March 30, 2008

Game One Box Score|Game Two Box Score

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - (Sunday, March 30, 2008) The Redhawks softball team avenged a tough loss yesterday afternoon against Ohio Valley Conference opponent Austin Peay with a doubleheader sweep at Lady Govs Field on Sunday. The Redhawks banged out 24 hits and scored 21 runs in dominating the Lady Govs by scores of 12-0 and 9-4 in winning their second-straight OVC series.

Senior ace Elaine Fisher (St. Peters, MO/Francis Howell North) was the catalyst for the sweep as she won both games while pitching a combined eight innings of shutout softball in the two games including a complete game one-hitter in the opening game. It was her third career one-hitter and second this season.

Making her 18th start of the season for the Redhawks (15-17, 5-6 OVC) her only misstep was a lead-off single by Ashley Taylor in the fourth inning by that was just out of the reach of shortstop Megan McDonald (Cape Girardeau, MO/Cape Central). No Lady Govs (5-20, 2-8 OVC) made it pass first base as Fisher finished her 15th start of the season allowing that lone hit with one walk while striking out two.

The Redhawks offense made it easy for Fisher as they shortened the game via run rule. The highlight was a nine-run first inning that set the tone for both games.

Michelle Summers (Glendale, CA/Hoover) walked to start the game and moved into scoring position on a Meagan Williams passed ball. Jennifer Vasquez (Placentia, CA/El Dorado) recorded an infield single that moved Summers to third. McDonald then lasered a double to left center that scored Summers.

An error by the Lady Govs shortstop on a Stacia Dopudja (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic) grounder plated Vasquez. Lauren Bradley (Overland Park, KS/Shawnee Mission South) then singled to left center to score McDonald and knocking Williams out of the game for the Lady Govs. Reliever Ashley Elrod fared no better as allowed a Alex Ramirez (Corona, CA/El Modena) single to load the bases with no outs.

Freshman Carmen Fowler (Lawrenceville, GA/Collins Hill) then singled to right to drive in Dopudja and keeping the bases loaded for the Redhawks. Elrod then pluncked Katie Otterness (Schaumburg, IL/Hoffman Estates) to force Bradley home.

Eventually Summers came back up to the plate for the second time in the inning and drilled a one-out single to knock in Fowler and Ramirez. Teammate McDonald matched her with a single to left with two-outs to score Summers and Otterness for the final runs of the inning.

For good measure the Redhawks added two runs in the fourth and one run in the fifth. In the fourth Bradley scored on a throwing error by Krista Henke and Otterness doubled to right with two outs to score Ramirez. The fifth saw Vasquez, who reached on her third hit of the day, score on Dopudja's single to center.

Eight of the Redhawks starting fielders collected hits with the 2-3-4 hitters combining for seven of the team's 12 hits. Vasquez collected her first three-hit game of the season with a 3-4 performance and scored two runs.

McDonald went 2-4 with three RBIs and Dopudja matched her and drove in one run. Summer reached base three times in four plate appearances with one single and two walks, she drove in two and scored twice.

For Fisher it was her fifth shutout of the season and the 17th of her career moving her into a fifth place tie with Chris Engelhardt in career shutouts.

In game two the Redhawks actually trailed 4-2 until yet another huge inning by the offense as the Redhawks struck for seven runs in the third inning for the deciding runs before the game was called after the fifth inning due to inclement weather.

In the third McDonald led off with a single to left and moved to second on Dopudja's walk. Summers was forced out on a fielder's choice and Dopudja was later forced out as well on fielder's choice. Bradley and Ramirez replaced them as runners due to the force outs. Fowler then walked to load the bases with two outs. Otterness collected her second RBI of the day due to getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded this time forcing home Bradley.

Allie Borowiak (Nashville, IL/John A. Logan CC) collected her first hit of the series with a two-run single to plate Ramirez and Fowler and give the Redhawks the lead 5-4. Summers the was hit by a pitch, the second time in the inning Williams hit a batter, to load the bases again. Vasquez then doubled to left to drive in Borowiak and Otterness. McDonald, who started the inning with a single, collected her second hit of the inning with a single into the left center gap to score Vasquez and Summers for the final runs of the game.

From there it was all Fisher as she came in to relieve Redhawks starter Whitney Dupuis (Sulphur, LA/Sulphur) in the bottom of the third and shutdown the Lady Govs. She only yielded two hits in three innings of work. Fisher collected her 10th win of the season and for the second time this season she collected two wins in one day.

The Redhawks scored first in game two with a run in the first inning off the bat of Dopudja who singled in McDonald. The Lady Govs matched the Redhawks with a run in their half of the first.

In the second the Redhawks again scored a run this time Summers drove in Ramirez with a single for a temporary 2-1 lead. The Lady Govs answered with a three-run second inning off of Dupuis to gain their first and only lead of the two games played on Sunday but that was quickly erased by the Redhawks seven-run third.

Three Redhawks collected multi-hit games led by McDonald who went 3-4 with her 40th career double which placed her in a tie with Shelly Trieb and Chris Shetley for second on the career doubles chart. It was also her team-high sixth three-hit game of the season and her 12th multi hit game of the season. She also scored a run and drove in two.

Vasquez collected her eighth multi-hit game of the season going 2-4 with a double and two RBIs. Ramirez went 2-3 with two runs scored.

Summers went 1-3 and set a personal milestone as she scored her 150th run of her career which ranks first all-time.

Bradley saw her team-high eight game hitting streak snapped going 0-3 in game two.

Williams (0-10) received her second loss of the day for the Lady Govs allowing nine runs on 10 hits in three innings.

The Redhawks return to the Southeast Softball Complex this weekend as they begin a five-game homestand starting with an OVC series with Tennessee State. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 5 starting at 1:00 p.m. before concluding the series at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Redhawks are a perfect 4-0 at home this season.