Young arm breaks records for Lady ‘Cats

Freshman Jenna Kubesch tossed a no-hitter and broke a Georgia College & State University single game record with 15 strikeouts as the Lady Bobcats softball team went 5-1 at the Catawba Tournament over the weekend to take first place honors in the B-Pool.
GC&SU (13-6) opened with an 8-0 victory over Coker on Friday. After dropping a 1-0 decision in eight innings to West Liberty State, the Lady Bobcats shutout Catawba 7-0, Wheeling Jesuit 8-0, Shepard College 3-0 and Fairmont State 3-0 on Saturday and Sunday.
In the first game, Kubesch fanned nine batters in a three-hit 8-0 shutout of Coker. Aundrea Baker went 3-3 with two doubles, a triple and one RBI, while Diana Baruffa went 2-3 with one RBI to pace GC&SU at the plate.
On Saturday, GC&SU’s Tara Hassell and West Liberty State’s Carrie Swinderman were engaged in an old fashioned pitcher’s duel, keeping the game scoreless through seven innings.
In the eighth, the international tie-breaker rule came into play with a runner placed at second base to start the inning.
The Lady Bobcats came up empty in the top of the frame, but West Liberty State’s Amy Martin delivered an RBI single to plate the runner and end the game.
Hassell (1-2) took the loss after allowing the one unearned run on four hits in seven and one third innings.
Kubesch took to the circle against Catawba and put her name in the GC&SU record books with 15 strikeouts in a complete game one-hit shutout in the 7-0 victory over the Indians.
She also helped out herself at the plate by going 2-3 with a home run, double and two RBIs. Joni Frei went 3-4 with a double, home run and three RBIs, while Baruffa and Amy Davenport both went 2-4.
Brook Harrison followed Kubesch’s performance with an impressive outing of her own after tossing a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in an 8-0 victory over Wheeling Jesuit. Baruffa went 4-5 with one RBI, while Kubesch went 2-3 with three RBIs, and Davenport went 3-4 with two RBIs in the victory.
Harrison (4-3) also picked up a win in relief in the next game as the Lady Bobcats blanked Shepard College 3-0. She came in relief of Hassell, who pulled a muscle after the first inning, and tossed six scoreless innings while allowing only one hit.
Heather Jones went 2-3, while Ashley Blanton went 2-2 to lead GC&SU at the plate.

Kubesch wrapped up the tournament in style for GC&SU after tossing the sixth no-hitter in school history in a 3-0 win over Fairmont State with ten strikeouts. She also drove in a pair of runs, while Davenport went 3-4 at the plate.
GC&SU split a non-conference doubleheader with the University of Southern Indiana on Tuesday at the Peeler Complex.
GC&SU (14-7) won the first game 6-0, but the floodgates opened, literally, in a game two 10-1 loss as heavy rains and wind made things ugly.
In the first game, Diana Baruffa went 4-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and four RBIs to lead GC&SU in the 6-0 victory. Jenna Kubesch (9-1) tossed a complete game three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts.
In the first inning, GC&SU opened the scoring on Baruffa’s RBI double to bring home Joni Frei.
Baruffa’s RBI single in the third put the Lady Bobcats up 2-0, and Kubesch helped her own cause later in the inning with a single to center field to drive in Baruffa. Baruffa led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double and later scored on an Eagle error to account for the fourth run.
She concluded the scoring with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning. Missy Grover took the loss for Southern Indiana after allowing six runs, three earned on 10 hits in six complete innings.
In game two, Lisa Anderson’s RBI double following a GC&SU error plated an unearned run to put Southern Indiana on the board 1-0.
Heavy rains and cold winds set in during the third inning, but the teams continued to play as the Eagles plated four runs on four hits with a pair of GC&SU errors.
The rain and mistakes continued in the fourth inning as the Eagles plated five more runs on four hits and two errors.
The Lady Bobcats finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on Amy Davenport’s RBI single, but that’s all GC&SU would scratch across, falling 10-1 in a game that was called after five innings.
Brook Harrison (4-4) took the loss for GC&SU after allowing 10 runs, only five earned. Sarah Emmons picked up the win for USI (5-6) after allowing one run on five hits. She also helped out herself at the plate by going 3-3 with one RBI.
Heather Jones went 2-for-2 with a double to lead GC&SU at the plate.
The GC&SU softball team won four out of five games at the Patriots’ Invitational Tournament hosted by Francis Marion University over the weekend.
GC&SU improved to 18-8 on the year and picked up important wins over region opponents. A pair of freshman pitchers got the Lady Bobcats off to a good start early in the tournament.
The Lady Bobcats opened the tournament on Friday with a 6-2 victory over St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College as freshman pitcher Jenna Kubesch struck out 12 batters, while allowing only one earned run on three hits in a complete game effort.
Joni Frei went 2-for-3 with one RBI, while Diana Baruffa went 2-for-3 with one RBI to lead GC&SU at the plate. Heather Jones also went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
GC&SU rolled to an 8-1 victory over Mount Olive College in the second game of the tournament as freshman Tara Hassell (2-2) fanned 11 batters, while allowing one run on three hits in a complete game victory. She had plenty of offensive support as Kubesch, Frei and Ashley Blanton belted home runs in the game.
Kubesch finished 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs, while Frei went 2-for-4. Blanton went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Baruffa was solid at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance.
The Lady Bobcats stumbled on Saturday with a 3-1 loss to Belmont Abbey College. Kubesch (10-2) took the loss for GC&SU in the circle, while Baruffa knocked in the only run of the game with a triple in the third inning.
GC&SU would bounce back later in the day with a 5-0 victory over Mars Hill College as junior Brook Harrison tossed a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts. Kubesch and Blanton homered for the Lady Bobcats to pace the offense.
GC&SU wrapped up the tournament on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Catawba College. Baruffa went 2-for-3 with one RBI to lead GC&SU at the plate, while Harrison (6-4) picked up the win in relief for the Lady Bobcats.
GC&SU travels to Columbus State University on Wednesday for a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader with the Lady Cougars beginning at 4 p.m.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 19 2004. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry