CRESSON, Pa. (Apr. 14, 2008) – Junior Laura Caldwell (Bellefonte, Pa. / Bellefonte) tossed her first career no-hitter and struck out a career high 11 batters to lead the Saint Francis softball team to a thrilling 1-0 walk-off victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader sweep against Central Connecticut State on Monday afternoon on the campus of Mount Aloysius College.
The Bellefonte, Pa. native then entered Game 2 of the twinbill with runners on second and third with one out in the sixth inning, and struck out the next two batters on her way to her first save of the season in a 6-3 Red Flash victory.
The wins improved Saint Francis to 14-26 overall and 5-5 in the Northeast Conference. SFU has now won five straight games for the first time since the 2005 season. It will be looking for its first six-game win streak since the 2001 season when the Flash travel to Canisius for a 3 p.m. contest on Tuesday.
Monday's doubleheader also kicked off a busy week on the schedule as the Red Flash will travel to Canisius for a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday. They will also hit the road for a twinbill at Cleveland State at 3 p.m. on Thursday, and then Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth visit for NEC doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Caldwell was outstanding all afternoon. She walked two batters in the first inning, and the leadoff hitter reached on an error in the second inning, but she was perfect the rest of the way, retiring the final 18 batters she faced. After her second walk with one out in the first inning, Caldwell retired 20 of the final 21 batters she faced. She struck out the side in the second and fifth innings, and struck out two batters in two other innings in the contest.
However, the no-hitter was not official until the game ended, and senior Richele Hall (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside) made sure it ended in regulation as the teams were locked in a scoreless tie heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Junior Hilary McNelis (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) crushed a leadoff double to the right field fence, and was taken out of the game for pinch-runner Michele Spisak (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Sto-Rox). Spisak moved to third base when junior Janelle McCoy (New Paris, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge) reached on a throwing error on her sacrifice bunt attempt. Hall then slapped a liner into centerfield to hand SFU the 1-0 victory.
Caldwell worked out of a mini jam in the first inning after walking two batters. Karen Costes and Erin Kelley both worked walks after fouling off several pitches to put runners on first and second with one out. But Caldwell buckled down and got clean-up hitter Jacki Logan to foul out to first base and Kendall Sours popped back up to Caldwell to end the threat.
The Red Flash also threatened in their half of the first inning. Cortese slapped a one-out single into centerfield and promptly stole second base. She moved to third base when Slingwine reached on a strike out passed ball. Slingwine stole second base, but both runners were stranded at their respective bases when CCSU pitcher Rachel Brenneman got a strike out and a groundout to escape the jam.
Blue Devil's catcher Katherine Knowles reached on an error to start the second inning, then moved to second base on a passed ball and stole third base. But Caldwell struck out the side, including two looking, to prevent any damage.
The closest CCSU came to a hit all day might have resulted in the play of the day. A soft liner with plenty of backspin was hit towards Hall at third base. The senior on the hot corner came running in and made a diving catch to prevent a possible hit.
Saint Francis 6, Central Connecticut State 3
Sophomore Jerrica Smith (Breezewood, Pa. / Everett) started Game 2 and struggled in the first inning before settling down. She pitched 5.1 innings and picked up her team-high seventh win of the season. Caldwell relieved her when she ran into a bit of trouble in the sixth inning and escaped a jam on her way to her first save of the season.
The Blue Devils didn't wait long for their first hit of the day, or to score their first run in the second game. Karen Costes led off the game with a hard single up the middle, and then the Red Flash defense made a couple mistakes to allow CCSU to score two runs. Melissa Pelletier reached on an error to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Erica Koehler then hit a double to the warning track in centerfield that allowed Costes to score from second base. The throw from centerfield went to third base and then a pickoff attempt at second base allowed Pelletier to score to make it 2-0 CCSU.
But the Saint Francis offense carried the momentum of the Game 1 win into the second contest. Sophomore Kelly Cortese (Coatesville, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) lined a one-out single into centerfield and came around to score on a double down the left field line by junior Kelly Slingwine (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland). Junior Kara Stroup (Valencia, Pa. / Mars) then followed with an RBI line drive single to right field to tie the game at 2-2. It was her team-leading 25th RBI of the season. McNelis then bashed her team-leading 11th double of the season to plate Slingwine and give SFU a 3-2 edge.
Bender recorded her first outfield assist of the season to save a would-be game-tying run in the top of the fourth inning. With Jess Caron on first base after a one-out single, Sara Budrick hit a double to the fence in centerfield. Bender came up firing to Slingwine at second base, and Slingwine fired a perfect relay to Stroup at home plate to nail Caron for the second out of the inning.
The Red Flash manufactured a run to make it 4-2 in the fourth inning. For the second straight game, McNelis reached first base on catcher's interference. Sophomore Christina Aulbach (York, Pa. / Dallastown Area) came in to run for her, and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Stephanie Griffin (Dupont, Pa. / Pittston Area). She then moved to third base on a groundout and scored on a passed ball.
The Blue Devils mounted a come back in the sixth inning with Erica Koehler and Kendall Sours starting the inning with back-to-back singles. Mel Caron reached on a fielder's choice that moved Sours to second base, while Koehler was tagged out by Slingwine between second base and third base for the first out of the inning. But Jess Caron's double down the left field line plated Sours to make it 4-3 and put runners on second and third base with just one out. SFU head coach Sabrina Lane relieved Smith on the mound with Caldwell, and the move paid dividends. Caldwell struck out the next two batters to end the threat and preserve the lead for the Red Flash.
Back-to-back one out fielding errors came back to haunt the Blue Devils in the bottom of the sixth inning. Griffin and freshman Raquel Rugani (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour) both reached on errors and then came around to score on a double by senior Nicole Bender (Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights) to give Saint Francis a commanding 6-3 lead with three outs to go.
Caldwell finally gave up a hit to leadoff the top of the seventh inning, but then retired the next three batters, two by strikeouts, to end the game.
In total, Caldwell gave up just one hit, struck out 15, walked two and did not allow a run in 8.2 innings of work.
Slingwine went 3-for-5 with two doubles, one run scored, one RBI and a stolen base, McNelis was 2-for-4 with two doubles, and Cortese was 3-for-7.
Notes: Due to a saturated playing surface at Red Flash Softball Field, the games were played at nearby Mount Aloysius College in Cresson. The administration and grounds crew of Mount Aloysius scrambled to prepare the fields for play on last-minute notice… Caldwell's previous career-best outing was a two-hit shutout against Morgan State on Mar. 7, which was a 3-0 SFU victory. She had never struck out more than nine batters in a game before Game 1 today… McNelis' 11 doubles on the season are tied for fifth most in a single-season at Saint Francis… Slingwine's stolen base gave her 12 on the season, moving her into a tie for fourth on the school's single-season list. It tied her career high of 12 thiefs from last season, and also moved her into sole possession of third place on the school's all-time list with 26… Bender's double gave her 28 for her career, moving her into a tie for third place on the school's all-time list. Her two RBIs gave her 83 for her career, moving her into a tie for fourth place on the program's all-time list.
