Box Score March 20, 2011
Game One Final Stats
| Game Two Final Stats
St. Louis, Mo. -
The Fordham softball team opened Atlantic 10 conference play on Sunday, March 20 with a split against Saint Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. The Rams won the opener 3-1, and the Billikens took game two, 2-0.
Fordham jumped out to the early lead in the opener with Saint Louis in the first inning. With one out, Nicole Callahan doubled down the left field line. The next batter, Samantha Pellechio went the other way and picked up an RBI with a single to right that scored Callahan and gave the Rams a 1-0 lead.
Chelsea Plimpton, who got the start in the circle for Fordham, was masterful on Sunday. She didn't surrender a hit until a leadoff single in the fourth inning. She would only give up one run on two hits in 5.2 innings. She earned the win and leveled her record at 8-8. Jen Mineau pitched the final inning and a third and recorded her third save of the season.
With the Rams already up 1-0, Fordham threatened again in the fifth. Jocelyn Dearborn ripped a leadoff single to right. Crowley and Pellechio would each get hit by the pitch and the Rams loaded the bases. Jamie LaBovick made it 2-0 for Fordham with an infield single that scored Dearborn. But the Rams left the bases loaded and took a 2-0 edge into the sixth.
In the sixth, Fordham loaded the bases but failed to score. Lindsey Kay Bright reached on a bunt single. Dearborn also singled. Callahan walked and the Rams had the bases loaded again with only one out. Fordham failed to score though as Pellechio hit into a fielder's choice and Gabby Luety struck out.
Saint Louis scored a run in the sixth to make the score2-1, but Fordham added an insurance run in the seventh. Beckah Wiggins was hit by the pitch. LaBovick then singled and took second as Wiggins beat the relay throw to third. Chelsea Palumbo got an RBI with a groundout to second that scored Wiggins. The Rams went on to win 3-1.
Dearborn finished with 2-3 with a run scored and LaBovick was 2-4 with an RBI. The Rams improved to 15-12 with the win.
Game Two:
The second game saw the Billikens comeback and shutout the Rams 2-0. The game was a pitcher's duel between Fordham's Jen Mineau and Saint Louis' Hannah Huebbe. Mineau went the distance in the loss. She is 6-5 on the season. The junior allowed just one earned run, two hits and struck out six. Her counterpart threw all seven shutout innings. She also gave up two hits and fanned seven. She improved to 8-3 with the win.
The Billikens jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Tori Holland reached second on a fielding error from Dearborn. She later came in courtesy of an RBI single to right by Erin Cejka.
Fordham got a runner in scoring position in the fourth when Pellechio hit a two-out double to left. She was stranded at second though. The Billikens pushed another run across in sixth when Kristin Nicoletti doubled, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a ground out.
After splitting games, Fordham has a 15-13 record. The Rams return to action on Wednesday, March 23, when they travel over the RFK Bridge to take on St. John's University in Queens. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 P.M.
