APRIL 26, 2011
EASTERN SOFTBALL TEAM RALLIES PAST KING'S, 5-4 IN EIGHT INNINGS
WILKES-BARRE -- Entering the fifth inning, King's College softball pitcher Brittany Haight had tossed an impressive no-hitter, allowing only one base runner through four complete innings. But visiting Eastern University took advantage of a costly error and a critical mental mistake to rally past the Lady Monarchs 5-4 in eight innings.
With the win, Eastern improved to 17-13 overall and 4-8 in Freedom Conference play while sweeping the season series over King's. Eastern posted a 5-1 win at King's on April 16 in the first game of a scheduled double-header. Game-two was rained out and replayed Tuesday.
King's, meanwhile, suffered a potential damaging loss as the Lady Monarchs slipped to 12-10 and 7-5 in conference play. The loss also moved King's into a third-place tie with DeSales in the league standings and just a game ahead of fifth-place Misericordia (6-6 Freedom) with two games to play. The top four teams qualify for the Freedom Conference Tournament which King's will host May 6-7.
King's took 1-0 lead in the second inning when Brittny Baynes walked and later scored from third on a base hit by Kaitlyn Siegfried. The Lady Monarchs added an unearned run in the third inning when Erin Beane reached base on an error and touched home on a single from Baynes.
Meanwhile, Haight cruised through the first four innings, allowing just one base runner on a fourth inning walk while only one Eastern batter managed to get the ball out of the infield.
The Eagles gained momentum in the fifth inning when leadoff batter Tori Jacobson reached base on an error. After advancing to third, Jacobson scored on a two-out single by Jamie Schwartz, who registered the first Eastern hit of the day.
In the sixth inning, Eastern finally got its bats going when Jackie Gangemi singled and moved to second on a bunt. Janelle Fair then doubled, moving Gangemi to third before Maggie McGowan knotted the game at 2-2 with a RBI single. Michelle Morongell followed with a two-run double to give the Eagles a sudden 4-2 lead.
In King's half of the sixth used three straight singles by Amanda Cardone, Baynes, and Rebecca Taylor to load the bases Two outs later, Siegfried came through with a clutch two-run single to tie the score at 4-4.
After a scoreless seventh inning, Fair led off the eighth inning with a single for Eastern and moved to second on a base hit by McGowan. Jacobson then stroked a single to right field and Fair would attempt to score from second. Bean would scoop up the ball in stride and threw what appeared to be a perfect strike to home plate ahead of Fair. A lack of defensive communication on King's came into play as Haight elected to cut off the throw, allowing Fair to reach home without a play at the plate as the Eagles took a 5-4 lead.
King's had a chance in the bottom of the eighth as the Lady Monarchs loaded the bases with one out. Siegfried would ground into a force play at home before Rachel Zinni struck out to end the game.
Baynes paced the Lady Monarchs with a 3-for-3 effort while Siegfried was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Rebecca Taylor was 3-for-3 to aid the Lady Monarch cause. Haight was the hard-luck loser, allowing five runs, four earned, on eight hits and struck out one batter.
Fair and McGowan led Eastern with two hits each. Fair pitched a solid game for the Eagles, allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits over eight innings while striking out 10 batters.
King's will close out its regular-season Freedom Conference schedule on Saturday when the Lady Monarchs travel to Doylestown to face Delaware Valley College. The Lady Monarchs can clinch a Freedom Conference playoff berth with a sweep of the Aggies.
A split or being swept by Delaware Valley could result in the Lady Monarchs missing the playoffs altogether depending on how DeSales and Misericordia fare. Misericordia has a home doubleheader with first-place FDU-Florham while DeSales travels to face Eastern.
