Georgia State Stifles James Madison, 9-1, Earns Berth In CAA Softball Finals
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (May 11, 2012) - Six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning capped a 9-1 win by defending CAA champion and third-seed Georgia State over second-seed James Madison in the 2012 CAA Softball Championship in Hempstead, N.Y. on Friday afternoon. The win advanced them into Saturday's finals against top-seed Hofstra at 12 p.m.
Freshman
first baseman Lauren Coleman and freshman outfielder Ashley Christy both had two hits and two RBIs to pace
the Panthers (38-17, 15-8 in CAA) offensively. Christy had a two-run triple in
the third inning to open up the scoring, giving GSU a 2-1 advantage.
Junior pitcher McCall Langford lasted the entire 5.0 innings in the
circle, allowing five hits while striking out as many batters. The lefty
improves her record to 12-6 on the season.
The loss ended the Dukes' season at 30-26. Sophomore third baseman Caitlin
Sandy led JMU, going 2-for-3 from the plate and freshman catcher Sarah Mooney
went 1-for-3, driving in JMU's only run of the contest.
The Panthers batted around in the
pivotal fifth-inning and picked up three consecutive bases-loaded singles by
Brenna Morrissey, Jessica Clifton and Coleman.
Clifton and Christina Reed contributed multiple-hit games to the cause
which saw GSU reach a total of 10 hits.
Freshman third baseman Callie Alford ended
the game on a hit-by-pitch that drove in the ninth Panther run for the
run-rule. Alford started the inning with a stand-up double.
It was the second time in the championship that the Panthers defeated
James Madison, winning 7-4 in yesterday's opening round.
In an almost identical scenario to last season's championship run,
Georgia State advances to the finals of the CAA championship to face Hofstra.
The Panthers will need to win two games against the host Pride to repeat as
conference champs.
