May 9, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Springfield sophomore Amanda Novak (Cos Cob, Conn.) connected on the first pitch of her seventh-inning at bat, cranking a two-run homerun to centerfield to lift the seventh-seeded seeded Pride past fourth-seeded Endicott, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The win advances Springfield (22-23) into Saturday's late game against Rhode Island College, while the loss eliminates Endicott, who ends its season at 38-9.
The Gulls jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead as senior Casey Shanley (Billerica, Mass.) laced a triple off the right field wall, eventually scoring on an RBI bunt single from TCCC Player of the Year Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.). The Pride would escape any further damage as Samantha Rhodes (Mendon, Mass.) got catcher Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass.) to pop up behind home plate, and then got Hayley Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.) to ground out to second.
Springfield got on the board in the top of the fourth as the Pride worked a pinch-hit walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt and then a single by Angela Atkins (East Haddam, Conn.) to put runners on the corners with two outs. The following batter, Amanda Lyons (Eastchester, N.Y.), delivered as she cleared the bases with a two RBI double to center, putting SC ahead, 2-1.
Endicott responded with a single run in both the fourth and the fifth innings, with the go-ahead run coming off a solo homerun to left by junior Jenna Lazar (Milton, Mass.). The shortstop's round-tripper just cleared the fence, as it bounced off the protective barrier around the outfield wall and settled safely on the other side.
The 3-2 lead held up until the top of the seventh, that is until the feel-good story of the tournament struck again. Springfield, the only sub-.500 team in the entire field, led off the frame with a Michelle Wlosek (Nutley, N.J.) single up the middle, setting the stage for Amanda Novak. Novak wasted no time coming through with the heroics, as she belted the first Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) offering to center for a two-run homerun, propelling the Pride to a come-from-behind win.
Casey Shanley closed out her career with an impressive 3-for-4 day at the dish that included a run scored. Springfield's Samantha Rhodes improved to 14-11 with the win while the Gulls' Jenna Bortolotti ends her season with a 21-5 overall record.
