FT. MYERS, Fla. (March 16, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team got its first victory with a tense, 11-9 eight-inning win over the University of Scranton on Tuesday morning. Sarah Parker and Clair Strom combined to go 7-for-10 with six runs batted in during the first game, while freshman pitcher Molly Herforth got credit for the first win in school history.
It was a see-saw affair all day long, as Stevens got started early with a three-run first inning. Krista Sticco walked to lead off the game, and with one out Naomi Sacks and Clair Strom pumped out back-to-back doubles followed by a single by Sarah Parker to make the score quickly 3-0 in favor of the Ducks. Stevens proceeded to load the bases, but left three runners on base at the end of the first half-inning of play.
Scranton rebounded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first as the first two batters singled for the Royals and stole second and third. An RBI groundout by Jamie Shackles (Philadelphia, Pa.) put Scranton on the board.
After a scoreless second, Strom doubled as the leadoff batter in the third inning and Parker promptly drove her home with a single and took second on the throw. Denise Wagner, looking to sacrifice, beat out a bunt for a single, moving Parker to third in the process. After a fielder's choice got Parker out at the plate, Sherri Rosenberg doubled for her first hit of the year, scoring Wagner and chasing Maggie Weigel to third. Victoria Webber had an RBI groundout, followed by back-to-back hits from Krista Sticco and Lauren Hurley to drive in two more runs in the five-run Stevens third.
Once again, the Royals counterpunched, scoring three runs of their own in their half of the third inning. Mia Collarini (Jessup, Pa.) and Tia Dimou (Center Valley, Pa.) provided the RBI hits to get the Royals right back in the game. At the end of three, the score was 8-4 Stevens.
Stevens got another run with a two-out rally in the fourth, the hot-hitting Parker singled to left center, and Wagner followed with a rip down the leftfield line moving Parker to second. Both runners stole on the next play, and after a Maggie Weigel walk, all three runners advanced on a wild pitch to make the score 9-4.
The Royals bounced right back with one in their half of the inning: after loading the bases, Shackles worked a walk to force home a Scranton run.
They would get two more runs in the fifth as they chipped away at the Stevens lead, getting three hits to lead off the inning before Herforth settled down and retired the side.
Moving to the bottom of the seventh, Stevens was leading 9-7 and needed three outs to come away with the first victory in school history. The Royals would not go quietly, getting a walk, a single and a double on the first three plays, but Stevens came up with a couple spectacular plays to nail two Scranton runners at home trying to score to preserve their lead. Collarini managed to shrug it off and knocked a 2-RBI double to centerfield with two outs to knot the game up. With runners at second and third and the winning run only 60 feet away, the freshman Herforth buckled down and got Kristen Williams (Monroe, N.Y.) to pop up, end the threat, and send the game to extras.
Stevens began the inning with Hurley placed on second. Sacks hit a single up the middle, driving Hurley to third. Strom followed with an RBI groundout, driving in Hurley and moving Sacks all the way to third. Sacks scored on an ensuing passed ball, and Stevens took a two-run lead into the bottom of the eighth.
The Royals made it interesting as Ashley Vosilla (Dix Hills, N.Y.) walked to lead off the frame which, along with the placed runner on second, put the tying run on base. But Herforth got the next three batters out in order, and preserved the first-ever win in program history.
"It was a great win for us today, we came out, we played hard and we played together," said head coach Erica Mehalick. "We did the little things right in the first game, and it was satisfying to prove that we belong at this level. To have the first win come in extra innnigs is even more special. Hopefully we'll have a lot more W's this year."
In the second game, in-state rival Richard Stockton College of New Jersey scored three runs in the first on a three-run home run by Joey Affillito (Brick, N.J.) and never looked back, though Stevens starting pitcher Amanda Petrocelli did shut the Ospreys down over the next three innings and registered seven strikeouts in six innings of work.
Stevens got single runs in the fifth and sixth, as Strom and Petrocelli both came through with RBI base hits in the game. But it wasn't enough to overcome the offensive onslaught from Stockton, and the Ducks fell 10-2 in a shortened contest.
Stevens has a day off tomorrow before wrapping up its Florida trip with two more games on March 18. The first pitch is scheduled for 9 a.m.
