Purdue Fort Wayne
Centenary (LA)
IPFW Splits in Summit-Opening Series
3/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 14, 2009
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Shreveport, LA -- The IPFW Mastodons split their Summit League-opening series with Centenary, with the Ladies taking the first game 8-0, and IPFW winning the nightcap 5-1.
In the first game, the `Dons struggled to put a bat on the ball, as Centenary (17-9, 1-1 Summit League) scored a run in both the second and third innings. Three more Lady runs pushed the hosts' lead to 5-0 after the fourth inning.
The only Mastodon to reach base in the game happened in the top of the fifth inning when freshman Cassie Wolfe hit a hard grounder to Centenary shortstop Emerald Doria's side, and her off-balanced throw was unable to be corralled by first baseman Allison McClain. The play was initially ruled a hit, snapping the no-hit bid; however, was later changed to an error on the first baseman by the official scorer, keeping pitcher Jessica Bock's no-hitter intact, in which she would keep for the game, as Centenary added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, to give the hosts the eight-run, five-inning victory.
IPFW starting pitcher Courtney Cronin picked up the first loss of her young career, pitching four and two-thirds of an inning, struck out three batters and gave up seven earned runs on eight hits while walking three.
The second game looked to be a continuation of the first, as the Ladies put a run across the plate in the bottom of the first inning on a leadoff home run, however, that would be the final run the Ladies would score in the contest.
IPFW's (5-7, 1-1 Summit League) offense awoke in the third inning, when Kylee Faurote grounded out to the shortstop with the bases loaded, knotting the game at one apiece, before pitcher Rachel Staschuk doubled to left field, scoring Heather Genovese. Wolfe followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Kaitlyn Frost, setting the table for Kristina Karpun, who put the finishing touches on the frame with a double down the left field line, scoring Staschuk.
The game's final run came in the top of the sixth inning when Beatrice Pedraza doubled to open the frame, and then advanced to third on a passed ball. Darby Pearson then hit into a fielder's choice, scoring the `Dons only senior.
Rachel Staschuk pitched the entire seven innings, scattering eight hits and allowing the lone run in the first inning. She struck out two, while also walking a pair.
Each of IPFW's six hits came from different batters, as Faurote, Staschuk, Wolfe, and Karpun each had a hit and RBI, while Genovese had a hit and a run.
IPFW takes back to the roads for their next set of games, a three-game conference weekend at Southern Utah, in Cedar City, Utah, with the teams playing in two games on Friday, March 20, with first-pitches set for 3:00, and 5:00 PM, each, with the series finale coming on March 21, at 2:00 PM EST.
~Dons~
