May 2, 2009

Alma Box Score
Trine Box Score

ANGOLA, Ind. - The Adrian College softball team bowed out of the MIAA Tournament on Saturday but did reach the final series working their way from the loser's bracket after splitting a pair of games on Friday. The Bulldogs won 6-2 against host and top-seeded Trine before falling 7-3 to Alma in the championship series.

Adrian (34-6) needed a win to stay alive in the tournament against Trine and Holly Lowe supplied all of the firepower with a career-high six RBI and the first multi-home run game of her career. Lowe got Adrian on the board in the first inning as she hit a two-run homer to center which also plated Sarah Hall who reached on a one-out walk.

Adrian made it 3-0 in the third as Lowe hit a ball right on the first base chalk in shallow right field which scored Krissy Sheets from third with two outs. The Bulldogs added three runs in the fifth to give them a 6-0 cushion. Katie Adams singled to lead off the inning and Sheets reached on a fielding error by pitcher Amber Matthews. Hall sacrificed both runners over one base and with first base open the Thunder decided to pitch to Lowe. She made them pay with her fifth home run of the season over the left center field fence.

Trine got one back in the sixth on a RBI single off the bat of Cassie Byrd with one out. Trine lined into a double play to end the threat. The Thunder also added one in the seventh on a Sara Hivley RBI single up the middle. Lindsey Mandeville entered the game with one out in the seventh after Kelly Tomasek threw over 100 pitches in 6.1 innings. Mandeville got the final two outs and stranded two runners to earn her second save of the season.

Tomasek (22-2) gave up 10 hits after throwing 10 innings the day before. She gave up two earned runs and struck out three. Matthews went the distance for Trine and fell to 12-5. Rachel Batman collected a single in three at-bats for Adrian.

Alma (27-11) defeated Adrian for the second time in the tournament in the second game of the day for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs made four errors in the field which really hurt their chances at extending the tournament into an if-necessary game. Adrian jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Meghan Stevens hit an RBI single to left with two outs which scored Sheets from second.

Adrian wasted a golden opportunity to increase their lead in the third as they loaded the bases with one out. Stevens struck out on a 2-2 pitch and Jenna Kloster bounced into a fielder's choice to end the threat. Alma responded with two runs in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. Sarah Johnson singled up the middle, one of her four hits in the game, to plate the first run and Houston Verbeck singled home a run to left. Alma left the bases loaded to give Adrian a little pick-me-up.

Adrian stranded two runners in the fifth as Keesha Greene pinch hit for Stevens and popped up to second. Alma scored four runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach at 6-1. Sheets had a big error which allowed two additional runs to score and Kelly Eberhardt was lifted for Mandeville in the inning.

Adrian scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth as Adams had an RBI single up the middle which scored Kloster and Sheets singled home a run with a hit to left as Erica Fracassa scored from second. Hall lined out to center with two runners on base to limit any further damage. Eberhardt (10-3) allowed eight hits and four earned runs with three walks and two strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Tara Leddy threw 120 pitches in a complete-game win improving to 13-4. Sheets, Hall and Stevens each had two hits in game two of the day.

The team will now await a possible at-large bid into the NCAA regionals. The announcement will be made on Monday, May 4 at 11:00 am on NCAA.com.