Charlotte Falls Short 7-4 to Temple in Extra Innings
May 3, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - Despite a single to left field by freshman outfielder Whitney Williams in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into eight innings, the Charlotte 49ers (31-28; A-10: 11-7) fell 7-4 to conference foe Temple (16-21; 5-15) Saturday afternoon at the D.L. Phillips Softball Complex. With her game-tying run, junior second baseman Sarah Malene collected her 43rd run of the season, shattering her previous program single season record of 42 set in the 2006 campaign.
Williams led Charlotte offensively with two hits and an RBI, while junior designated player Jaime West tallied one of each in the contest. Sophomore outfielder Serena Smith, sophomore utility Keri Palma and junior third baseman Jenny Rumbles rounded out the bats for the 49ers, each contributing one hit apiece.
Freshman Katy Hackett took the loss in the circle, moving her season record, after coming in for 1.2 innings of relief for sophomore starter Emily Jeffery (16-11).
After senior outfielder Emily Forbes was left on third in the bottom of the second, Charlotte struck in the third, opening scoring with a West RBI single that sent home Smith from second base. The Owls answered quickly, gaining a two-run lead in the fourth with a three-run Metzler homer to left center. The 49ers whittled the advantage to one in the fifth, though, when Rumbles scored when Smith reached first on a fielding error by the Temple shortstop, before Temple scored on an error in the top of the seventh.
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Charlotte capitalized in the bottom of the inning when Rumbles singled to first base and Malene walked before Williams brought both home with an RBI single and two-base outfield error. The 49ers nearly took the game with Williams on third, but a Smith ground out and West strikeout ended the inning.
With two outs, Hackett nearly ended the top of the eight with just one runner on base, but an RBI single to left center and extra base on the throw would give the Owls an one-run lead before they pushed it to three on a 2 RBI double to left field. Charlotte was unable to answer in the bottom of the inning with a strikeout and pair of ground outs.
The 49ers conclude their regular season slate tomorrow with a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's at noon before preparing the host the 2008 A-10 Tournament Wednesday-Saturday.
