May 2, 2010

Game 2 Box Score

Game 1 Box Score

Hamden, CT - Adrian Fitzsimon (Sacramento, CA) hit a homerun in both ends of a double header but the SHU softball team fell in each game to the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sunday afternoon.  In game two Carley Rudloff (Thousand Oaks, CA) hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to tie the game at four.  But Quinnipiac would rally for one run in the bottom of the inning for the walk off win, 5-4.  The Pioneers allowed three unearned runs in dropping the opener 6-2.

Sacred Heart (23-26, 10-8 NEC) took the early lead in game one of the double dip as Fitzsimon hit a two-out solo homer to right field in the top of the second.   The Bobcats would jump out to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame as two SHU errors would lead to a pair of unearned runs after a single from Heather Maffeo.

Quinnipiac (26-22, 13-5 NEC) stretched the lead to 4-1 in the third inning after Emily Bellush also knocked a two-run single.  Again the Pioneers complicated the inning for starting pitcher Jen Russell (Seymour, CT) with an error in the middle of the Bobcat rally.  Russell finished game one allowing seven hits and striking out two batters while picking up the loss.

The Pioneers cut the gap to 4-2 in the top of the fourth as Courtney Lee (Camarillo, CA) and Jill Timmer (La Mesa, CA) led off the inning with back-to-back walks.  Amanda Bradley (Langley, BC) made QU starter Bellush pay with a RBI single through the right side.  However, Bellush would escape the jam by retiring the next three batters in order.

The Bobcats added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth as Bellush hit another RBI single to make it 5-2.  Quinnipiac attempted to steal second with runners at the corners.  The Pioneers threw to second, the runner was safe, and allowed Kelly Wall to scamper in from third to make it a 6-2 contest.  Heather Schwartzburg tossed the last two and a third innings in relief for Quinnipiac, keeping the Pioneers off the board and securing the 6-2 victory for her team in game one.

It was Quinnipiac who took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning of game two of the twinbill as Wall slashed an RBI single through the middle.  Fitzsimon put her team up 2-1 in the fourth with her second homer of the afternoon as Taylor Froelich (Garden Grove, CA) also scored after leading off the frame with a single and stealing second.  The Pioneers stretched the lead to 3-1 in the top of the sixth as Froelich added a solo homerun of her own.

SHU game two starter Nicole Sidor (North Vancouver, BC) had kept the Quinnipiac bats in check until the bottom of the sixth.  The Bobcats retook the lead after scratching out three runs in the inning.  Another error extended the frame for Quinnipiac and Wall took full advantage with a three-run homer to put her team back on top, 4-3.

The Pioneers would not go down without a fight as Liz Tsipouras (Simi Valley, CA), Shannon McCoy (Yorba Linda, CA) and Rudloff hit three consecutive singles with one out to make it a new game at 4-4.  Russell came into relieve Sidor but the Bobcats would load the bases and eventually get the walk off win with a single from Alejandra Alba.

The losses eliminate Sacred Heart from the NEC playoff race as the 2009 champions will be unable to defend their crown.