The Chesnee Eagles softball team used two consecutive nights of strong hitting to pickup two straight region wins to start their week with a 28-0 win over the St Josephs Knights on Tuesday night after picking up an 18-0 road victory against Brashier Middle College on Monday.
In both games the Eagles limited their opposition to just one hit as Paige Scruggs tossed four scoreless frames with eight strikeouts on Monday while Samantha Carver registered twelve strikeouts in five innings on Tuesday night. "We have all spent many years doing this and the hard work and practice is finally paying off," said Paige Scruggs. The Eagles offense followed up the eighteen run performance on Monday with a four run top of the first inning as Maddie Handy had the big hit with a two RBI double. "We all went out there to get the job done and with a purpose," said Handy. The Eagles batted around in all four innings at the plate while sending fifteen to the plate in the second along with plating twelve runs. Kyleigh Thompson and Ali Scruggs had the big hits in the inning as Thompson hit a three RBI triple and Scruggs had a two RBI double of her own. Chesnee plated nine runs in the third inning as Paige Scruggs delivered the big hit launching her fifth home run of the season, this time a two run shot over the left field fence. "The first good pitch I saw I didn't swing and didn't think I would get another one," said Scruggs. "Another one came I made sure to drive it out." The Eagles improve to 3-0 in region and will be back in action on Wednesday as they continue a stretch of five region games in four days. They will take on Blacksburg Wednesday in a double header with game one set for a 5:00 PM first pitch. Chesnee used a second consecutive quality start along with strong offensive production to down Brashier Middle College 7-0 on Friday night. The win completes a two game sweep of the Bengals by the Eagles as they also came away with a 11-0 victory on Thursday.
The Eagles got a solid start from Cole Davis who just got even better as the game went along. Davis allowed a single with a strikeout over the first two innings of work but struck out seven of the final eleven batters he faced over his final three innings on Friday. "I just wanted to throw harder and harder,” said Davis. “I know at the end of the day I can trust my stuff.” Davis’ performance on Friday was the second straight impressive performance by an Eagles pitcher as fellow pitcher Cole Hoskyns also pitched a gem on Thursday as he didn’t allow a hit while striking out eleven batters. Carson Williamson added to the Eagles impressive pitching performances in the two game series in relief as he struck out three more in his two innings of work giving the Eagles twenty-two strikeouts in twelve innings on the mound. "I'm proud of them,” said Chesnee head coach Scott Wease. “They have really been pounding the zone and having success over the last couple of games. I'm excited to see where they go from here." Offensively the Eagles started right where they left off on Thursday as they scored three runs to give Davis a solid early cushion. After Landon Thompson hit a single to left and Bryson Scruggs was hit by a pitch, Cole Hoskyns hit a deep RBI double to the gap to drive in a run. Hoskyns had a solid two games as he not only collected the win on Thursday but he also he hit a grand slam at the plate. "Early in the season I was struggling a little bit but this week it has all clicked and the ball seems bigger,” said Hoskyns. “My teammates are hitting the ball well and the better they play the better I play because I feed off of them." The big blow in the top of the first inning came off the bat of Jonah Epps who hit a solid single to right field to drive in a pair of runs. Williamson and Luke Hollifield each stole a base along with both scoring on a couple of Bengal miscues. Williamson came home on a passed ball while Hollifield scored on a error trying to get Williamson at the plate. Bryson Scruggs collected the only RBI of the inning to make the score 6-0 in the favor of the Eagles after the top of the second inning. Michael Paslawski singled to lead off the top of the fourth inning before stealing second and advancing to third base on a Landon Thompson single. Thompson played a big role in adding to the Eagles lead as he stole second base off the pitcher and the action caused the pitcher to balk which allowed Paslawski to score. Elijah Wease had a good night at the plate off the bench as he picked up a double and a walk. Thompson and Jonah Epps also had good nights for the Eagles as Thompson went two for three with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored. Epps had a pair of RBIs along with a walk and a pair of stolen bases. Chesnee as a team combined for an impressive seven stolen bases on Friday night. "Our guys are aggressive out there,” said Wease. “We have turned them loose and they are getting good at timing pitchers up." Chesnee will be back in action on Wednesday night as they host Broome with a 7:30 PM scheduled first pitch. Chesnee used an all-around performance on Monday night to defeat Gaffney 10-0 in six innings on Monday night, their second win of the day.
