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April 8, 2008

Final Stats - Game One
Final Stats - Game Two

ITHACA, N.Y. - In a series that featured 37 combined hits and seven total home runs, the Big Red bats put just enough balls into play en route to a pair of eight inning victories as Cornell posted a doubleheader sweep of the St. Bonaventure softball team on Tuesday afternoon at Niemand Robinson Field.

Freshman Elise Menaker smacked two yard balls in the opener to lead Cornell to a 5-3 triumph in game one, before adding a third homer in game two to overcome a 6-4 deficit in the seventh inning with a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.

Following the Brown and White's fourth straight loss, the club falls to 8-14 (3-3) on the season as they are without a win since their series sweep of Temple on March 22. Cornell improved to 23-7 in the 2008 campaign with wins in six consecutive and 13 of its last 14 contests.

St. Bonaventure accounted for 17 of this afternoon's 37 overall hits, including three home runs during the two-game set. Senior Brianna Bricker led the Bonnies with six hits against the Cornell staff and moved into sole possession of first place on the all-time Bona home run chart following her 22nd career dinger in game two. With three hits in each of today's games, Bricker extended her hitting streak to a team-high six contests.

The Albion, Pa. native also added three runs and a pair of RBI as well as tossing 7.1 innings in the game two defeat. In her first action in the circle since an 8-0 March 1 win vs. Mercer, Bricker surrendered 11 hits and six earned runs while fanning four.

Junior Kathryn Pazda tacked on four hits for the Bonnies, including an RBI double in game two. The Brown and White also received offensive production from junior Ashley Kotz and freshman Kara Morenus who each homered in the series.

In the opener, St. Bonaventure gained the early edge thanks to a two-out shot into center field from Morenus to put the Bonnies in front 2-0. Sophomore pitcher Sherri Thompson dominated through five innings as the second-year ace conceded just three hits while striking out three to preserve a shutout and the Bona lead.

Cornell snapped its five inning scoreless streak in the sixth with Menaker's first of three home runs on the day to knot the count at 2-2. Due to a scoreless seventh frame, the two sides advanced to extra innings where the international tiebreaker rule was put into effect with a runner beginning at second base.

The Bonnies tallied one run in the top half of the inning to take a 3-2 advantage following an RBI single from senior Kirstin Strong that brought Bricker to the plate. However, the Big Red retaliated in their next at-bat as Menaker pounded a three-run home run to center field to clinch a 5-3 game one victory.

Despite her second straight loss on the mound to fall to 6-6 on the season, Thompson added five strikeouts to her career total of 169 while tossing her 27th complete game over two years.

Both clubs entered the scoring column in the first inning of game two as Cornell captured a 2-1 lead after one.

However, the Brown and White tallied five total runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-4 lead heading into the final frame. Pazda sparked a four-run fifth with an RBI double followed by an RBI single from senior Andrea Swanger to take the Bonnies' first lead of the contest at 3-2. Bricker continued with a a two-run bomb in the same inning to push the lead to a game-high three runs at 5-2.

After Cornell cut the Bona advantage to 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth with Menaker's third home run of the day, Ashley Kotz tacked on additional cushion with her first homer of the season to extend the lead to 6-4 following the first six innings.

The Big Red answered in the seventh with a pair of runs to send the game into extra innings before sealing the win in the bottom of the eighth by scoring from third due a wild pitch from Bricker. With a pair of losses in eight frames against Cornell, the Bonnies dropped to 3-3 in contests decided in extra innings.

The Brown and White return to action on Friday, April 11 for game one of a weekend series at La Salle. First pitch against the Explorers is slated for 3:00 p.m.