FORT MYERS, FL (February 27, 2016)—The Sacred Heart softball team collected its first win of the season on Saturday as the Pioneers downed Oakland 4-1 before falling to Florida Gulf Coast 8-7 in extra innings on Saturday in the Battle at the Beach hosted by FGCU.

SHU closes out the Battle at the Beach Sunday against the Eagles at 10:00 a.m.

SHU vs. Oakland:

Noteworthy:

• Starting pitcher Jamie Carlson (Corona, Calif.) picked up her first win of the season as she struck out eight batters and gave up just one hit through seven strong innings of work
• Sophomore Lauren Delgadillo (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) went 2-for-4 at the plate knocking in a run

How it Happened:

• Sacred Heart got on top early in the bottom of the second when Hannah Ford (New Fairfield, Conn.) doubled home Kelyn Fillmore (Simi Valley, Calif.) to make it 1-0 in favor of the Pioneers
• In the bottom of the third, after Carlson struck out two of the three batters she faced in the top of the inning, SHU put two more runs on the board when Victoria D'Addario (Lincoln Park, N.J.) doubled down the right field line to make it 3-0 SHU
• Carlson gave up one run on one hit in the top of the fourth, but silenced Oakland's bats throughout the rest of the game
• The Pioneers got the run back in the bottom of the inning as Delgadillo sent Nicole Deissler (Commack, N.Y.) home from second with a single

SHU vs. FGCU:

Noteworthy:

• Linsey DeDomenico (Northford, Conn.) smashed the first homerun of her career for a grand slam in the third inning
• This was the first extra-inning game of the season for SHU 

How it Happened:

• Each team scored a run in the first inning, and the score remained even at one at the end of the second
• The Sacred Heart bats came alive in the third inning. With one out, the top of the order came to bat. Delgadillo legged out a double down the left field line before Andrea Sidor (North Vancouver, British Columbia) singled to put runners on first and second. D'Addario's patience at the plate paid off as the junior worked a walk to load the bases. Senior catcher DeDomenico came to the plate and cleared the bases with the first homerun of her career giving SHU a 5-1 lead over the Eagles
• Rookie pitcher Kristen McCann held FGCU scoreless through the second, third, fourth and fifth innings in the first start of her career, but the Eagles got two off oh her in the bottom of the sixth to cut into Sacred Heart's lead
• Despite pushing a runner to third base, the Pioneers were unable to score in the top of the seventh and hoped to get three quick outs to hold onto the lead for the win. Unfortunately, the Eagles' offense came to life for two runs on three hits to even the score at six and send the game into an eighth inning 
• With the International tiebreaker rule in effect, DeDomenico came around to score from second thanks to a double from Ford
• Senior Adrianna Mallory (Pine Bush, N.Y.) came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth to try again to preserve the win, but SHU was again unable to hold onto the lead, as FGCU also brought their placed runner around after a hit by pitch and an error sent her to third. Back-to-back singles from Kelsey Huff and Makensie McAvoy clinched the walk-off win both driving in runs