Feb. 22, 2008

Box Score

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - (Friday, February 22, 2008) The Redhawks softball team bounced back from being shutdown in their opening game of the Blues City Classic with a 11-2 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff to save a split during Day One of the Classic. After being no-hit in a 2-0 loss over Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State in their first game, the Redhawks collected 12 hits in their dismantling of the Tigers in game two at Greenbrook Park in Southaven, Mississippi.

The Redhawks (4-3) jumped ahead early and often against the helpless Tigers (0-7) scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. With two outs Megan McDonald (Cape Girardeau, MO/Cape Central) singled followed by a Stacia Dopudja (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic) double. Jennifer Vasquez (Placentia, CA/El Dorado) then plated both infielders with a single. Vasquez would later score on a three-base error by the Tigers first baseman that put Lauren Bradley (Overland Park, KS/Shawnee Mission South) on third. Bradley would then score on yet another Tigers error to give the Redhawks a quick 4-0 advantage.

The Tigers got back two of those runs in their half of the second thanks to two hits and a costly Redhawks error. Again the Redhawks answered with two runs in bottom of the second. After Michelle Summers (Glendale, CA/Hoover) singled with one out, McDonald launched her third homerun of the season with two outs to plate her teammate and give the Redhawks a 6-2 lead.

The bats were not done yet as the Redhawks added four more runs in the third highlighted by a bases-loaded double by Summers that drove in three Redhawks. McDonald again drove in Summers this time with a single for her third hit and third RBI of the game.

In the fourth Freshman Carmen Fowler (Lawrenceville, GA/Collins Hill) collected her seventh RBI of the season when she drove in Ramirez with a two-out double for the final Redhawks run.

Freshman reliever Leigh Leonard (Benton, KY/Marshall County) retired the side in the bottom of the fifth for the 8-run rule victory.

McDonald went a perfect 3-3 with a season-high three RBIs and two runs scored. Summers went 2-3 with three RBIs and two runs as well. Dopudja, Vasquez and Fowler all collected multi-hit games for the Redhawks who banged-out a season-high 12 hits.

Freshman hurler Whitney Dupuis (Sulphur, LA/Sulphur) settled down after a rough first inning to record her first collegiate victory. She pitched three innings allowing two runs (none earned) on only three hits while fanning three.

Leonard was equally impressive in relief as she closed the final two innings not allowing a single hit and striking four of the six batters she faced.

The offense in game two was a welcome change from the nightmare the team experienced in the opening game of the Classic. Morehead State's Kari Quinn had the game of her life against the Redhawks recording hitting a two-run shot off of Elaine Fisher (St. Peters, MO/Francis Howell North) in the opening inning and then heading to the circle and no-hitting the powerful Redhawks bats.

Quinn (2-0) recorded her second no-hitter of the season in the 2-0 win by the Eagles (6-0) and has yet to allow a single run to cross homeplate. The closest the Redhawks got from scoring was the fourth inning when Katie Otterness (Schaumburg, IL/Hoffman Estates) reached on an error to lead-off and eventually made it to third with one out but Quinn got Vasquez to ground out to her and struckout Bradley looking to end the threat.

Fisher (2-2) again was solid for the Redhawks despite the loss. She pitched her thrid complete game of the season allowing only four hits and the two first inning runs.

The Redhawks head back to the diamond again tomorrow for two more games at the Blues City Classic. They take on host Memphis at noon and then take on last year's Blues City Classic Champion Evansville at 2:15 p.m. The game against Memphis can be viewed live on http://gotigersgo.com. The Tigers offer live video access of the game for a fee and live audio will be available as well. All games are also available on gametracker courtesy of CSTV.