LORETTO, Pa. (Apr. 10, 2008) – After falling just short of a comeback in Game 1, the Saint Francis softball team rallied from a five run deficit to defeat Akron 6-5 on a walk-off home run from senior Nicole Bender (Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights) in Game 2 on Thursday at the Red Flash softball field.
The Red Flash bounced back from a 2-0 deficit in Game 1 to tie it back up, but the Zips tallied the game-winner in the top of the seventh inning for a 3-2 win over Saint Francis.
In Game 2, SFU scored six unanswered runs over the final three innings to pull out the victory. Freshman Raquel Rugani (Montour, Pa. / Montour) earned her first career start and slapped her first career hit to start the comeback with a leadoff single in the fifth inning. She was pinch-ran for by freshman Michelle Spisak (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Sto-Rox), who came around to score to make it 5-1 in favor of Akron. Rugani then hit her first career homer, a two-run shot, to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Bender led off the bottom of the seventh inning with her sixth home run of the season to help the Red Flash snap a three-game skid.
The Zips jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on Julie Boyes' fifth home run of the season in the first inning. She drove in Lisa McLean, who singled, with the homer to give Akron the early advantage. Jennifer Stottlemyer doubled and eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0 in the second inning. Lisa McLean was hit by a pitch to lead off the fourth inning and later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0, and Katrina Moffett tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly.
However, Rugani sparked the Saint Francis offense with her leadoff single in the fifth inning. Bender brought Spisak around with an RBI double to make it 5-1 and then came in to score on a sacrifice fly by junior Kara Stroup (Valencia, Pa. / Mars). Sophomore Kelly Cortese (Coatesville, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) singled, went to second on Stroup's sac fly and then came all the way around on a failed pickoff attempt by Akron catcher Deanna McCauley to make it 5-3.
Rugani and Bender then provided the dramatic heroics in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. Sophomore Jerrica Smith (Breezewood, Pa. / Everett) picked up the win with a complete game. She settled down after surrendering the five runs in the first four innings. She struck out one and gave up six hits. She worked out of a jam in the top of the seventh inning as well. She had runners on second and third with two outs, but got a groundout to get out of the jam.
Bender was 3-for-4 and a triple shy of the cycle with two runs scored and two RBIs, Cortese and Rugani also collected two hits each. Rugani had played in just three games as a reserve before getting the starting nod behind the dish.
Defense cost the Red Flash in Game 1 as the Zips jumped on the board with one run in each of the first two innings before recording their first hit of the game. Caldwell walked the first two batters of the game, McLean and Sarah Early, respectively. They then stole second and third base and McLean scored on a sacrifice fly by Julie Boyes to put Akron up 1-0 in the first inning.
Krista Hansen worked a one-out walk in the second inning, stole second base and moved to third base when Stottlemyer reached on an error. She then scored to make it 2-0 in the second inning when Stottlemyer got stuck in a rundown on a stolen base attempt.
Juniors Hilary McNelis (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) and Janelle McCoy (New Paris, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge) belted back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the second inning to pull Saint Francis within 2-1, and McCoy drove in her second run of the afternoon with a solo homer in the fifth inning to pull the Red Flash even at 2-2.
However, Hansen led off the seventh inning with a double and then scored on an errant throw on a sacrifice bunt attempt to give the Zips a 3-2 lead. Cortese made a diving catch at the chalk line in left field to preserve any further damage in top of the seventh.
The Red Flash loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning, but came up empty after Bender smashed a liner right at shortstop Early, who turned a double play. A groundout allowed Akron to escape with the victory.
Earlier in the game, Bender made a diving catch in right-center field to save a run. In the top of the sixth inning, she made another outstanding play by robbing Zips clean-up hitter Katrina Moffett of a home run. Bender was leaning over the straight-away centerfield fence to pull the ball back in for out number one.
