Softball Wins First Game of the Season 3-1 Over Central Arkansas, Falls to University of Illinois-Chicago 4-1

Friday, February 27

Tampa, FL

1:45 pm

Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics

1-4

Central Ark.

9-6

Central Arkansas

Sacred Heart

Softball Wins First Game of the Season 3-1 Over Central Arkansas, Falls to University of Illinois-Chicago 4-1

2/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

TAMPA, FL (February 27, 2015)—The Sacred Heart softball team split in the opening day of the USF Under Armour Invitational picking up their first win of the season 3-1 over Central Arkansas before falling 4-1 to University of Illinois-Chicago. Sophomore Kelyn Fillmore (Simi Valley, Calif.) went 3-for-6 at the plate with a pair of RBI and runs scored.

Jamie Carlson (Corona, Calif.) picked up her first win of the season in the Pioneers' first game of the day giving up just one unearned run to the Bears off five hits. The sophomore struck outs seven batters over six innings of work.

Carlson issued a walk to Sam Forrest to lead off the game. The third baseman advanced to second on a passed ball before moving to third on Jessie Taylor's single. Another passed ball allowed Forrest to cross the plate, but that would be the only run the Bears got for the rest of the game. Pioneer pitchers got into trouble with nine UCA batters reaching scoring position, but never allowed another run.

Sacred Heart answered with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kate Nadler (Southbury, Conn.) ripped a lead-off single to left field to get the SHU offense going. UCA starter Shivaun Landeros got Jenn Robillard (Plainville, Mass.) and Hannah Ford (New Fairfield, Conn.) to ground out behind her. With two outs, sophomore Fillmore hit a double to deep centerfield sending Nadler home. Next batter, Justine Sibthorp (Santa Clarita, Calif.), who went 2-for-3 in the game, legged out a triple picking up her first RBI of the season as Fillmore crossed the plate.

The Pioneers threatened a few more times in the following inning, but couldn't advance a runner past second until the bottom of the sixth. Fillmore got her second hit of the day, a single, to lead off the inning before Jessica Schild (East Northport, N.Y.) went in for her to provide some extra speed on the bases. Sibthorp's second knock of the game put runners on first and second. Rookie Lauren Delgafillo (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) hit into a fielder's choice reaching first herself, but Schild was out on the force at third. Central Arkansas' first baseman committed a fielding error on McKenna Wiegand's (Gilbert, Ariz.) hit allowed Sibthorp to score and Delgafillo to move to third. Catcher Dani Warnken (Bayport, N.Y.) hit into a double-play to end the inning, but SHU still walked off the field with the 3-1 win.

SHU got on the board first against UIC with Fillmore's solo homerun to lead off the second inning. The Pioneers put runners in scoring position three more times throughout the game, but were unable to push another run across.

Kacie Wentworth (Canton, N.Y.) got the loss against the Flames giving up four runs on six hits while pitching a complete game. The senior helped maintain Sacred Heart's lead through the first three innings striking out three batters, she went on to total five strikeouts, but the UIC bats came alive late getting two runs in the fourth and two more in the bottom of the sixth.

The Pioneers continue play in the USF Under Armour Invitational tomorrow facing Radford at 10:00 a.m. and South Florida at 2:45 p.m.