WILKES-BARRE –
Amanda Cardone hit what proved to be a game-winning two-run home run in the sixth inning as the third-seeded King's College softball team overcame a 1-0 deficit to walk away with a 2-1 victory over second-seeded FDU-Florham in the opening round of the 2011 Freedom Conference Championships Friday at the Betzler Athletic Complex.
With the win, King's improved to 16-11 on the year while FDU slipped to 14-18.
FDU pushed across the first run in the bottom of the first inning. Liz Spiller reached base on a one-out infield single. Megan McInaw then followed with a RBI double to give the Devils a 1-0 lead
King's look answer in the third when
Gretchen Tholen drew a one-out walk, then moved to second on a wild pitch. But back-to-back outs ended the inning and kept the Lady Monarchs off the board.
The Lady Monarchs again tried to respond in the fourth when Brittney Baynes stroked a two-out double. The Devils would get out of trouble with an infield out to end the inning.
In the sixth, King's put on leadoff hitter
Rachel Zinni with a bunt single. After a sacrifice bunt, Zinni moved to third on a fly ball to right field.
Amanda Cardone then drilled a two-out, two-run home run over the left-centerfield fence to give King's a 2-1 lead.
Megan Boyle led off the bottom of the sixth for FDU with a single and moved to second on an infield out. After an infield pop-up, King's got out of the jam on another infield out.
After King's was retired in order in the top of the seventh, FDU came to the plate for a final shot. Liz Spiller grounded out to third while Brittini Wurst grounded to short for the second out. King's would walk away the victory when Megan McInaw flied to left field for the final out.
King's managed five hits in the game. Baynes was 2-for-3 for King's while Kaitlyn Siegfried and Zinni also had one hit each.
Brittany Haight was the winning pitcher, allowing five hits while striking out two batters.
McInaw was the hard-luck loser for FDU after pitching a strong game. The Devil hurler struck out seven King's batters and did not allow a hit until the fourth inning. Wurst, McInaw, Sarah Lima, Megan Boyle, and Christine Antoniotti all had one hit each for FDU.
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King's will face fellow first-round winner, top-seeded DeSales, a 7-1 victory over fourth-seeded Manhattanville in the 3:00 p.m. winner's bracket game. FDU will face Manhattanville Saturday in a 9:00 a.m. elimination game.
