Softball Drops Two In Opening Day at GRU Classic

Lady Chants lost to host #19 Florida and #25 South Florida on first day

Coastal-Florida Box Score
Coastal-South Florida Box Score

CLEARWATER, FL – The Coastal Carolina softball team dropped a pair of games to nationally-ranked teams in the opening day of the GRU Classic in Gainesville, FL. CCU lost to #19 Florida, 7-2, and #25 South Florida, 7-3 and dropped to 3-3 on the young season.

In the opener, Florida took command with three runs in the third inning and four in the fourth, before sophomore Trish Kretchman shut down the Gators for the final 3.1 innings. Freshman Ashley Gerdts got Coastal’s only runs of the game with her first collegiate home run in the seventh inning, as junior Brittany Nelson dropped to 2-1 with the loss.

Against South Florida, Coastal got the first run of the game in the top of the second, as sophomore Carla Hood singled to center to score Nelson and put the Lady Chants up, 1-0. The Bulls answered with one run in the second and third innings and three in the fourth to take command, 5-1. Coastal scratched out another run in the fifth, as Nelson scored her second run of the game, this time on a double by junior Meagen Johnson. However, USF came back with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to go up, 7-2. The Lady Chants rounded out the scoring in the seventh, with junior Sara Hostetler scoring off a junior Kelly Feely RBI groundout. Sophomore Christine Doyle fell to 0-2 on the season, going five innings in the loss.

For the day, Feely led the Lady Chants, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI, while senior Delane Grainger chipped in a 2-for-5 day. Coastal was hurt by giving up six errors in two games, leading to eight unearned runs.

Coastal is back in action tomorrow, taking on Notre Dame at 10 a.m. before seed play begins in the evening.