MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (Mar. 29, 2008) - The Saint Francis softball team repeatedly bounced back from deficits, but couldn't get over the hump as Robert Morris handed the Red Flash a pair of tough one run losses in both teams' Northeast Conference openers on Saturday in Moon Township.
Saint Francis tied Game 1 twice in the late innings, but a pair of sixth inning solo home runs handed the Red Flash a 4-3 defeat.
Junior Kara Stroup (Valencia, Pa. / Mars) hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning of Game 2 to pull SFU within 5-4, but the Red Flash stranded the tying run on second base in the seventh inning to finish the day with a pair of gut-wrenching losses.
Senior Nicole Bender (Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights) hit two solo home runs on the day, one in each game, to give her four on the season. It also broke her tie with Autumn Helsel for second place on the school's all-time list, giving her 21 in her stellar career.
Game 1: Robert Morris 4, Saint Francis 3
The Colonials took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a leadoff home run by Brenna Reed. That would be all of the scoring until the top of the fifth inning when Saint Francis manufactured a run. Sophomore Kelly Cortese (Coatesville, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) led off with an infield single. She wound up on third base after stealing second and then taking third base on a wild pitch. Junior Kelly Slingwine (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland) tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI groundout.
However, three singles gave Robert Morris a brief 2-1 lead in the fifth inning. Stacy Davidson did the damage with an RBI single to centerfield.
Junior Richele Hall (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside) belted an RBI double to plate freshman Michelle Spisak (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Sto-Rox) in the top of the sixth inning. Spisak came in to pinch run for junior Hilary McNelis (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone), who singled to start the rally.
But Reed hit her second homer of the day, and Brooke Panepinto belted another solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Robert Morris a 4-2 lead. Bender hit her 20th career home run in the top of the seventh inning, but SFU stranded the tying run on first base as the Colonials took Game 1, 4-3.
McNelis was 2-for-2 in the game. Junior Laura Caldwell (Bellefonte, Pa. / Bellefonte) gave up four runs on 10 hits and struck out seven in the complete game.
Game 2: Robert Morris 5, Saint Francis 4
The Red Flash opened the scoring in Game 2 when Bender hit her second home run of the day, and fourth of the year, in the top of the third inning. But the Colonials broke through with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Susan Perich had a two-run single, while Jessica Calderone added an RBI single and Kristin McDaniel drew a bases loaded walk to make it 4-1 RMU.
Panepinto singled to centerfield in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Colonials a 5-1 lead, but Saint Francis wasn't finished.
Sophomore Stephanie Griffin (Dupont, Pa. / Pittston Area) singled with one out to start the rally and came in to score on Cortese's RBI double. Stroup then stroked her fifth home run of the season to pull SFU within 5-4 in the sixth inning. But Robert Morris got out of the inning without any further damage and then stranded SFU's tying run at second base to end the game in the seventh inning.
Cortese was 3-for-4 in the game with a double, and Griffin was 3-for-3. Junior Nicole Waligora (Johnstown, Pa. / Westmont Hilltop) collected two hits. Sophomore Jerrica Smith (Breezewood, Pa. / Everett) surrendered all five runs on 11 hits and struck out one in 6.0 innings of work.
