Softball Drops Two at Saint Francis on Saturday
The Blue Devils will take the field again tomorrow at noon at Robert Morris.
The Central Connecticut softball team dropped a pair of contest on the road in Loretto, PA to Saint Francis U. on Saturday. A walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning put away the CCSU 2-1 in the first game of its doubleheader and the Red Flash took game two 9-2.
CCSU moves to 14-25 on the year and 5-5 in the Northeast Conference and the Red Flash move on to 28-17 and remain unbeaten at 8-0 in the league. Central will look to get back on the winning track tomorrow with a doubleheader at Robert Morris beginning at noon.
GAME ONE
Senior Brittany Camara led off the game with a single through the left side of the diamond and advanced to second base with her 12th stolen base of the season. SFU's ace Abby Trahan then gave junior Kaitlin Paterson a free pass to first base and allowed Camara to move to third base on a wild pitch. Trahan was able to get out of the inning unharmed.
The Blue Devils took the first lead of the game in the top of the third inning off the bat of freshman Sydney Bolan who hit a tough grounder to SFU's shortstop. Paterson who reached the base path on her second walk of the day cruised in to score from third base.
Silverman pitched through one and a half cycles of the Red Flash lineup before giving up her first hit of the game to Mikayla Bower in the bottom of the fourth inning. With runners on first and second, SFU's Taylor Hoover gave her team the lead on a RBI-single through the left side of the infield.
The Red Flash would then take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a solo-homerun to center field.
Following CCSU's one run in the bottom of the third, Trahan settled in and collected three straight one-two-three innings.
In the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Giulianna Hathaway ignited the game-tying rally with a lead-off double that was ripped down the left field line. Senior Tori Constantin then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Hathaway to third base.
Sophomore Emily Cronin then earned a walk, putting runners on first and third with one out. Senior Brittany Camara delivered a game-tying sacrifice fly to center field.
The Red Flash responded with a lead-off triple to center field in the bottom of the seventh and sealed the win with a walk-off homer to right field from their clean-up hitter, Sierra McKee.
Silverman struck out five SFU hitters in her 11 complete game of the year and gave up seven hits as she falls to 4-8 on the season and 3-2 in the NEC. Trahan ended game one with nine strikeouts and improved to 21-11 on the season and 5-0 in the league.
GAME TWO
SFU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning off a two-run homer to left field. The Blue Devils answered in the top of the second, scoring a run on a wild pitch from SFU's pitcher.
Hannah Norton collected her second homer of the game in her next at bat in the bottom of the second inning giving Saint Francis a 6-1 lead off the grand slam.
Senior pitcher Emily Sargent retired the Red Flash side in order in the bottom of the third and gave CCSU momentum. The Blue Devils scored another run off a grounder from Junior Kerri Dadalski, but that would prove to be as close as Central would get to making an impressive comeback.
SFU tabbed two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on two more homeruns, bringing its total to four jacks in the game.
Sargent struck out five hitters in six innings of work and 7-11 on the season and 2-2 in the NEC.
