TEANECK, N.J. (Apr. 26, 2008) – Junior Laura Caldwell (Bellefonte, Pa. / Bellefonte) appears to be peaking at the right time. The third-year hurler won both ends of a doubleheader to lead the Saint Francis softball team to a critical sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson, 6-2 and 11-2, in Northeast Conference action on Saturday.
The Red Flash have now won eight straight NEC games, which is a school record. Caldwell started both games by pitching 10.0 innings, giving up a total of four runs on seven hits. She struck out 18 batters to give her 144 on the season, which surpassed her previous career high by one. Caldwell now has 392 career strikeouts (second on the career list), and needs seven strikeouts to break the school's single-season record.
Caldwell needed her offense to bail her out in Game 1 after surrendering a pair of solo home runs in the third inning as the Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
But the Red Flash bounced right back with three runs in the top of the fourth. Junior Kelly Slingwine (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland) provided the spark with a leadoff single and a stolen base. Juniors Kara Stroup (Valencia, Pa. / Mars) and Hilary McNelis (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) drew walks to load the bases. All three moved up a base on a passed ball to draw SFU within 2-1. Senior Richele Hall (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside) walked to load the bases again, and freshman Raquel Rugani (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour) took Saint Francis' fourth free pass of the inning to tie the game at 2-2. Sophomore Stephanie Griffin (Dupont, Pa. / Pittston Area) reached on a fielder's choice that plated McNelis to give the Red Flash the lead for good at 3-2.
Slingwine was again the catalyst in a three-run fifth inning. She singled with one out and swiped her second of four bases in the game. Stroup brought her around with an RBI single to make it 4-2. Sophomore Christina Aulback (York, Pa. / Dallastown Area) pinch-ran for Stroup and went to second on a walk by junior Nicole Waligora (Johnstown, Pa. / Westmont Hilltop). Aulbach scored when Waligora got caught in a run down, and McNelis came around to score on an RBI single by Hall to make it 6-2.
Slingwine was 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts in the game to give her a school-record 19 swipes on the season. The previous record was 17 by Siobhan Gerber in 2004.
Sophomore Jerrica Smith (Breezewood, Pa. / Everett) relieved Caldwell in the bottom of the fifth inning and pitched three scoreless innings to pick up the save. She struck out three, walked two and gave up just two hits.
Saint Francis found itself in another tight game in the nightcap, but broke it open in the seventh inning. Senior Nicole Bender (Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights) singled, stole second base and came around to score on an RBI single by sophomore Kelly Cortese (Coatesville, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) to make it 1-0 in the third inning. Stroup led off the fourth inning with her team-leading ninth home run of the season to make it 2-0.
However, Fairleigh Dickinson tied it back up with a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
But just like in the first game, SFU responded to a two-run Knight's inning by scoring in the next half inning. Stroup, who was 4-for-4 in the game, led off the sixth with a single. Freshman Michelle Spisak (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Sto-Rox) pinch-ran and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt before taking third with her second stolen base of the season. She came around to score when Hall reached on an error. Hall then scored on an RBI single by Rugani to make it 4-2.
SFU exploded for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning with seven consecutive hits to start the frame. Slingwine had a two-run single, Stroup had an RBI single, McNelis had a two-run double, and Cortese added a two-run single to make it 11-2.
Caldwell pitched the first six innings of the game and struck out 10 while walking none. She gave up two runs and scattered four hits to pick up her team-high 10th win of the season.
Smith pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief.
Game Notes: Bender had three hits on the day to give her 174 for her career, one shy of the school record. Her 53 hits on the season are tied for third in a single season and are four shy of the school record… Stroup's ninth home run of the season moved her into second place on the school's single-season list.