"We played them last Friday and weren't pleased with our performance as a team," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "We wanted to make sure we played the right way tonight and didn't do anything to beat ourselves." The Eagles got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning as Ali Scruggs, Maddie Handy, and Sam Carver each hit consecutive one out singles to load the bases. With the bases loaded Shenandoah Bishop drove in a run as Scruggs beat out a fielder's choice attempt at home to put the Eagles up 1-0. Hannah Henderson followed two batters later with the biggest blow of the inning, a three RBI double just inside the third base bag. "I was trying to be focused and see the pitch," said Henderson. "I got up there ready and was able to make solid contact." The Eagles got a shutdown inning out of Sam Carver as she sent the Indians down in order as she continued a streak of six straight batters retired. Handy and Carver once again came up with big hits in the bottom of the second inning as Handy drove in Paige Scruggs with a double while Carver drove in Handy with a single to give Chesnee a 6-0 lead after two innings of play. After a one out single by Annaleigh Gibson for the Indians in the top of the third inning, Carver retired eleven of the final twelve batters faced to hold the Indians off the scoreboard. Chesnee tacked on another run in the bottom of the third inning on a Kyleigh Thompson RBI sacrifice. Hannah Henderson continued her impressive game in the top of the fifth with a leadoff single before later scoring on Nicole Helton's single to shallow right field. Ali Scruggs later drove in Helton to make the score 9-0 but the Indians done a good job of limiting the damage to keep the score at 9-0. Sam Carver reached for the third time in the game but this one was the most painful one as she was hit by a pitch in the non-throwing arm to reach base to start the sixth inning. Shenandoah Bishop followed with a double to put runners at second and third before Henderson ended the game two batters later with a RBI single to put the Eagles ahead 10-0. Hannah Henderson had a big night at the plate for the Eagles as she went three for five with four RBIs that included a double along with a scored run. "Hannah had been in a slump by her standards but she has been working hard in the cage and at her mental approach," said Fogle. "We knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when she would break through." Maddie Handy also had an impressive night at the plate for the Eagles as she went three of four with a double and a RBI along with a run scored. Sam Carver pitched a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts while scattering three hits and only allowing one runner to reach second base. In the first game of the day Chesnee picked up a win over Woodruff by a score of 1-0 in a game that saw Ali Scruggs pitch a complete game no hitter while striking out eight Wolverine batters. "She was absolutely on with all of her pitches working," said Fogle. "She was hitting her locations and kept her focus throughout the whole game." The Eagles will be back in action next Tuesday when they host St Joseph's with a 5 PM scheduled first pitch. INMAN, S.C. – On a chilly Friday evening, a strong night on the mound and a mid-game spark helped propel the Chesnee Eagles to a 5-2 road win over the Chapman Panthers.
In the opening frame, the host Panthers struck first. Walt Waddell smacked an opposite-field RBI double to left and Ricky Montalvo notched a RBI single, which staked Chapman to an early 2-0 lead. “We’ve challenged our guys to finish,” Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro said. “That’s one thing we’ve done a pretty good job of is we’ve started well at times, but we haven’t finished… I personally believe that we have the guys that are capable of it. We just need them to continue to be in those types of situations to where they can gain the experience necessary as we start back (with) region play in two weeks.” After plating a run in the third, Chesnee found a spark in the fifth inning, which began when Luke Hollifield reached on an error. Two batters later, Landon Thompson smacked a two-run single to the outfield, putting the Eagles ahead by a run. Cole Hoskyns settled in on the mound for the Eagles and controlled the tempo, notching eight strikeouts and yielding only two runs (on five hits) over five and a third innings of work. Carson Williamson picked up the final five outs in relief of Hoskyns. “(Cole) did an excellent job,” Chesnee head coach Scott Wease stated. “He showed us tonight that he can give us five or six innings. That’s going to be important for us going down the road (in region play). Chapman’s a very good team, so we feel very lucky to get out of here with a win.” Chesnee (7-3) will return home to Dean Jones Stadium for a Region II-2A contest against the Brashier Middle College Bengals on Monday, April 5th as game time is scheduled for 7 PM. Chapman will play a pair of road games next week. The Panthers will make a trip to Blacksburg on Monday, April 5th (7 PM start). On Tuesday (April 6th), the Panthers will travel to Byrnes for a 6:30 PM contest. |
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