Purdue Fort Wayne
Dayton
Mastodons Split With Dayton
3/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 16, 2010
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
Dayton, OH – The IPFW Mastodons split a non-conference doubleheader with the Flyers of the University of Dayton, winning the opener 2-0 before falling in the nightcap 3-1. Courtney Cronin threw shutout ball in the opener, with Cassie Wolfe hitting a two-run home run providing the only runs in the opening game.
“I feel like we put ourselves in a position to win two games,” said IPFW head coach Amy Tudor. “We just didn’t come through, and sometimes that happens. We didn’t execute when runners were on."
The opening game was a pitcher’s duel, with IPFW’s Cronin and Dayton’s Eva Rappe going toe-to-toe. The only runs of the game came in the top of the third inning when Rachel Staschuk hit a two-out single, and was driven home on a two-run blast to left field by sophomore Cassie Wolfe, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead in the game.
“Cassie has been due,” noted the head coach. “She got a good pitch to hit, was on time and the ball left the park. Rachel got on, and Cassie hit her in. She scored the runner, which is something we talk about all the time. It was huge.”
The Mastodons threatened again in the sixth inning when Staschuk led off with a double, and was moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt by Wolfe; however, an intentional walk, a fielder’s choice, and a groundout ended the threat with no more runs crossing the plate.
The Flyers put together their top offensive threat in the bottom of the seventh inning when the first two batters walked and singled, and after a pop-up another single loaded the bases, before Cronin got the next two batters to each strike out with the bases loaded, securing the shutout win.
Staschuk was 2-for-3 in the opener, as Wolfe was 1-for-2, as the pair had the team’s only hits in the game. Cronin struck out 11 over seven innings of work, allowing just four hits and walking one.
“Courtney managed the game well,” said Tudor. “When she got into a sticky situation with the bases loaded with one out, she shut the door. That is huge – it was much needed for her personally, and hopefully she can build on it.”
The nightcap started the same as the opener, only with the home run that gave a team the lead came from Dayton’s Lauren Nacke on a solo shot in the fourth inning.
The Mastodons knotted the score in the sixth inning when Cronin led off with an inning-opening single, before the next two batters all reached on sacrifice bunts where Dayton catcher Courtney Kutsulis missed out on a force-out on the lead runner on close plays each. With the bases loaded, Kristina Karpun hit a sacrifice fly to score Cronin, as the ‘Dons loaded the bases again after an intentional walk to Sara Hopwood. Kaylee Faurote followed by hitting a line-drive right to Flyer first baseman Anne Maci, who grabbed the line drive, and dove back to first base to double off Hopwood.
Nacke proved to be the hero of the second game for Dayton, as after Molly Meyer reached on an error, Nacke hit a two-run home run a batter later to give the Flyers a lead that they would not give up for the rest of the game. The Mastodons put their leadoff hitter on base to open the top of the seventh, but a fielder’s choice, a groundout, and a strikeout, ended the hopes for the ‘Dons.
IPFW’s three hits came from three different batters, as Amanda Olender picked up the loss, pitching six strong innings, allowing three runs, two earned, while scattering four hits and striking out five.
“Amanda held us in the ball game,” noted Tudor. “We need to score more than one run to win ballgames. We are capable of doing that. I give credit to the Dayton pitching staff for keeping us off-balance, but we didn’t make the necessary adjustments at the plate until the sixth inning.”
The Mastodons return to action on Friday, March 19, when the team plays host to the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University in the second conference weekend of the 2010 season.
“This was a good warm-up for us going into Southern Utah,” said Tudor. “It was definitely a learning tool in the fact that we can’t just show up and expect to get a win. We have to show up ready to play. That is what we have to change, and that is what we need to do - we need to make that change mentally. Defensively we played a strong ball game, our bats were just silent. That was the difference in the ballgame.”
~Dons~
