Purdue Fort Wayne
South Dakota State
Cronin Sets Season Strikeout Record in Shutout
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 10, 2010
Fort Wayne, IN - IPFW sophomore pitcher Courtney Cronin threw her school-record eighth shutout of the season while tying her career high with 12 strikeouts, moving into the top spot in the IPFW record book in single season strikeouts, as the Mastodons took the rubber-match of the series against South Dakota State with a 5-0 victory on Saturday morning.
Cronin scattered three hits and walked none in the seven-inning victory in improving to 14-6 on the season, continuing to add to her school record win total. Her eight shutouts this season rank as the seventh most in a single season in Summit League history, while her 13 career shutouts rank in a tie for 13th all-time in league history. Her 128 strikeouts this season tops the previous single-season school record of 117 set by Katie Aspegren in 2006, while her 236 career strikeouts sit seven behind career leader Mindy Pomeroy's 243 set from 2001-04.
"The loss yesterday woke us up," said IPFW head coach Amy Tudor. "It put us back in focus to do the little things right. We did the little things right today - we got our bunts down, and we ran the bases well. You can't ask for any more than Courtney did in the circle, and the bottom of our lineup hit. When the bottom of your lineup is hitting, you are going to win a lot of ballgames. Courtney was steady on the mound - she is our racehorse, and we are going to run with her. We played great defense behind her. I am really proud of her effort this weekend."
Four Mastodon batters, Sara Hopwood, Stacey Swinford, Amber Pierce, and Sarah Swanson, each had two hits, with Swinford scoring twice, as Kristina Karpun, Hopwood, Cassie Wolfe, and Pierce, each drove in a run.
IPFW, now 22-11 on the season and 13-2 in the Summit League, got its first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning when Pierce singled home Swinford, who singled to start the inning and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ava Hall.
The `Dons added two runs in the bottom of the third, the first on a Wolfe sacrifice fly, the fifth of her career which moves her into a tie for 11th most in Summit League history, as the second run came when Swinford scored on a wild pitch, pushing the Mastodons to a 3-0 lead through three innings.
The final two runs of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning, the first off the bat of Karpun who singled over the bag at first base, driving home Pierce, before Hopwood executed a suicide squeeze, scoring Swanson.
South Dakota State (10-25, 4-5 Summit League) got a single in the top of the seventh inning, but she was left stranded at first base as Cronin ended the game with her 12th strikeout, as the furthest any SDSU baserunner advanced in the contest was second base.
Ashley Durazo had two of the team's three hits in the game, as Kori Seidlitz, who won the nightcap a day ago, picked up the loss, falling to 9-13. Seidlitz pitched the first three innings of the game, giving up six hits and three earned runs and hit two IPFW batters. Pam Nicholson, who picked up the save yesterday, pitched the final three innings of the game, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out two.
The Mastodons return to action at the IPFW softball field on Wednesday, April 14, as the team plays host to the Western Michigan Broncos, with first-pitch slated for 3:00 PM in the non-conference double header.
~Dons~
