Softball Wins Thriller, Moves Within One Win of Title

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Up until the start of the sixth inning, the fans at Bahoshy Field were treated to a duel for the ages between Atlantic 10 Co-Pitchers of the Year Michele Daubman and Brianna Lore.  In the bottom half of the inning, Elise Fortier and Kayla Lombardo introduced the long ball to the contest, going back-to-back to move the Rams within one win of their second straight A-10 title with a 2-1 win over the Saint Louis Billikens.
 
Daubman hurled six innings of four-hit softball to pick up her 17^th win of the season, while Patti Maloney retired the Billikens in the ninth to tie a Fordham and A-10 record with her sixth save of the year.
 
Fortier's game-tying round tripper in the bottom of the sixth marked her 18^th of the season and the 44^th of her career, moving just one shy of the Fordham record of 45, set by Jocelyn Dearborn from 2008-2011.  Lombardo's game-winner was her 10^th of the year, making her one of just four players in the conference to record double-digits homers on the year.
 
Lore and Daubman were both nearly flawless over the first five innings of play, as neither surrendered a run and the pair combined to allow only eight hits during that span. 
 
Alex Nickel walked to lead off the sixth for the Billikens before moving over to second on an Ellie Huffman sac bunt.  After Lindsay Friedman popped up to the shortstop for the second out of the inning, Kelsey Biggs knocked an RBI single to deep center, giving the Billikens the late one-run lead, but the Rams were poised to answer in the bottom of the frame.
 
With 2-3-4 in the line-up coming to the plate, Amy Van Hoven led off the inning with a ground out to the pitcher.  Next up was Fortier, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, who battled her way to a full count.  After fouling off a pitch high in the zone, Fortier took the next pitch and lifted it to right field, sending it over the fence and tying the game at one.  With momentum on her team's side, Lombardo stepped to the dish and hammered one over the wall in left center, completing the brief, yet thrilling rally and giving the Rams a lead that they would never cede.
 
Maloney entered the circle in the seventh and proved why she has been the most effective closer in the A-10 this season, tying a conference record with her sixth save of the year and sealing the victory.  The record of six was set by another Ram, 2005 A-10 Pitcher of the Year Sara Kinney, who recorded a half dozen saves in 2004.
 
The Rams will kick off the championship series of the A-10 tournament tomorrow at 1 PM.  The Rams require only one win to claim the conference title on Saturday, while their opponent, Saint Louis, must win two in a row.  Saint Louis won the final elimination game against Saint Joseph's by an 11-8 final.