April 26, 2008

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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Saturday, April 26, 2008) The Redhawks softball team won yet another game in the final inning to preserve a split with Ohio Valley Conference opponent Tennessee-Martin at the Southeast Softball Complex on Saturday afternoon. Tied at five runs apiece the Redhawks scored the winning run in unusual fashion to take game one 6-5 before falling to the Skyhawks 5-2 in the final game of the day.

Katie Otterness (Schaumburg, IL/Hoffman Estates) led off the bottom of the seventh inning in the opener with a single to left field. Designated player Whitney Dupuis (Sulphur, LA/Sulphur) beat out a sacrifice bunt to give the Redhawks runners at first and second with no outs. Michelle Summers (Glendale, CA/Hoover) then launched a deep fly ball to left-center that looked to be a walk-off three-run homer, instead it turned out to be a 200-foot single that bounced off the bottom of the fence. Otterness paused at second and raced to third, while Dupuis got hung-up between second and third. She wisely got caught-up in the rundown allowing Otterness to score the winning run.

This prompted Skyhawks (25-24, 9-9 OVC) Head Coach Donley Canary to question the winning run, arguing that Dupuis had passed Otterness on the base paths. His argument was to no avail and the Redhawks (24-24, 11-12 OVC) escaped with their third final inning victory of the season.

The Skyhawks struck first with runs off of Redhawks ace Elaine Fisher (St. Peters, MO/Francis Howell North) in the first and second inning for a quick 2-0 lead. Summers answered with her team-high 13th homerun of the season in the third inning. Her shot to left field made it a 2-1 game.

In the fourth the Redhawks grabbed the lead when Carmen Fowler (Lawrenceville, GA/Collins Hill) led off with a single. She was forced out at second on Otterness' fielder's choice. Dupuis singled through the left side to move Otterness to second. Summers did the same to load the bases. Jennifer Vasquez (Placentia, CA/El Dorado) then lied out for the second out of the inning. Megan McDonald (Cape Girardeau, MO/Cape Central) followed that with a double to right-center to plate Otterness and Dupuis to make it 3-2.

The Skyhawks got those runs back plus one in the fifth inning highlighted by a Megan Williams homerun, the second Skyhawks homerun off of Fisher in the game. Dupuis came in to relieve Fisher and pitched 3.0 innings of shutout ball to help the Redhawks stay in the game.

The Redhawks rally started in the seventh thanks in part to two Skyhawk errors. Vasquez led-off with her second hit of the game. McDonald then lifted a high fly ball that Skyhawks centerfielder Megan Williams lost in the sun and let fall at the warning track for a long single. With one out Lauren Bradley (Overland Park, KS/Shawnee Mission South) grounded to the third baseman Megan Van Arsdale who tagged third to force out Vasquez and threw to first to attempt to get Bradley on a double-play. Instead her throw went high over the first baseman's head. The rightfielder backed up the play and attempted to throw out McDonald who was attempting to move to third on the error. Instead her throw was errant and allowed McDonald to score and Bradley to move to second.

Lindsey Woodworth (Sparta, IL/Sparta) came in to pinch run for Bradley and scored on an Alex Ramirez (Corona, CA/El Modena) double to left center to knot the game at five runs apiece and setting up the eighth-inning dramatics.

Fisher re-entered in the top of the eighth and pitched around a one out two runners on base situation to record her 19th win of the season despite allowing five runs on 10 hits in five innings.

Ashton Strode (10-7) received the loss for the Skyhawks who did not help their pitching staff as they stranded 14 baserunners in the game.

Four Redhawks collected multi-hit games. Summers and McDonald each went 3-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. For Summers it was her team-high 19th multi-hit game of the season. McDonald recorded her 17th multi-hit game of the season and her team-best ninth three-hit game of the year.

Vasquez went 2-3 for her 13th multi-hit game of the season. Dupuis collected her first career multi-hit game with a 2-4 showing.

Otterness showed signs of things to come as she went 1-3 and scored two runs.

Savannah Roberts went 4-4 with an RBI for the Skyhawks. Laura Roberts went 3-5 with her second homerun of the season.

In game two the Redhawks had their chances but eventually came up short. Dupuis struggled in her 18th start in the circle as she could only record one out and allowed three runs on four hits in the opening inning before being relieved by fisher.

The game almost got out of hand in the second inning for the Redhawks but Vasquez saved Fisher with two highlight reel catches including a homerun-stealing catch. Vasquez timed the ball just right and leaped at the fence and pulled Greer Long's shot back in for the second out of the inning.

In their half of the second the Redhawks led-off with a Ramirez single. Stacia Dopudja (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic) reached on an error. Otterness then ripped a single to left center to push Vasquez across homeplate. Dopudja slid into third but the ball bounced off of her and hit a Redhawks player outside the dugout for interference resulting in Dopudja being called out giving the Skyhawks a break and leaving the score 3-1.

The Skyhawks got that run back in the third with a Van Arsdale RBI double off of Fisher to make it 4-1.

In the fourth the Redhawks threatened. Ramirez led-off with a single and scored on an Otterness double to right field to cut the deficit to 4-2. The Redhawks eventually loaded the bases with one out but Summers lined into an inning-ending doubleplay to end the threat.

In the seventh the Skyhawks added the final run of the game before starter and reigning OVC Pitcher of the Week Paij Lintz (8-7) retired the Redhawks 1-2-3 for the complete game victory. Lintz allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits and one walk while striking out six.

Dupuis (4-8) was collared with the loss as Fisher got most of the work allowing two runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings of relief.

Otterness collected her second three-hit game of the season with a perfect 3-3 day from the plate while driving in two. Ramirez went 2-3 with two runs scored. Summers and McDonald each collected hits to extend their hitting streaks to five games.

Roberts continued her hot-hitting on the day for the Skyhawks finishing 2-3 with two runs scored and a run scored. Laurie Lindow went 2-4 with two RBIs.

The Redhawks look to win their fourth OVC series of the season when both teams return to the Southeast Softball Complex for the rubber match tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.