YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (Apr. 23, 2008) – Junior Kelly Slingwine (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland) hit two home runs, but it wasn't enough as Youngstown State used a seven-run fourth inning to take control and complete a doubleheader sweep of the Saint Francis softball team, 4-3 and 11-3, on Wednesday afternoon.
Slingwine hit a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third inning of Game 2 to give the Red Flash a 3-1 lead, but the Penguins responded with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the bottom of the fifth to put the eight-run mercy rule in effect.
Youngstown State 4, Saint Francis 3
Saint Francis fell behind early and couldn't muster enough offense to overcome the deficit in a 4-3 Game 1 loss.
Kristin Bair had an RBI double and McKenzie Bedra added an RBI single to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Katy Potokar made it 4-0 with a two-run home run to left-center field in the third inning.
The Red Flash were held without a hit for the first three innings until junior Kara Stroup (Valencia, Pa. / Mars) singled to centerfield to lead off the fourth inning. However, a groundout and double play prevented SFU from doing any damage in the frame.
Saint Francis put together a rally in the seventh inning that fell just shy of tying the game. Junior Nicole Waligora (Johnstown, Pa. / Westmont Hilltop) led off with a double before being pinch-ran for by freshman Michelle Spisak (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Sto-Rox). Spisak went to third base on a wild pitch, and freshman Raquel Rugani (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour) then came in to pinch-hit and worked a walk to put runners on the corners with one out. Rugani stole second base, allowing Spisak to score on the throw and senior Richele Hall (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside) followed by belting her second homer of the season into left-center to make it 4-3. But the Red Flash went down on a foul out and a strike out to end the game.
Four different players collected all four of SFU's hits in the game. Junior Laura Caldwell (Bellefonte, Pa. / Bellefonte) surrendered four runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking none.
