The University of Charleston softball team's maiden voyage in the Division II Women's College World Series came to an abrupt end late Wednesday night. The Golden Eagles' stay lasted just two games in the double-elimination tournament, as Southern Arkansas University jumped on top of the Golden Eagles early and cruised to a 7-0 win in Denver.
UC ends its season at 50-12. SAU will face Adelphi, which lost to North Alabama on Wednesday afternoon. Charleston lost to Adelphi on Tuesday, which sent the Golden Eagles to the elimination bracket.
The Muleriders (52-9) put Charleston in a very early deficit, taking a 4-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a pair of RBI singles from Maddie Dow and Tyler Casada, an error at shortstop that scored another run and a Chelsea Jordan sacrifice fly. Southern Arkansas chased starter Jessie Rowe out of the circle after just one out, bringing Alli Burdette in to pitch.
SAU added two runs on another pair of RBI singles, this time from Summer Ehrig and Liz Hudgins. Another Dow RBI single in the fourth pushed SAU's lead to 7-0.
Meanwhile, Charleston managed just six hits off SAU starter Kaylee Gardner who scattered those six hits over seven innings for the complete game win, striking out six and walking five. It was just the third time UC was shut out all season, the first two times coming against West Virginia Wesleyan.
Katelyn Hamilton and Allison Evans accounted for four of UC's six hits. Hamilton went 2 for 4 and Evans went 2 for 2. The lone extra-base it for the Golden Eagles came from an Alayna Carlson double.
Rowe gave up four runs, two earned, on three hits over 1/3 of an inning, walking two and striking out none. Alli Burdette, the reigning Mountain East Conference pitcher of the year, came in as relief. She gave up three runs, one earned, over 6 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and a walk.
Dow was the only SAU batter with multiple RBIs, going 3 for 3 with a walk and a run scored while driving in a pair of runs.