March 19, 2008
OSCEOLA, Fla. - The Endicott College softball team won in extra innings for a third game in a row on Wednesday, topping Macalester College 6-5 at Osceola Park in Osceola, Fla.
The Gulls struck first in the bottom of the second inning. After a leadoff single by junior Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass./Triton Regional), and a walk by senior Rachel Pearson (Gales Ferry, Conn/Ledyard), right fielder Casey Shanley (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Taylor Sevigny (Fitchburg, Mass./St. Benard's) then delivered a clutch two-out single, scoring both Sargent and Pearson to give the Gulls a 2-0 lead.
The Scots would eventually get to Endicott starter Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass./Milton) in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Carly Kligensmith (New York, N.Y./Nightingale-Bamford) drove home the first run of the game for Macalester on a fielder's choice, cutting the Endicott lead to 2-1. The Scots may have gotten more if it wasn't for a fine play by shortstop Jenna Lazar (Milton, Mass./Milton), who cut a runner down at the plate with no outs.
Macalester was threatening again in the sixth inning after a double by sophomore Crystal Barriga (Broomfield, Colo./Legacy) put runners on second and third with only one out. Bortolotti was able to get the next batter to pop- out to third, but with two down in the inning shortstop Monica Keaney (Philadelphia, Pa./Friends Select) delivered a single to score both runners and give the Scots their first lead of the game by a score of 3-2.
Things were looking bleak for the Gulls with one out in the bottom of the seventh and the Scots still leading 3-2. Down to their final two outs, freshman Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H./Trinity) strode to the plate for the Gulls and delivered a game-tying home run.
The game went into the eighth tied at three, marking the third straight game EC would need to play extra innings. In the extra frames, both teams begin each inning with a runner placed on second base.
Macalester elected not to bunt the runner over third, and instead sophomore Amanda Cagan (Saratoga, Calif./Monta Vista) smacked a single to left, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Catcher Crystal Barriga then delivered her second double of the game, scoring both runners and giving the Scots a 5-3 advantage.
The Gulls battled back, as senior Danielle Sargent (Sabattus, Maine/Oak Hill) singled, advancing to second when the throw went to third. EC had the tying runs in scoring position with Meghan Sargent coming to bat. The junior backstop came through with a game-tying double, knotting the score at five-all. Sargent would eventually move to third on a fielder's choice before Casey Shanley delivered a game-winning RBI single, making the final score 6-5.
Offensively, the Gulls were led by Meghan Sargent who went 3-4 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a double. First baseman Taylor Sevigny added two hits in three at-bats, including two RBI, while freshman Ashley Wright went 1-2 with the game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh.
Sophomore Olivia Abbott (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain) took the loss for Macalester, dropping to 2-1 overall. Abbott gave up six runs, five of them earned, on ten hits while striking out six over 7 1/3 innings. The Scots offensive attack was led by Crystal Barriga who went 2-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Shortstop Monica Keaney also had two hits, going 2-4 with an RBI in the loss.
