Purdue Fort Wayne
Oakland
IPFW Sweeps Oakland in Summit Series Final Day
4/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 16, 2008
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons (13-18, 7-6 Summit League) recovered from a first-day loss to Oakland (11-17, 3-7 Summit), sweeping the Grizzlies on Wednesday by 2-1 and 5-0 scores.
In the opener, Oakland pitcher Jess Granger once again came out firing out of the gate, not allowing a Mastodon base hit until Amanda Olender hit a single through the left side with an hour in the sixth inning.
Oakland scored first in the contest when a two-out throw by IPFW shortstop Ty Lambert went awry, allowing Stephanie Schall to score, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The lead looked to be enough heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, until the `Dons rallied, as Lambert reached first base on a walk to open the frame. A batter later, the senior shortstop used keen baserunning to score. The play started as Katie Aspegren's sacrifice bunt attempt was thrown away by the Grizzlies, allowing Lambert to advance to third base, and with no one covering home plate in the aftermath of the play, Lambert scored uncontested, knotting the game at one run apiece.
A sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Beatrice Pedraza to second, where she was driven in on a single off the bat of Ava Hall, giving IPFW the 2-1 victory.
The `Dons managed just two hits in the game, one by Hall and the other by Olender, but made good use of the pair, seeing Hall pick up the game's only RBI.
Rachel Staschuk scattered four hits over seven innings, striking out eight and not allowing an earned run in improving her season record to 4-6.
In the nightcap, it was the marvelous pitching effort from Amanda Olender that helped IPFW to the victory, as she went seven innings, allowing just two hits, walking two more and striking out five in picking up the shutout.
 Amanda Olender pitched a gem, striking out five and giving up just two hits to Oakland  |
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The freshman kept the Grizzlies without a hit for the first four innings of the game, giving up an inning opening single to Haley Emerson in the fifth inning.
The `Dons first crossed the plate in the fourth inning when Tara Mickelson, who reached base via an intentional walk, scored after the Oakland shortstop bobbled the ball with the bases loaded, allowing the first and eventual game-winning run to score in the contest.
An inning later, freshman catcher Kristina Karpun hit her second home run in league play; this one with the bases loaded; scoring herself, Mickelson, Staschuk and Jil Price, and giving the game its 5-0 final score.
The shutout is just the fourth this season by IPFW, with the `Dons also keeping Yale (March 10), UMKC (April 6) and Ball State (April 8) off of the scoreboard.
Staschuk followed her strong pitching performance by going 2-for-3 at the plate, with the team's other three hits coming from three different batters. Mickelson scored twice, with Karpun driving in the four on her grand slam.
The `Dons next travel to Cleveland State on April 22, before continuing their conference season on the 26th and 27th when they travel to Fargo, North Dakota to take on North Dakota State University.
