Box Score April 15, 2011
Game One Stats | Game Two Stats
Charlotte, N.C. -
The softball doubleheader between Charlotte and Fordham on Friday, April 15, pitted the top two schools in the Atlantic 10 conference against each other, and it was the top seed, the Rams, who came away with the sweep. They won game one, 6-4 and took the nightcap, 7-3. Game one saw the Rams win in an exiting, come from behind victory, keyed by a Samantha Pellechio home run in the seventh inning.
Fordham came out swinging in the very first inning. With one out, Nicole Callahan singled to center. Two batters later, Gabby Luety ripped a base hit of her own and the Rams had two runners on base. Fordham failed to score as Jamie LaBovick struck out to end the inning, stranding two runners on base.
In the bottom of the first the 49ers pushed a run across. Kendra McCall singled to center. Tenaya Tucker reached on a fielder's choice that failed to get any outs and the 49ers had two runners on base. McCall came in on an RBI single to right by Kalie Lang, and Charlotte led 1-0.
The game remained at 1-0 until the fourth, when Fordham scored two runs. Jessica Crowley led off with a walk. She advanced to second on a bunt single by Lindsey Kay Bright. They both scored when Jocelyn Dearborn ripped a double to left and the Rams took a 2-1 lead.
The Fordham lead was short-lived though as the 49ers regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Whitney Williams doubled to left-center. McCall singled to center and went to second on an errant throw by Chelsea Palumbo, which allowed Williams to score and even the game at 2-2. Two batters later, Briana Gwaltney homered and the 49ers had a 4-2 lead.
The Rams went into their final at-bat still trailing by two runs. For the second time in the game, Crowley worked a leadoff walk. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Bright and scored on Dearborn's second double of the game. Callahan followed with a single to put runners on the corner for Pellechio. Pellechio crushed a three-run home run over the wall in left and the rams led 6-4.
Fordham starter, Jen Mineau, retired the 49ers in order to preserve the victory. Mineau threw a complete game to earn the win. She gave up four runs on six hits and struckout eight. Dearborn was 2-4 with two doubles and Callahan had three hits.
Game Two
In contrast to the opener, the second game saw the Rams capitalize in their first at-bat and score twice. Dearborn led off with a walk. Two batters later, Pellechio doubled to right-center, but Dearborn was thrown out at home. However, the next batter, Gabby Luety, blasted her seventh home run of the season, scoring Pellechio ahead of her and giving Fordham a 2-0 lead.
Charlotte got a run back in the bottom of the first and it was the long ball that helped them again. With two outs in the inning, Tucker lifted a Chelsea Plimpton offering over the left-field wall for a solo home run, which cut the Fordham lead in half, to 2-1.
Neither team scored again until the sixth inning when the Rams extended their lead to 6-1. Luety led off with a walk and Brittany Longo pinch ran for her. LaBovick then singled her to second. The next batter, Beckah Wiggins, gave Fordham a 3-1 lead with an RBI single up the middle that scored Longo. That brought up Crowley, who made the score 4-1 with an RBI single that scored LaBovick. Two batters later, Bright, who is normally a slap hitter, ripped a two-RBI double to left that scored Crowley and Wiggins. Deaborn followed Bright with yet another RBI single, this one to right field, Bright scored, and the Rams led 7-1.
Three batters later, Luety came up and blasted a three-run home run to left. However, Luety was never officially re-entered in the game (Longo pinch ran for her) and after an appeal from the Charlotte coach, Luety was called out for batting out of order and the runs were taken off the board.
Plimpton gave up back-to-back solo shots in the seventh, but the Rams held on for a 7-3 win. With the sweep Fordham improved to 28-16 overall, 11-3 in the A-10. Charlotte fell to 22-19, and 6-4 in the league. The Rams return to action on Thursday, April 21, when they travel to New Jersey to face Fairleigh Dickinson in a doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 P.M.
