CONWAY, SC—Winthrop scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to open up a close game, which led to a 6-1 victory over sixth-seeded Coastal Carolina in the first round of the 2010 Big South Conference Softball Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting, Thursday afternoon at Coastal Carolina Softball Field.
Leading 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lady Eagles offense came alive. Lauren Levin reached on a fielder’s choice with one out and was replaced by Jenna Harbin on the bases. Ashlee Revell followed with a single and both runners moved up a base on an error by Chanticleer centerfielder Alyssa Tornatore. After pinch-hitter Kathryn Eberlin struck out for the second out of the inning, Winthrop followed with four straight hits to build a 6-0 lead. It started with a single up the middle by Ashleigh Jackson and followed with RBI singles by Veronica Berrie and Lenny Stoddart. Megan Chapman drove in the sixth run as she turned a bloop single into a double.
“Well I felt like Cari was in control on the mound today,” said head coach Mark Cooke. “She got on top early and was able to pinch downhill. We made some changes today and they really helped. It was a complete team effort and we did everything we needed to do to get a win.”
Cari Wooldridge was in complete command in the circle as she allowed just one run on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts to improve to 15-14. Winthrop improves to 26-27 overall.
Katelin Edwards suffered the loss for the Chanticleers as she allowed six runs on 10 hits with two walks and seven strikeouts and falls to 11-12.
Winthrop took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning as Revell singled up the middle, scoring Chapman and Wright.
Coastal Carolina had a couple of opportunities to put more runs on the board in the fifth and sixth innings, but Wooldridge was able to escape the threats. The only run came in the top of the seventh inning on a solo home run to Michelle Evans.
The Lady Eagles are now 14-4 all-time during the conference softball tournament in Conway. With the win, Winthrop now leads the series against Coastal Carolina in tournament play 13-12.
Wright and Revell each finished with three hits on the day while Berrie and Stoddart had two each.
Winthrop will face Liberty at 7 p.m. in game five of the Big South Conference Tournament.