April 28, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - - The Madonna softball team moved two steps closer to capturing the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference championship with a sweep of Cornerstone on Friday. MU took game one 8-3 and hung on for a 4-3 win in the night cap. Freshman Jess Irwin (Monroe, Mich.) broke the MU single-season strike out record with her 183^rd to end the first game. The wins move Madonna to 28-12-1 overall and 16-4 in WHAC play. Cornerstone falls to 16-22, 10-10 in loop action.

GAME ONE
The Crusaders put two runners on in the top of the first but could not push across a run, keeping the game scoreless until the Golden Eagles put two runs on the board in the bottom of the third off of Irwin. Both CU runs came with two outs and were unearned after an MU miscue earlier in the inning.

MU was held off the board until the top of the sixth when the royal and gold pushed four across to take the lead for good in the game. Ashley Shay (Garden City, Mich.) led off with a double. Pinch runner Rachael Kethe (Lennox, Mich.) advanced to third on a wild pitch before coming home on a Kelly Lesko (Trenton, Mich.) sac bunt to make it 2-1 CU. Brittney Scero (Canton, Mich.) singled in Tara LaMilza (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) who had earlier walked to make it 2-2. Cat Sidor (Livonia, Mich.) then tripled in Scero and scored on a throwing error on CU to make it 4-2.

The Golden Eagles got one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth using a pair of hits to make it 4-3 heading into the top of the seventh. Danielle Richardson (Flint, Mich.) led off the seventh for MU by drawing a walk. She moved to second on a Kethe sac bunt. After a fly out, Kathleen Smiley (Wixom, Mich.) was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Lesko then singled to center to score Richardson. Scero then singled to the area behind the first base bag to score Smiley all the way from second to make it 6-4.  It became 7-4 after Sidor's single scored Lesko. Run number eight came home when Tedi Johnston singled to right to score Scero and make it 8-4.

Cornerstone got a lead off single from Christy Chapman and she moved up to second on a ground out. Irwin took care of the final two outs herself, striking out Mandee Michelsen and Emily VanDusen to end the game and set the single season record for strike outs with  number 182 and 183.

Sidor continued her torrid pace, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs to extend her hitting streak to 24 games. Lesko and Scero also added two RBIs each. Irwin struck out five to set the record, allowing three runs on five hits in the complete game win. Leah Gruppen took the loss for CU, allowing all eight runs on seven hits.

GAME TWO
The Madonna bats staked starter Michelle Henning (Toledo, Ohio) to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, using a one-out walk to Richardson and a double from Shay to take the early lead.

The Crusaders added two more runs in the third as Smiley led off with a walk and after Lesko flied out, Scero singled to put runners at first and second with one out.  Both runners advanced on steals before Johnston reached on an error charged to the Golden Eagle infield that cleared the bases to make it 3-0 Madonna.

MU made it 4-0 in the top of the fifth as Sidor drew a two-out walk and advanced on a Johnston single. Sidor then stole third and came home on a Christina Finch (Albion, Mich.) single for the final MU tally.

Cornerstone got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth as Emily Brown led off with a solo homer to left. Melanie Creager followed Brown with a triple and came home on a Chapman single to cut the Crusader lead to just two at 4-2.

Head coach Al White went to his bull pen, bringing Irwin in for the top of the sixth to try and nail down the save.  Irwin gave up a hit in the sixth but got Gruppen and Brown to fly out to end the inning.

The Golden Eagles threatened in the bottom of the seventh, as Melanie Creager was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Chapman followed her with a double to put runners at second and third. Emily Faletti struck out for the first out of the inning and out two came via a Meghan Powell sac fly that made it a one-run game at 4-3 after Creager scored. Irwin buckled down and got Michielsen to pop out to Lesko to end the game and give the Crusaders the sweep in the double header.

Six different Crusaders picked up hits, led by Sidor who extended her hitting streak to 25 games with a single in the seventh. Henning picked up her third win of the season, striking out three while not allowing a walk. Irwin set her second and third records of the day, picking up her third save of the season, bettering her own mark of two, which was set last week. The three saves is also the new career best in MU history. Maureen Masters took the loss for Cornerstone, falling to 9-11.