FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 17, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team (4-4) defeated Heidelberg College (7-2) by a 1-0 score in the first game of their final doubleheader in Florida. Freshmen Kayla Berardi and Noreen Jordan were the stars in the first game, as Berardi pitched her second consecutive shutout and Jordan walloped her first collegiate homerun to provide the winning margin. The Ducks were defeated in a back-and-forth game by Salem State 4-3 in the day's second contest.
Game 1 vs. Heidelberg
Stevens won the toss for the sixth time in seven games, and freshman starter Kayla Berardi retired the Heidelberg side in order in the top of the first. Classmate Danielle DeFeo led off the home half of the inning with a line single over the shortstop's head and Naomi Sacks also singled in the inning, but a double play erased the Stevens scoring threat.
The Student Princes also went down in order in the second, as catcher Brianna Sticco and second baseman DeFeo worked a pickoff play for the first out at first base. Berardi had two strikeouts through two innings.
Freshman right fielder Noreen Jordan led off the Stevens second with a long solo homerun to leftfield, the Ducks' first of the season and the first of her collegiate career. Brianna Sticco and Lauren Hurley also knocked base hits in the inning as Stevens took a 1-0 lead.
Berardi allowed her first hit but no runs as she worked a scoreless third, before leading off the bottom half of the inning with a clean, one-hop single to the left side. Clair Strom also singled in the frame for Stevens.
Neither team made much noise in the fourth, and Berardi and Heidelberg pitcher Dana Thoms (Amherst, Ohio) set the lineups down in order again in the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, the Student Princes threatened as the leadoff batter singled and stole a base, but Berardi had two strikeouts in the inning and left the tying run stranded on third as the inning ended with a grounder to Sacks at shortstop.
Jordan reached on an error and Victoria Webber followed with a single in the bottom of the sixth, but the team could not push them across. The Ducks headed to the seventh still clinging to the 1-0 lead.
Berardi struck out the first batter, induced a groundball to DeFeo at second and a popup to Webber at third to end the game and clinch her second-straight shutout.
Eight Stevens players had base hits in the day's first game, and Berardi is currently sitting on a 12-inning scoreless streak. She had six strikeouts on Thursday.
Game 2 vs. Salem State
Kayla Berardi led off the game for Stevens with a base knock to left. In the bottom half of the inning, Duck starter Molly Herforth struck out the first Viking hitter as she worked a 1-2-3 opening frame.
15 straight batters came and went for both sides combined before Berardi served a two-out single into left to start a Stevens rally in the third. Berardi stole second, and Herforth and Sacks came up with two-out line-drive singles to break the scoreless tie.
The Vikings held a rally of their own in the third, and scored twice on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Orlando (Danvers, Mass.) and a two-out hit by Michelle Flower (Reading, Mass.) to take the 2-1 lead.
Noreen Jordan singled to short and Webber went the other way for a single of her own for the Ducks in the fourth. Krista Sticco hit a two-out line drive with runners at second and third, but the Viking shortstop was positioned perfectly and made the grab to end the frame.
Sarah Parker made a nice running catch down the line in left to start home half of the fourth, and Sacks followed with a strong throw from the hole for the second out of the inning. A lineout to Weber at third finished the Salem State fourth.
Herforth hit a hump-back liner to right with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and got to third on a groundout, but she was stranded there as the inning ended. Salem State went down in order in their half of the fifth, but still lead 2-1.
Parker reached on an error to start things up in the next inning, as Webber then singled up the middle and both runners moved to scoring position on a passed ball. Stephanie Senkevich got an RBI with her own single back through the circle, and an RBI groundout by Krista Sticco staked the Ducks to a 3-2 lead.
The advantage was short-lived, however, as two Stevens errors in the sixth helped Salem State tie the game at three. Herforth limited the damage as she left the bases loaded with Vikings by inducing popouts to Webber and Parker.
Danielle DeFeo had a pinch-hit single for Stevens in the seventh, but the Vikings got two singles to open the bottom of the frame and scored the game-winning run as the Ducks threw away a sacrifice attempt and fell by a score of 4-3.
Team defense played a large part in the proceedings, as only one of the seven runs scored by both teams during game two was earned. For her part, Herforth pitched six innings without giving up any earned runs.
Stevens will return home and begin play at the Weehawken Waterfront on March 23 when they host Fairleigh Dickenson University. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
