May 7, 2009

Box Score

GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The Bulldogs were in position to pick up a victory in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Central Region Tournament, but Thomas More made a late game comeback to earn a 4-3 win. Adrian scored all three of their runs in the third inning to open up a lead. The Saints chipped away at the lead by scoring one run in the sixth, and then tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. Thomas More scored the game winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

Thomas More put the pressure on Adrian early in the game. The Saints started the game with back-to-back singles and Kelly Tomasek walked the third batter to load the bases for Thomas More with no outs. Tomasek buckled down and gave Adrian their first out of the inning by striking out Brittany Wegman. The next Saint batter tried to squeeze a run in on Adrian by laying down a bunt, but Meghan Stevens made a clean play and threw the runner out at the plate for the second out. A ground out to Tomasek ended the inning as Adrian dodged a bullet to keep the game scoreless.

Krissy Sheets led off the game with a single for the Bulldogs. Sarah Hall moved Sheets to second base with a sacrifice bunt, but Dana Bors got Thomas More out of the inning by recording back-to-back strikeouts on Holly Lowe and Stevens.

Thomas More put a runner in scoring position in both the second and third inning, but the Saints couldn't get on the scoreboard as Adrian held strong in clutch situations. The Bulldogs took advantage of a wild third inning that featured three runs off of three hits, and three big errors by Thomas More.

Katie Adams got things rolling for AC with a one out double to left center field. Sheets laid down a bunt during her second at bat and was able to reach first on an error by the second baseman. Adams advanced to third and noticed that the second baseman had dropped the ball. She rounded third base and tried to score the first run of the game but was called out on a play at the plate. The decision was a costly one as Hall followed Sheets in the lineup with a single through the left side of the infield. The hit would have easily been an RBI single if Adams would have stayed on third base, but Adrian didn't let that play get them down.

Although they missed an opportunity they still managed to score three runs in the third inning to open up a lead. Holly Lowe was able to reach base on another Thomas More error to load the bases for Stevens. Stevens picked up her 42nd RBI of the season with a single to left field that scored Sheets and moved Hall and Lowe into scoring position.

The third error of the inning for the Saints was a huge one. Jenna Kloster hit a shallow fly ball to right field with two outs, but the right fielder dropped the ball allowing Hall and Lowe to score.

The game remained 3-0 in favor of AC until the sixth inning. Bors hit a one out single through the left side of the infield for Thomas More. She advanced to second on a ground out and was then replaced by pinch runner Desiree Zink. Zink used her speed to score the first run of the game for the Saints off an RBI single from Lisa Wiesman.

Thomas More kept the momentum going into the seventh inning. The Saints were down to their last three outs and they were facing a two run deficit. Steph Stadtmiller recorded her second hit of the game to lead off the seventh inning. She advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt from Jennifer Lang. Jennifer Weis delivered a single to left field that put runners on the corners for the Saints. Weis increased her scoring opportunity by stealing second base with Brittany Wegman up to bat. Wegman hit a fly ball that fell in between centerfield and second base for a single. Stadtmiller scored from third easily and Weis was able to score the game tying run from second. A bad throw to the plate allowed Wegman to advance all the way to third base.

Bors came to the plate with a runner on third and only one out in the top of the seventh inning. A base hit or a sacrifice fly would be enough to win the game and advance to the second round. Bors didn't waste any time as she swung on the first pitch and drove the ball to leftfield. Adams made the catch and sent the ball home hoping to nail the runner at the plate. The throw was too late as the umpire signaled that the runner was safe. Head Coach Kristina Schweikert immediately came out of the dugout to argue the call. It was a good thing she did because the runner left early and after a brief meeting between the umpires the runner was called out and the game was sent into extra innings.

Both teams were retired one, two, three in the eighth inning. There was only one hit combined in the ninth, but Thomas More was able to take advantage of an AC fielding error in the 10th inning to regain momentum. Kim Prahl was able to reach first base and then advance to second off a fielding error. A single moved Prahl to third, and another bunt single allowed her to score the game winning run of the game.

Tomasek was on the mound for all 10 innings for the Bulldogs. She allowed three earned runs off 12 hits while striking out five batters. The Bulldogs will return to tournament play with a game tomorrow, May 8th at 10:00 a.m.