Purdue Fort Wayne
Souther Utah
Thunderbirds Fly Away with Sweep
3/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 20, 2009
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Cedar City, UT - The IPFW Mastodons dropped both ends of a double header on Friday afternoon to the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University, falling 8-0 in the opener, and 12-4 in the nightcap.
Freshman Cassie Wolfe had the best game of her young career with the `Dons, going 3-for-4 on the day with a pair of home runs and three runs driven in.
In the opener, Southern Utah put up two runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back, adding three runs in the third and three more in the fourth, taking home the 8-0 five-inning victory.
Four players had hits in the loss, as Rachel Staschuk, Heather Genovese, and Ava Hall each went 1-for-2, while Wolfe was 1-for-1 while getting hit by a pitch. Amanda Olender picked up the loss, pitching four innings and allowing seven earned runs on nine hits while striking out three.
IPFW jumped on the board quick in the afternoon finale, as Staschuk walked before Wolfe hit the first of her two home runs, giving the `Dons a 2-0 lead.
A run for Southern Utah cut the deficit in half, before Beatrice Pedraza led off the second inning with an inside-the-park home run, as SUU left fielder Natalie McBurney was unsuccessful in her diving attempt at a catch on a ball near the foul line, and Pedraza trucked around the bases to score standing up.
Ahead 3-1, the `Dons gave up three runs in the bottom of the second inning, before each team went scoreless in the third. After a scoreless top of the fourth inning for IPFW, the Thunderbirds scored four times in the fourth inning to push ahead 8-3.
IPFW's final run came in the top of the fifth, when Wolfe hit a solo home run to left center, cutting the deficit in half at 8-4. Three runs for the hosts in the fifth, and another in the sixth gave Southern Utah an eight-run advantage, capping the game through five and two-thirds inning.
Wolfe's two hits led the team, as Kristina Karpun, Pedraza, and Genovese had the team's other three hits. Rachel Staschuk picked up the loss, pitching five and two-thirds of an inning, giving up 13 hits, and four earned runs, while striking out five.
Darlene Fernandez led Southern Utah on the day by going 4-for-4 with eight runs driven in, six of which came in the opener. Aly Daniels was 4-for-5, as Jenevieve Purcell scored five times to lead the team. Kristina Brooks pitched the entire 11 innings for the hosts, winning both games and striking out nine batters while giving up four earned runs and walking three.
The teams match-up once more, tomorrow, at 2:00 PM EST at Kathryn Berg Field.
~Dons~
