Purdue Fort Wayne
South Dakota State
Late Comeback Not Enough as `Dons Split Series
4/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 9, 2010
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
Fort Wayne, IN – The IPFW Mastodons dominated early and late, winning the opener against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 11-1, before seeing a furious comeback come up one run short in a 10-9 loss in the nightcap, snapping the team’s winning streak at eight.
Rachel Staschuk was 4-of-6 at the plate for IPFW (21-11, 12-2 Summit League), including a game-ending grand slam in the opener, while Sara Hopwood went 4-for-7 over the two games. Hopwood and Sarah Swanson each scored four times, as Cassie Wolfe drove in six, four of which came in a grand slam home run in the bottom of the sixth inning in the nightcap, with Staschuk driving in five. Game one starting pitcher Courtney Cronin continues to add to her single-season school record win total with her 13th of the season, striking out a dozen in just over seven innings of work over the two combined games.
The loss in the finale snapped an eight-game winning streak, the longest win streak for IPFW softball in their NCAA Division I era, as IPFW trailed by nine in the fifth inning, before rallying for six runs over the final three innings, finishing one run short of the comeback.
“Courtney Cronin pitched well today,” said IPFW head coach Amy Tudor. “At the plate I felt like that all of our batters, one through nine, were solid. The first game we were seeing the ball well, knocking the ball around. In the second game we struggled in a few innings, but we started answering back. I don’t believe that there was any doubt in our dugout that we were going to come back and score some runs. The team’s confidence at the plate is definitely on a high, and different people step up with big hits in different games. Even though we didn’t win that ballgame, it was a fight to the finish, and I commend them on giving up.”
IPFW scored early and often in the opener, the first runs coming via a Wolfe single up the middle, chasing home Hopwood, before Stacey Swinford doubled home Kristina Karpun, pushing IPFW ahead 2-0. The ‘Dons added two more runs, as the hosts opened the second inning with three straight infield singles, the latter of which saw Amber Pierce score on a throwing error on the toss to first base. Hopwood followed with another single, driving home Swanson, and giving IPFW a 4-0 lead.
After not scoring in the bottom of the third, the ‘Dons put on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth Staschuk doubled home Swanson, setting the table for Karpun, who successfully laid down a suicide squeeze bunt, scoring pinch runner Amanda Gary. After SDSU scored in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to five at 6-1, IPFW put together a streak, starting when Pierce singled through the right side, scoring Wolfe. After Swanson singled to load the bases, Staschuk ended the game with a grand slam to left field, putting the score over the eight runs needed to cap a contest through five innings.
Staschuk was 3-for-4, as five different players had multiple hits. Swanson scored three times, with Pierce crossing the plate twice. Staschuk drove home five runs. Courtney Cronin improved to 13-6 on the season by striking out eight over five innings of work, scattering four hits and allowing the solitary run.
Starting pitcher Pam Nicholson was a perfect 2-for-2 in the batters box, pitching four and one third of an inning, giving up nine earned runs and striking out three.
The Jackrabbits opened the second game with an unearned run in the first inning, coming on a Dani Broshar double, driving home Ashhley Durazo, who reached on a dropped pop fly. IPFW knotted the game at one apiece in the bottom of the third inning when the Mastodons returned the favor of an unearned run when Cronin used a double to drive home Hopwood, who also reached on a dropped fly ball.
The South Dakota State bats erupted in the top of the fourth inning when Winter hit a two-run single to left field, as Greta Stroh, who was on first base, scored on a fielding error on the single. Six more runs for SDSU in the top of the fifth put the visitors ahead 10-1, and the game looked like it would be stopped early because of the nine-run margin, before the ‘Dons tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the first on a Cassie Wolfe bases-loaded walk, and the second when Swinford grounded to second base, cutting the deficit to seven at 10-3.
After keeping the ‘Jacks scoreless in their half of the sixth inning, the Mastodon bats awoke from their slumber, led by a Cronin bases loaded single that scored Pierce, and keeping the bases loaded, setting the table for Wolfe, who cut the deficit to two with her grand slam. Swinford followed a batter later with her fifth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to one.
The visitors brought in game-one starter Nicholson, and the sophomore picked up the sixth inning’s final out, before setting down the ‘Dons in order in the bottom of the seventh to pick up her first save of the season.
Amanda Olender picked up the loss, pitching one and two-thirds of an inning in relief, striking out three, and allowing three earned runs. Staschuk started the game, and went three innings, giving up two hits and striking out three before being lifted after a foul ball glanced off her foot during her second at-bat of the game. Cronin came in a pitched the final two and one-third inning of relief, striking out four and allowing just two baserunners, each who got on because of a fielding error.
Cronin was 3-for-4 at the plate for IPFW, with Hopwood going 2-for-3. Hopwood scored three times, with Wolfe driving in five in the loss.
Kori Seiditz improved to 9-12 on the season, giving up nine runs, eight earned, over five and two-thirds of an inning, striking out two and walking four, before Nicholson pitched the final inning and a third. Broshar and Kelsey Lunn each had two hits for the ‘Jacks in the finale, with Tina Winter and Seiditz driving in three.
The Mastodons return to action tomorrow, in the rubber-match of the Summit League three-game series, with first-pitch slated for 11:00 AM.
~Dons~
