BROOKLYN, N.Y. (May 10, 2008) – Junior hurler Laura Caldwell (Bellefonte, Pa. / Bellefonte) pitched brilliantly after a shaky first inning, while senior Nicole Bender (Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights) and junior Nicole Waligora (Johnstown, Pa. / Westmont Hilltop) provided the offensive spark to lead the third-seeded Saint Francis softball team to a 4-1 upset of No. 2 Robert Morris in the first round of the 2008 Northeast Conference Softball Tournament.
The Red Flash will play tournament-host Long Island, which was a 6-2 winner over No. 4 Wagner, at 5:30 this afternoon.
Caldwell gave up a run on two hits in the first inning, but settled down and only allowed a seventh inning single the rest of the way. She struck out nine and walked one for her 14th victory of the season, moving into fourth place on the school's single-season wins list.
Tied at 1-1 in the top of the seventh inning, Bender provided the spark SFU needed to gain control of the game. She roped the first pitch she saw for a double to the fence in right-centerfield. Sophomore Kelly Cortese (Coatesville, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) laid down a sacrifice bunt and the throw was dropped at first base, allowing Bender to score the go ahead run from second base.
Junior Kelly Slingwine (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland) reached on a fielder's choice and stole second base to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Waligora then laced a two-run, ground-rule double that bounce over the fence in left field to make it 4-1 Red Flash.
Robert Morris took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Lauren Nisivoccia singled, stole second and then scored on an RBI single by Brenna Reed.
The Colonials' sloppy play allowed the Red Flash to tie the game up in the top of the second inning. Junior Hilary McNelis (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) worked a leadoff walk and was pinch-run for by sophomore Christina Aulbach (York, Pa. / Dallastown Area). Aulbach moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, but scored on a pair of RMU miscues. She went to third on a fielding error and then came home on a passed ball to tie it at 1-1.
Caldwell retired 12 straight batters from the end of the first inning until she walked the leadoff hitter in the sixth. But she escaped the inning without any further damage. Reed led off the bottom of the seventh with RMU's first hit since the first inning, but she remained there as Caldwell got two strikeouts and a pop out to give Saint Francis it's first NEC Tournament victory since 2002.
SFU got revenge from a pair of one-run losses earlier this year in Moon Township. The Colonials defeated the Red Flash 4-3 and 5-4 in both teams' Northeast Conference openers back on Mar. 29.
Waligora had two of SFU's five hits in the game.
