Hartsville, SC – Erskine pitcher Kelsey Spurrier surrendered just three hits and catcher Larissa Shannon hit a walk-off single as #2 Erskine topped #7 Belmont-Abbey 1-0 in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship at Byerly Park in Hartsville, South Carolina.

The game’s lone run came in the bottom of the seventh.  With one out, first baseman Colleen Gardner (Matthews, NC, Butler High School) singled and promptly stole second base.  After Jocelyn Smith (Greer, SC, Riverside HS) popped out to the catcher, Shannon (Newberry, SC, Newberry High School) singled into right-center field scoring Gardner to give Erskine the 1-0 victory.

Kelsey Spurrier, the 2011 Conference Carolinas Softball Pitcher of the Year, limited Belmont-Abbey to three hits, striking out three, and walking one over seven innings.  Spurrier (Charlotte, NC, Butler High School) did not allow a Crusader base runner past second base.  It was Spurrier’s fifth complete-game shutout this season.

Belmont-Abbey’s pitcher Sami Michaelis lost the pitching duel giving up seven hits over 6.2 innings while fanning two and walking one.

Erskine plays #6 Mt. Olive College at 4 pm today.  Mt. Olive advanced after upsetting #3 Coker College 13-6 earlier in the day.

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