Posted: Mar 19, 2010
Box Score vs. Illinois Wesleyan
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Endicott College softball team wrapped up the southern part of its schedule with an impressive win over No. 22 Illinois Wesleyan, 7-5, in 11 innings of play. The Gulls dropped their first game of the day, 6-2, to Millikin University. Endicott finished off the Rebel Spring Games at 5-5 overall after splitting a double-header on every day this week.
Millikin built a 3-0 lead through the first three innings of play before Endicott struck for their first run in the top of the fourth. \#Hayley Hovhanessian\# (Farmington, Conn.) hit an RBI single to shortstop that scored \#Merry MacDonald\# (Braintree, Mass.) to make it a 3-1 game. However, the Big Blue posted three runs in their half of the inning to put the game out of reach for good.
The Gulls were held to only five hits in the game led by \#Merry MacDonald\#’s 2-for-3 performance with a run scored. Hovhanessian, \#Megan Downey\# (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) and \#Krista Fales\# (Melrose, Mass.) had the other three hits for Endicott. \#Jenna Bortolotti\# (Milton, Mass.) suffered the setback for the Gulls, going six innings and giving up six earned runs on seven hits while walking five and striking out five.
Cora Jeffers (Sherman, Ill.) and Kathleen Campbell (Harrisburg, Ill.) had two hits apiece for Millikin while Campbell added three RBI. Whitney Schafman (Taylor Ridge, Ill.) picked up the win for the Big Blue by going seven innings and giving up two earned runs on five hits while striking out six.
In game two, Endicott jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the first as the Gulls manufactured a pair of runs via an illegal pitch call and a sacrifice fly from Hovhanessian. Illinois Wesleyan tied the game at two in the top of the fifth as Allison Ward (Bloomington, Ill.) drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single up the middle.
Both teams remained scoreless through the seventh inning and the game spilled into extra innings. Illinois Wesleyan struck first, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the eighth on a pair of RBI singles from Jen Monaco (Geneva, Ill.) and Jaci Forsythe (Manito, Ill.). The Gulls responded in their half of the eighth as \#Sarah Spaziano\# (Norton, Mass.) scored on a passed ball and \#Merry MacDonald\# picked up a sacrifice fly to tie the game at four.
The two teams went scoreless in the ninth inning but the Titans grabbed a run in the top of the 10th as Christy Engel (St. Charles, Ill.) scored on an error by \#Jenna Lazar\# (Milton, Mass.). Endicott capitalized on a Titan miscue to start the inning as \#Jill Wiseman\# (Holden, Mass.) came around to score on an error by the first baseman, leaving the score tied at 5-all.
\#Kayla Carignan\# (Laconia, N.H.) retired Illinois Wesleyan in order in the top of the 11th giving the Gulls the chance to win it in their half of the inning. MacDonald was placed on second to start the inning and was sacrificed over to third by Hovhanessian. Endicott’s \#Ashley Wright\# (Merrimack, N.H.) then stepped to the plate and cranked a two-run walk-off homerun to help the Gulls defeat the \#22-ranked Titans, 7-5.
Wright and \#Megan Downey\# had three hits apiece to lead the Gulls. \#Kayla Carignan\# improved to 5-0 this season by pitching 11 innings and giving up three earned runs on nine hits with four strikeouts.
The Blue and Green return home now and will travel to Dudley, Mass. for a TCCC double-header with Nichols College starting at 3:00 p.m. on March 24th.
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