April 17, 2011
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Easton, Pa. - Lafayette honored Kristin Garganio, Kerry Griffin, Ali Henry, Christine Hilcken and Stacey Kushner and their families as part of Senior Day prior to the Patriot League softball doubleheader with Army on Sunday. The Leopards dropped both games, losing 14-6 in five innings and 6-4 in the nightcap.
In the opener, Army scored four runs on three hits in the first inning. Lafayette starter Hilcken was called for four illegal pitches, two of which resulted in Army runs. Lead-off hitter Amanda Nguyen set the tone for the Black Knights in the inning and the game, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored.
The Leopards loaded the bases in the bottom of the first with no outs, but could not push across a run. Army cut down two runners at the plate on ground-ball outs and the final out came on a grounder to shortstop.
Army (20-17, 4-6) added five more runs in the second inning with Rachael Duval (2-for-3, 2 RBI) driving in a pair with a two-run home run. A three-run shot by Alex Reynolds in the third inning helped extend Army's lead to 13-0. Reynolds finished the game 4-for-4 with five RBI and four runs scored.
The Leopards finally broke through in the fourth inning. Mary Episcopo (2-for-2) used a bases-loaded single to end the shutout, and the Maroon and White added another run when Jordan Parsons ripped a ball back through the box to score Henry to make it 13-2.
Lafayette added two more tallies in the bottom of the fifth inning. Carly Feiro (single), Griffin (single), Episcopo (walk) and Parsons (single) each plated runs to push the final to 14-6.
Marina Northup (3-2) collected the win for Army, throwing 2.1 innings with six runs on 10 hits. Army starter Shawna Bleyl was not eligible for the win after being lifted to start the third inning. She returned in the fifth to get the final two outs of the game. Hilcken allowed six runs on four walks and three hits in one inning. Henry threw the final four innings, surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits with two walks and a strikeout.
In the first inning of the nightcap, Lafayette took its first lead of the afternoon when Kushner hit her third home run of the season, a solo shot to left that put Lafayette up 1-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Leopards had runners on first and third with two outs. Lafayette attempted a delayed double-steal with pinch runner Cody Kugler taking off for second, but Parsons was cut down at home 2-6-2 to keep the score at 1-0.
The Lafayette defense helped out the Black Knights in the fifth. A short pop-up dropped in between the third baseman and shortstop, and an error by the pitcher put runners on first and second with no outs. Two batters later, Nguyen plated both with a looping double to left. April Ortenzo kept the inning going with an RBI-triple followed by Reynolds's run-scoring double. Duval had the big hit of the six-run rally, clobbering a two-run homer off the leftfield foul pole.
Lafayette (2-31, 0-10) answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Lafayette drew four straight walks, the final by Parsons who forced in the first run. Kushner came to the plate and ripped a double to center where Reanna Johnson dove and had the ball in her glove before it fell to the ground when she hit the grass. Two runs scored before Parsons was called out on a close play at the plate. Lafayette trailed 6-4.
Lafayette brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Turner's one-out double got things going. Episcopo put runners on first and second with a single to left. Turner (2-for-2) could not advance, forced to wait for the ball to drop. Parsons fouled out before Army walked Kushner (2-for-2) to load the bases. Army pitcher Haley Pypes got Stacey Dorn for the final out of the game.
Pypes (8-8) struck out three and walked eight in the win, allowing four runs on six hits. Melissa Robinson took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in 6.2 innings.
The teams will wrap up the four-game series on Monday with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
