CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern softball team competed in day two of the Buccaneer Classic on Saturday against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks and the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils.
After falling in the first game to UNC Wilmington by a 12-2 score, the Buccaneers (2-6) were able to come back and win the night cap by a 7-4 score.
Game One
The Seahawks (7-2) got things rolling early and did not look back, racing out to a 12-0 lead with two home runs in the first and second innings off of
Kinsey Clopton and
Mackenzie Rutkoff. The Buccaneers scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning with RBI singles from
Weslin Jones and
Carsten Sandvig.
Clopton suffered the loss to fall to 1-3 on the season after allowing five runs on five hits in 1.1 innings pitched. Rutkoff allowed seven runs (6 ER) on 11 hits in 2.1 innings pitched.
Riley Lauffer threw 1.1 scoreless innings.
Game Two
Charleston Southern was able to recover after rain delayed the start of their second game for 30 minutes.
Weslin Jones started the bottom of the first inning with an opposite-field single to left field that got behind the left fielder and allowed her to get to third base. Then,
Emma Smith was able to force a throw to second base on an attempted steal, which allowed Jones to steal home and give the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead. Jones added to her fast start to the season with an RBI single that scored
Harper Schoeneweis to make it 2-0 in the second inning.
After allowing the Blue Devils (0-4) to score one in the top of the fourth inning, the Buccaneers went back to work on offense, exploding for five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Back-to-back doubles from
Lorenzza Marcacci and Schoeneweis got the inning started, and
Emma Villaescusa gave the Buccaneers a 7-1 lead with a grand slam into left field. It was her first home run as a Buccaneer.
Brenna Conley was excellent through 5.0 innings but ran into trouble in the sixth inning. After allowing a home run and two-straight singles, the Buccaneers gave way to Lauffer, who got out of the inning after the Blue Devils scored three runs to make it a 7-4 game.
Conley picked up her first-collegiate win after going 5.1 innings allowing four runs on five hits while striking out five. Lauffer picked up her second save of the season, striking out three batters in `1.2 innings pitched.
On Deck
The Buccaneers will play one more game this weekend, as the Marshall Thundering Herd will come to CSU Softball Field on Sunday for a 12:30 PM first pitch. You can follow the action on csusports.com.
