Presbyterian
Advances to Finals With 3-2 Extra-Innings
Win Over Carson-Newman
ROCK HILL, S.C. - No. 3 Presbyterian College (43-11) defeated No. 4 Carson-Newman College (39-11) 3-2 in extra innings to advance to the Championship game of the 2004 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Softball Tournament Championship Game tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. at Cherry Park. Jessica Peterka (Sarasota, FL) singled up the middle with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning to send Jamie Vining (Fayetteville, GA) to the plate for the game winning score.
Presbyterian's Rachel Bailey (Howard, OH) scored the first run of the game in the first inning on a fielder's choice. Peterka then scored on a C-N error to give the Blue Hose a 2-0 advantage at the end of the first inning of play.
In the top of the fourth inning, Lyndsi Craig singled to left field to score Erin Rutherford to cut PC's lead to 2-1 and then the Eagles tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning when LeAndrea Johnson scored on a Blue Hose error. The game remained scoreless for the next two and a half innings until Peterka recorded her game-winning hit.
Vining and Peterka each tallied two hits apiece in the win. Vining scored a run while Peterka added a run scored and the game winning RBI. Amanda Teal (Chapin, SC) went 1-for- 3 with an RBI. Megan Wheelus (Florence, SC) picked up the win (12-4) in relief for the Blue Hose. She threw the last two innings allowing no hits and struck out three Eagle batters. Samantha Slater (Westerville, OH),who started the game on the mound for PC threw the first six innings allowing only two hits and one earned run.
Rutherford and Craig had the only hits for Carson-Newman. Rutherford's was a double while Craig had the team's only RBI on a single to left field. Craig took the loss (13-5) in relief for the Eagles pitching the last 6.1 innings of play.
PC will face the winner of the Carson-Newman College/Wingate University game that will be played at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Wingate eliminated Catawba College to advance in the tournament.