Box Score March 4, 2012
Final Stats
Orlando, Fla. -
Day three of the Citrus Classic saw the Fordham softball team conclude the tournament by falling to Notre Dame, 3-1. With the loss, the Rams are now 4-10 on the season.
Taylor Pirone got the start in the circle for the Rams and she was masterful early, retiring the first six Irish batters before allowing a meaningless single to Chloe Sagawich in the third.
Meanwhile, the Rams tried to get Pirone some help in the top of the second. After two quick outs, Brianna Turgeon reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. Chelsea Palumbo also reached on an error by the shortstop and the Rams had runners on first and second with two outs. Pirone followed Palumbo with a walk to load the bases for Fordham. Jo Krasnisky then pinch-hit for Lindsey Kay Bright and she grounded to third where Palumbo was forced and the game remained scoreless.
The Rams finally gave Pirone a lead to work with in the fourth. Elise Fortier led off with a walk and Brianna Ciuffi came in to run for her. Gabby Luety followed with a walk and Cora Ianiro ran for her. Finally, Turgeon walked as Fordham loaded the bases without getting a hit.
With the bases loaded, Palumbo lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Ciuffi and give Fordham a 1-0 lead. Pirone then grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The lead was short lived for Fordham as the Irish broke through for three runs in their half of the fourth. Kelsey Thornton led off with a bunt single and advanced to second on a sacrifice. Dani Miller ripped an RBI double to right as Notre Dame evened the score at one. After a groundout by Emilee Koerner, Katey Haus gave the Fighting Irish a 3-1 lead with a two run home run.
The Irish rallied in the fifth, but were turned aside. Lauren Stuhr was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning but she was eliminated on a fielder's choice off the bat of Jenna Simon. Simon was then caught stealing by Gabby Luety for the second out of the inning. Alexa Maldonado tripled to center and Thornton bunted for a single, but Maldonado didn't advance.
Jen Mineau came in here to relieve Pirone and escaped trouble when Amy Buntin flied out to right field to end the inning.
Nicole Callahan had the Rams' lone hit in the game while Pirone was the hard-luck loser, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing the three runs.
Fordham returns to action on Friday, March 9, when the Rams face Green Bay and Kennesaw State in the Under Armour Showcase Tournament in Clearwater, Florida. The game with the Phoenix begins at 4:15 PM and the first pitch for the Owls is slated for 6:30 PM.
