St. John's University Athletics
SOFTBALL SPLITS WILD DOUBLEHEADER WITH SETON HALL
4/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Beaver faced the minimum of 21 batters in the first game, striking out 12. Red Storm starter Courtney Fitzgerald pitched a solid game, save three wild pitches which led to two Seton Hall runs. In the bottom of the third, McKenzie Richards laced a 1-0 delivery from Fitzgerald into left-center field passed a diving Jessica Dima for a leadoff double. Richards would come around to score after Fitzgerald uncorked two wild pitches, though she escaped the inning without any further damage on a pair of groundouts to first baseman Ann Raab.
Then in the bottom of the sixth, Mary Carroll Smith lined a one-out basehit up the middle to lead off the inning. Smith then stole second and advanced to third on another wild pitch. After a pop-up by Amy Mellin, Fitzgerald hit cleanup hitter Vickie Lamb on a 3-2 count. With runners on first and third and two out, the Pirates tried a double steal. Smith broke for home and slid in safely but catcher Lisa Tropea fired to second base to nail Lamb for the third out of the inning.
Fitzgerald took the loss for the Red Storm, dropping her to 11-11 overall. She struck out three and scattered five hits while walking none.In the second game, the Red Storm did a complete 180, pounding three Pirate pitchers for a season-high 14 hits. Seton Hall took the early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Red Storm woke up the bats in the bottom of the second on a three-run dinger by second baseman Alesha Argeras. Argeras turned on a 2-2 pitch and launched it over the left-centerfield fence.
SJU would add another run in the bottom of the fourth. Amy Crook led off the inning with a single passed the shortstop. Jessica Shepherd sacrificed her to second, bringing designated player Dima to the plate. Dima lined the first pitch she saw to the shortstop who did not field the ball cleanly and hurried her throw in an attempt to get the speedy Dima. She beat out the throw, which got away from the firstbaseman, allowing Crook to score the fourth run of the game.
The Red Storm broke the game wide open in the fifth inning scoring five runs on four hits and three Pirate errors. Tropea stroked a basehit into right-center to lead off the inning. That brought in a new pitcher, Casey McDevitt, to try and tame the red hot Red Storm bats. After retiring her first batter on a grounder to short, McDevitt allowed the next five consecutive Red Storm hitters to reach. Kelly Houghton ripped a double down the left field line to score Tropea. Then Raab reached on an error by the third baseman Lamb who couldnt come up with the grounder. Cecelia Baston also reached on an identical miscue by the third baseman. That brought up Crook who scorched a 1-2 pitch down the left-field line to plate Raab and Houghton for a 7-2 Red Storm lead.
Baston would come around to score after an error by the catcher as Crook advanced to third. The next batter, Shepherd, drilled an RBI double to left center to score Crook. The Pirates brought in a third pitcher, Barbie LaFogg, to try and stop the bleeding. LaFogg got Dima to pop out to Lamb at third who tagged out Shpeherd to end the inning, but not before the Red Storm went up 9-2.
Smith cranked her second homerun of the game in the bottom of the fifth, this time a two-run shot, which cut the deficit to 9-4. After a quiet sixth inning, St. Johns would rally for another five-run inning in the top of the seventh.
Raab started off the inning with a sharp line drive up the middle. Baston reached on a fielders choice as Raab slid under the force tag. After Crook sacrificed the runners up a base, Shepherd lifted a fly ball to center field, deep enough to score a tagging Raab from third. Dima then stepped up and ripped the first pitch she saw to the opposite field for a basehit, and Baston came around to score the Red Storms 11th run of the game. Argeras kept the inning alive with a single to left. Tropea knocked in Dima with a double to left as Argeras stopped at third. Argeras would come around to score on another error by Lamb, as Tropea moved up to third. Tropea then scored on a wild pitch to make it 14-4.The Pirates added a meaningless run in the bottom of the seventh as the Red Storm came away with the split. Calabrese picked up her 11th win of the season, going four innings, giving up four runs on six hits, while striking out three and walking one. Fitzgerald came in in relief of Calabrese in the fifth inning, and tossed the final three innings, allowing one run on four hits with three Ks and one walk.
In the second game alone, Crook was 3-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored. Argeras went 2-for-5 with a single and homerun, her second of the season. Shepherd and Dima both drove in two runs in the rout.
The Red Storm will return to action on Tuesday April 17 when they travel to Iona College for a makeup double header with the Gaels at 3:00.
