Purdue Fort Wayne
3-0
Western Carolina
1-3
Mastodons Earn North Carolina A&T Title, Cronin named MVP
2/27/2011 9:59:21 PM | Softball
IPFW vs. WESTERN CAROLINA | IPFW vs. PRESBYTERIAN (Game 1) | IPFW vs. PRESBYTERIAN (Game 2)
Greensboro, NC – The IPFW Mastodons capped off the North Carolina A&T Invitational with a 4-0-1 record, and was the only team in the field without a loss, as the team swept past Western Carolina 2-0 and Presbyterian 5-0, before seeing the final game of the tournament stopped after six innings because of darkness in a 4-4 tie.
Courtney Cronin, who threw her third shutout in her third outing of the season, was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Rachel Staschuk.
In the opener of the day against Western Carolina, a 2-0 win, the Mastodons scored in each of the first two innings, the first coming when Kristina Karpun doubled home Staschuk, who opened the game with a single to center field.
An inning later Ashley Bousquet opened the inning with a single, before being sacrificed to second by sister Alex Bousquet, and after a single by Brittany Kachur, the first Bousquet scored on a throwing error by the Catamount center fielder, giving IPFW an added cushion with a 2-0 lead.
The Mastodons put runners on first and second with one out in the fourth inning, but could not bring the runner home, and saw another runner reach second base in the sixth inning, only to be left stranded.
The extra run was unnecessary, however, as Staschuk, in her debut in the circle this season, was outstanding over her seven innings, allowing just three hits, walking one, while striking out 10 and allowing just one baserunner to reach second base.
Each of IPFW's six hits came from different batters in the game, as Karpun had the game's only extra-base hit with a run-scoring double in the first inning.
In the day's second game, a 5-0 win over Presbyterian, Cronin pitched her third straight shutout to open the 2011 season, and the team's fourth overall shutout, striking out three while allowing just three hits over the seven innings of work.
After a scoreless first two innings, the Mastodons crossed the plate when Sarah Swanson and Sara Hopwood opened the inning with back-to-back singles, before the former was driven home by a single up the middle from Karpun, pushing IPFW to a 1-0 lead.
Two more scoreless innings passed before the 'Dons put up three runs in the top of the sixth inning, two coming on an Alex Bousquet double that drove in Kirsten Rohn and Cassie Wolfe. Bousquet was pushed across the plate later in the inning on a groundout by Hopwood, giving the Mastodons a 4-0 advantage in the contest.
Another insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, when Alex Bousquet drove in Amber Pierce with a bases-loaded fielder's choice gave IPFW a 5-0 lead in the game. Cronin closed the game by allowing just one hit in the bottom of the seventh, to drive her record to 3-0 on the young season.
Three players, Karpun, Ashleigh Bousquet, and Swanson were each 2-for-4, as Bousquet drove in three.
In the darkness shortened finale, the Mastodons scored first with an Ashley Bousquet RBI double to left field, chasing home Karpun, who walked earlier in the frame.
In the top of the second inning, IPFW gave up its first runs of the season, and allowed another run in the third inning and two more in the fourth to put the Mastodons in a 4-1 hole through three and a half innings of gameplay.
The Mastodons closed the gap in the bottom of the fifth inning when Karpun hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Hopwood, closing the gap to two at 4-2. A batter later Cronin hit her first home run of the season, scoring herself and Staschuk, tying the game at four runs apiece.
Neither team would get a baserunner in the sixth inning, as the game was called because of darkness in a 4-4 tie.
The Mastodons used three pitchers in the game, with Amanda Olender getting the start, going 2.2 innings and striking out three while giving up a pair of earned runs. Megan Flenniken, in her IPFW debut, gave up a pair of runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning of work, before Staschuk closed out the game by striking out four in 2.2 innings, allowing two hits and walking one.
Cronin drove in a pair on her home run in the fifth inning, as each of the team's four hits have come for four different batters.
The Mastodons next take to the field on March 4, when the squad travels to Fullerton, California, to compete in the DeMarini Invitational, where the squad will face off against California, Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara, Iowa, and Northwestern.
~Dons~
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Staschuk, Rachel (2-0)
L: Steinhardt (1-2)
Batting:
SH: Scotton 1
Base Running:
HBP: Steinhardt 1
Batting:
2B: Karpun, Kristina 1
RBI: Karpun, Kristina 1
SH: Bousquet, Alex 1 ; Swanson, Sarah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Staschuk, Rachel 1 ; Bousquet, Ashleigh 1
