 12, at 10 a.m. before the tournament's championship round begins.

Against WCU, Longwood led 7-2 after two innings as Cox (2-3, 4 RBI) hit a two-out, two-run homer in the first inning and senior Brittney Latka|Purcellville (Loudoun Valley) (2-4, RBI) added an RBI single.  In the second, Nishitomi (1-3, RBI) had an RBI single, Cox walked with the bases loaded to plate a run, and two more runs scored unearned.  The Catamounts scored two runs in the third, and three runs each in the fourth and fifth innings to lead 10-7 before the Lancers rallied with a run in the fifth, two more in the sixth, and the game-winning run in the seventh.  Sophomore Leta Bressin|Gloucester (Gloucester) (2-4, RBI) had an RBI single in the fifth, Short (3-4, RBI) and Cox hit back-to-back solo home runs to open the sixth, and Baltzell (3-5, RBI) homered to lead-off the seventh for the game-winner in her first collegiate game.

Morris collected the mound win with her complete-game 7.0-inning effort, scattering 12 hits and 10 runs, seven earned, with two walks and six strikeouts.

Against host GSU, Longwood led 2-0 through five innings before the Panthers scored three runs in the sixth for the win.  Nishitomi (1-1, RBI) provided an RBI single in the third, and Cox (1-3, RBI) hit a solo home run in the fourth for the Lancers.  Freshman Katie Shinrock|Fountain Valley, Calif. (Edison)?(2-3) added two hits as LU only had four hits in the game, while Morris (1-1) took the pitching loss with 6.2 innings on the mound, yielding four hits and one run, earned, with three walks and five strikeouts.  Junior Ashley Cornell|Portsmouth (Churchland) pitched one-third of an inning to begin the sixth, allowing two hits and two runs, both earned, with no walks and no strikeouts.