WEEHAWKEN, N.J. (March 27, 2011) – In their 2011 home opener, the Stevens Institute of Technology softball team (6-6) split its two games with Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham (2-8). Both games had identical 4-1 finals, with the Ducks taking the nightcap behind a strong outing by freshman Kayla Berardi.
Game 1
Stevens starter Molly Herforth got the first two Devil hitters to groundout to Victoria Webber at third before getting a groundout back to the box, where she made the play herself to end the scoreless first half inning.
Herforth's FDU counterpart in the circle, Megan McInaw (Hillsborough, N.J.), set the Ducks down in order in the home half of the first.
The Devils scored first on Sunday, pushing a run across in the second inning by working three walks and advancing home on a Stevens error. McInaw struck out the side in the bottom of the inning, before coming to the plate and getting the first hit of the game for either team with one out in the third. Herforth left the runner on as the inning ended with the Devils still leading 1-0.
Webber led off the bottom of the third by reaching on an error and Stephanie Senkevich followed with a clean single up the middle as the Ducks put the first two runners on, but couldn't move them around.
Herforth set the Devils down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth, and Naomi Sacks doubled down the third base line to lead off the home half of the inning. Strom advanced her to third with a groundout before Noreen Jordan drove a ball deep to center long enough to score Sacks and tie the game.
Herforth pitched around a leadoff error in the fifth to keep the game knotted up. McInaw kept pace and pitched a flawless bottom of the fifth with three strikeouts.
Sarah Lima (Stanfordville, N.Y.) walked to lead off the Fairleigh Dickinson sixth, and the Devils got back-to-back homers from Megan Golembiewski (Beacon, N.Y.) and Brianne Faynor (Cliffwood, N.J.) in the inning as they took a 4-1 lead.
FDU rightfielder Maggie Murphy (Flemington, N.J.) saved at least one run as she made a spectacular catch at the wall to preserve Devils' three-run cushion and end the Stevens sixth with a runner on second.
The Devils loaded the bases in the seventh but did not score as the game headed to the last of the seventh. McInaw got the Ducks to go in order in the final frame to nail down the game one win.
Game 2
In the top of the first, Stevens pitcher Kayla Berardi got the Devils to go down in order, before stepping to the plate in the bottom half of the inning to lead off the game for the Ducks with a single to the left side. Sacks went the other way for a two-out single but the first inning ended with both teams scoreless.
Berardi surrendered her first hit with two outs in the second, but that was all for the Devils in that inning. The Ducks went down in order in their half of the frame.
Berardi struck out the side in the third, but FDU starter Megan Golembiewski matched her with a scoreless frame in the home half. Berardi continued the pitching duel with a 1-2-3 fourth inning.
Sarah Parker led off the Stevens fourth with a single through the left side. After Parker moved to second on a productive groundout by Sacks, Clair Strom ripped a single to center to drive her home for a 1-0 Stevens lead.
The Devils continued to be stymied by Berardi, who set down 10 straight batters through the end of the fifth.
Berardi got a two-out rally going in the fifth, lacing a double to leftfield. Parker then got a clutch two-out single to the right-centerfield gap that scored Berardi and doubled the Duck lead to 2-0.
Berardi continued her hitless streak through the sixth, ultimately retiring 13 straight Devil hitters.
Strom led off the bottom of the sixth with a hit and Webber followed with a one-out walk. Stephanie Senkevich then scorched a liner down the thirdbase line for a bases-clearing 2-RBI double, and the Ducks carried a 4-0 lead into the seventh.
A nice play began the seventh, as Webber charged a leadoff bunt and Senkevich did well to hang on to the throw at first base as the runner barreled into her for the first out. It would turn out to be a big play as FDU brought the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Berardi shut down the rally and the game with a swinging strikeout to end the fifth win of her 2011 campaign.
Stevens is now 6-6 on the year, with a 1-1 home record, a 1-1 away record and a 4-4 neutral site record.
The Ducks will have a day off before heading across Newark Bay to take on the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark Tuesday night for a 5 p.m. doubleheader.
