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CLERMONT, Fla. (March 6) – The Saint Vincent College softball team knocked off previously unbeaten Simpson College by a 5-4 score to earn a split of the day's action on Tuesday at the PFX Spring Games in Florida.
Game 2 Recap - Saint Vincent 5, Simpson (Iowa) 4
In game two against Simpson, junior Kelly Flaherty led off with a single and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by senior
Shelby Noel, giving SVC an early 1-0 lead.
The Bearcats added to that lead with three more runs in the third inning. Saint Vincent took advantage of a leadoff base runner, as Flaherty reached on a dropped popup on the infield. Noel ripped a double off the right field wall to make it 2-0. Freshman shortstop
Lauren Miller and sophomore
Morgan Rittenhouse added RBI singles to push the lead to 4-0.
Simpson threatened in the bottom of the inning, using a pair of infield hits to set up shop. However, freshman pitcher Riley Assalone retired the next two hitters to escape the jam.
The Storm scored three runs on four hits in the fourth inning to draw within a run. Simpson tacked on another run in the fifth inning when the potential third out dropped into shallow center field, allowing the Storm to tie the game at 4-4.
Senior second baseman
Courtney Patterson launched a double over the right fielder's head to start the Bearcats rally in the top of the seventh. Noel would lace a ball that glanced off the shortstop, trickling into center field to score
Morgan Murphy, giving SVC a 5-4 lead. The Storm put the potential tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the inning but Assalone struck out the final batter looking to escape and finish off a gritty performance in the circle.
Assalone improved her collegiate record to 2-0. The freshman tossed a complete game, allowing four runs (two earned) while scattering 12 hits, 11 of which were singles. Assalone struck out three and issued just one walk.
Game 1 Recap - Wheaton (Illinois) 7, Saint Vincent 5
In the opener, Wheaton College scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to top Saint Vincent softball team by a 7-5 score.
Wheaton opened up a 2-0 lead after the top of the first, taking advantage of a few catchable balls that dropped in the outfield. Saint Vincent would get one back in the bottom of the inning, as Patterson doubled and scored on a two-out RBI single by Miller.
After a solo home run by the Wheaton starting pitcher, the Bearcats would tie the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Noel would lace a single to right field to score
Shae Robson. Miller added an RBI groundout to score Patterson to make the score 3-3.
The score remained tied until the top of the sixth inning, when the Thunder took a 4-3 advantage on a two-out RBI single to right field. Saint Vincent had the answer in the bottom of the frame, as
Emily Duerr stroked a double to deep right center field to tie the score at 4-4.
The Thunder took advantage of a leadoff walk and a few defensive miscues by the Bearcats to push three runs across in the top of the seventh. SVC got one run back in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI sac fly by Noel but fell short in their comeback attempt.
Flaherty and Duerr recorded two hits each in the loss, while Patterson scored two runs.
Alona Sleith took the loss in the circle, working all seven innings. Sleith surrendered seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in a complete game effort. Sleith struck out four while walking two Thunder hitters.
Saint Vincent moves its record to 4-2 overall for the trip. The Bearcats face New England College (9 a.m.) and Ursinus College (11:30 a.m.) on Wednesday, March 7 to wrap up their stay at the PFX Spring Games.
