Box Score MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – Lafayette's second contest at The Spring Games took the Leopards to extra innings where LIU squeaked out an 8-7 final on Saturday afternoon.
Lafayette trailed 6-1 after the top of the fifth with the Sharks scoring three runs on four hits in the third and then three more on a three-run home on an Alyssa O'Donnell home run in the fifth.
Lafayette's first run of the game came in the home half of the third inning when
Bella Lowdermilk ripped a double to left to make it 3-1.
In the bottom of the fifth Lafayette cut the deficit to 6-3, plating a pair of runs when No. 3 hitter
Grace Harvey smacked a ball back up the middle.
The Leopards (4-6) took their first lead of the day in the sixth inning. Lowdermilk had another run-scoring double. Then
Erica Brasher,
Natasha Miner and
Harlie Bickett all delivered singles, as two more runs scored and Lafayette knotted the score at 6-6.
Th Maroon and White had the bases loaded with no outs. Harvey's strikeout was the first out of the inning and that brought
Kaya Ciccone-Cozart to the plate. She came through with a RBI-groundout for the 7-6 lead.
LIU (10-15) scored the tying run in the seventh on Ciara Granado's single. In the bottom of the seventh,
Julia Roman led off with an infield single and
Kinzi Van Wyk advanced her to second via a sacrifice bunt. A groundout brought the potential winning 60 feet closer but LIU closed out the inning with a strikeout.
As the game moved to extra innings, a runner was placed on second base – part of the international tiebreaker rule. Kiana Cisneros started at second and a wild pitch moved her to third. Gabby Padilla was at the plate and she hit the ball to shortstop. The Leopards had a good chance for a play at the play, but the umpire ruled Padilla was under the tag and scored the go-ahead run. The Leopards escaped with just one across.
In the bottom of the eighth. Brasher went to second base to start the inning. Miner bunted her to third for the first out, but LIU retired the next two batters via fly balls to end the game.
Lafayette wraps up its Saturday action with an 8 p.m. contest vs. Western Michigan.
