Phoenix Down Tigers To Stay Alive
Tim McDonnell
#CAAChamps Central |
Boxscore |
Highlights
HARRISONBURG, Va. (May 6, 2015) – Freshman Kara Shutt hit a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to help third-seeded Elon beat fourth-seeded Towson, 8-6, while staying alive in the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Softball Championship at James Madison’s Veterans Memorial Park.
Third-seeded Elon, appearing in the CAA Softball Championship for the first time, trailed by two (6-4) entering the sixth but rallied for four runs thanks in part to three TU errors. The Phoenix (31-21) kept their season alive and now face top-seeded JMU at 5:30 with the winner of that game heading to the title contest to face second-seeded Hofstra.
Shutt finished with two hits and five RBI while sophomore Alaina Hall added a 3-for-4 effort with two runs scored. Sophomore catcher Emily Roper added a solo home run in the win. Freshman left-hander Kiandra Mitchum (9-9) picked up the win, tossing 1.1 innings of relief.
Towson, which reached the title game last season in Harrisonburg, concludes its season with a 35-22 record. Freshman Megan Dejter (9-13) was tagged with the loss, allowing five hits and issuing one walk over six frames. All four runs allowed were unearned. Sophomore Holiday Cahill went 4-for-4 with three RBI and junior Olivia Yarbrough went 3-for-3 with three runs and a walk.
Towson wasted little time in the first inning, plating three quick runs. Cahill drove in two runs with a double and then senior Missy McCormick followed with a run-scoring single to center.
Elon had an answer in the bottom half, though, as the first two Phoenix batters reached base. Shutt stepped up and drilled a homer over the right field wall before Roper made it back-to-back knocks with her own home run to make it 4-3.
With one out in the fifth, TU freshman Brook Miko doubled home Yarbrough and then Cahill brought home Miko with a single to make it 5-4. The Tigers added another run one frame later thanks to a wild pitch, before EU capitalized on a number of errors in the bottom half.
All games of the 2015 CAA Softball Championship will be broadcast for free and live on
CAA.tv. The title game on Friday can be watched via the American Sports Network (ASN) at 5:00 p.m. Visit the CAA Softball
Championship Central page for live stats, box scores, game recaps, video highlights and much more. Be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (
@CAASports) and on
Instagram using the hashtag,
#CAAChamps, for up-to-date and behind the scenes coverage.
2015 CAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
(Veterans Memorial Park | Harrisonburg, Va.)
Wednesday, May 6
Game 1: #1
@JMU_Softball 3, #4
@Towson_SB 2
Game 2: #2
@HofstraSoftball 10, #3
@ElonUSoftball 0 (5)
Thursday, May 7
Game 3: #2
@HofstraSoftball 5, #1
@JMU_Softball 3
Game 4: #3
@ElonUSoftball 8, #4
@Towson_SB 6
Game 5: #1
@JMU_Softball vs. #3
@ElonUSoftball – 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 8
Game 6:
@HofstraSoftball vs. Winner G5 – Noon
Game 7: If necessary – 30 minutes following G6
Saturday, May 9
Rain Date if necessary