Kait Mendall |
Stonehill Tops Defending National Champion Lock Haven
Bats come alive as Skyhawks
pin 8-2 loss on reigning National Champions
California (Pa.) jumps out early in 12-7 victory in Skyhawks second
game
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 8, 2010) - The Stonehill College bats came alive in big way and the Skyhawks picked up its first win of the season with an 8-2 triumph over defending NCAA Division II National Champions Lock Haven University at the Rebel Spring Games at the Osceola County Softball Complex today. The Skyhawk bats stayed hot in their second game of the two, but California University of Pennsylvania, ranked 15th in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II poll, came away with a 12-7 win.
Senior Kait Mendall (Middleboro, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) pitched Stonehill to the win over Lock Haven, allowing just the two earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks over the seven innings.
Freshman Nicole Eisenmann (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) hit 2-for-4 with an RBI for Stonehill. Freshman Kelsey Wilcox (Canterbury, Conn./Griswold) was 1-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored, while sophomore Lindsay Bock (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) finished 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
Bock sparked a two-run second inning which put Stonehill in front with her two-run double after back-to-back walks. She later scored on a single from sophomore Chelsea Stryker (Baldwin, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial).
Nicole Eisenmann |
Lock Haven scored a single run in the fourth and then the teams traded single runs in the fifth, before Stonehill broke the game open with a four-run seventh. Freshman Courtney Marchand (Dracut, Mass./Timberlane Regional) led off with a single and later scored on a single by Eisenmann. Junior Katy Abarr (Richmond, R.I./The Prout School) added an RBI single, before the Skyhawks added two more runs on errors. Wilcox provided the Skyhawks run in the fifth with her first collegiate home run.
In the nightcap, Stonehill fell behind 7-0 before recording an out in the first and couldn’t recover. Marchand paced the offense, hitting 2-for-3 with two doubles and five RBI, while Stryker was 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Sophomore Kellie Reardon (Burlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) took the loss on the mound, surrendering seven runs, six earned, without recording an out. Sophomore Kaitlin Andrews (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) came on and allowed five runs on six hits with five strikeouts over seven innings.
Junior Amanda Wallace (Oakmont, Pa./Penn Hills) keyed California’s seven-run first with a three-run triple. Stonehill trailed 8-1 when it struck for four in the fifth to close within 8-5. Marchand led the rally with a three-run double before scoring on a groundout by Eisenmann. However, the Vulcans got three runs back in the sixth and then capped the scoring with a run in the seventh.
Stonehill (1-3, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action with two more games on Tuesday, facing Seton Hill University at 1 p.m., followed by Concordia University-St. Paul at 5 p.m.
