Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Due West, SC – Erskine’s Larissa Shannon (Newberry, SC, Newberry High School) hit three home runs, including a 3-run walk-off home run, as Erskine split a doubleheader with archrival Anderson University today in non-conference softball action at the Erskine College Softball Complex. 

After Anderson scored two runs in the top of the ninth to take a 5-3 lead, Shannon hit her second home run of the game to power the Fleet to a dramatic 6-5 victory.  In the second game, Anderson rallied from five down, scoring six runs in the fifth inning, to take the second game 7-5.

With the split, Anderson maintains their half-point lead in the Beville Cup competition with two points remaining.  The two golf teams are currently playing a two-day match play competition.

Game One – Box Score

Anderson’s Brooke Lucas broke a scoreless tie leading off the fifth inning with her first home run of the season.  The Trojans added unearned run later in the inning on an Erskine throwing error to take a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the fifth, Shannon launched her first of three home runs, a two-run shot, to tie the game at 2-2.

Anderson recaptured the lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Stephanie Hanvey.  Laura Jansky started the inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Amber Duncan before scoring on Hanvey’s fly to right.

Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Erskine got a break as Anderson committed a fielding error giving the Fleet a chance to tie the game.  Bailey Thornton hit a fly ball deep enough to center to score Ericka McCarson, who led off the inning with a base hit.

In the 9^th inning, Anderson appeared to clinch the game scoring two runs on three consecutive hits.  Playing international tie-breaking rules (runner starts the inning at second base), Bri Cason laced a solid single to score Shelley Sweatt, who started the inning at second.  After a double by Lucas, Cason scored Jessica Neidigh’s single through the infield to give the Trojans a 5-3 lead.

McCarson opened the Fleet’s half of the 9^th with a seeing-eye single to put runners on the corner.  Following a pop-out, Shannon drilled her second homerun of the game to dead center field for the dramatic walk-off homerun.

Erskine pitcher Kelsey Spurrier picked up the complete game win, her 10^th of the year.  Spurrier surrendered five runs, three earned, on nine hits while striking out four and walking two.  Anderson’s Amber Duncan took the loss, going 8.1 innings and allowing six runs, four earned, on 8 hits.  She struck out five and walked three.

Besides Shannon, McCarson was the only other Fleet player with multiple hits, going 2 for 5, both singles, and scoring two runs.

Game Two – Box Score

Looking to complete the sweep, Erskine scored five runs in the first four innings to take a 5-0 lead.  Shannon continued her power surge by drilling her third home run of the day in the first inning of the second game to stake the Fleet to an early 2-0 lead.  Erskine added another run in the second on a rbi single by McCarson and two more runs in the fourth.  After a one-out triple by Whitney Brown, Jordan Suther hit a double just over the left fielder and scored on McCarson’s second rbi single of the game.

After being held to one hit through the first four innings, Anderson finally got to Erskine pitcher Heather Richey scoring six runs on seven hits.  Anderson added one last run in the sixth inning on a solo home run by Charlotte Sieber.
Anderson’s Jessica Neidigh went to the distance to earn her third win of the season.  She allowed five runs, four earned, on ten hits while fanning two and issuing one walk.

Richey took the loss, giving up seven runs on ten hits through five plus innings.  Spurrier pitched the last two innings in relief.

Shannon concluded her career day 6 for 8 with three homeruns, three runs scored, and 6 runs batted in.

Erskine returns to conference play this Saturday as they host Barton College for two games.  The first game starts at 1:30 p.m. with the second game following approximately 20 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.