Freshman pitcher Katy Hackett |
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Hackett Tosses Shutout as Charlotte Sweeps Saint Louis
April 12, 2008
Saint Louis, Mo. - Behind throwing a two-hitter shutout for her 11th win of the season and getting the save in relief for sophomore Emily Jeffery, freshman pitcher Katy Hackett led the Charlotte 49ers to sweep conference foe Saint Louis (15-25-1; A-10: 6-6) 2-0, 5-4 Saturday afternoon at The Billiken Sports Center. The 49ers, who have won four consecutive conference games, move to 25-20 overall, 7-3 in the Atlantic 10.
Junior shortstop Cee Brook's solo home run to left center in the fourth gave Charlotte the only run it needed to put the Billikens away in game one. Freshman Katy Hackett stymied the Billiken offense, striking out nine and walking one while giving up her two lone hits on singles to Caitlin Trevillayn and Rachel O'Connell. With two errors, the ace only faced five Billiken base runners in seven complete innings.
The 49ers chalked up their second run of the contest in the top of the seventh when they loaded the bases on a pair of singles from junior third baseman Jenny Rumbles and freshman outfielder Whitney Williams sandwiched around a Saint Louis error which advanced junior second baseman Sarah Malene. The Billikens got their first out on a force out at the plate, but junior catcher Jaime West followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in the Charlotte run.
Senior outfielder Emily Forbes and junior first baseman Alyssa Kemmerer added to the 49er offensive attack, contributing one hit apiece to the eight-hit game tally.
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In game two, after trading the lead back and forth, the 49ers broke through with the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh as Williams singled an scored on a three-base error to give Charlotte the 5-4 edge. Jeffery took the win for the 49ers, moving to 13-8 in the circle for the season and striking out five, while Hackett was credited with her third collegiate save.
The Billikens took the early lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single to put Saint Louis up 1-0, but sophomore utility Keri Palma helped the 49ers even things up at 1-1 with a home run to center field in the top of the second. Saint Louis retrieved the one-run edge in the third off a two-base error, but the Billiken lead was short-lived once against when Charlotte brought in three runs in the fourth when a Brooks fly ball to left field was misplayed, scoring Brooks, Palma and freshman pinch runner Kendra McCall for the 4-2 lead. While an error-filled sixth inning allowed Saint Louis to knot the score at 4-4, Williams' unanswered two-out RBI single would push Charlotte ahead permanently.
Charlotte returns to action Tuesday when the team hosts ACC rival NC State at the D.L. Phillips Complex at 4 p.m.
