ITHACA, N.Y. (May 6, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team (21-19) fought with Ithaca College for 13 innings in the opening round of the 2011 Empire 8 Tournament, before falling 4-3 in an epic contest. The game featured four ties and four lead changes, with freshman pitcher Kayla Berardi going the distance for the Ducks in game one. The day's second game saw Stevens eliminated from the tournament with a 10-0 loss to Rochester Institute of Technology.
Game 1
In their first-ever postseason appearance, the Ducks showed no signs of nerves as both the Stevens and Ithaca offences were held in check in the first inning. The Bombers would take the lead with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second that scored one on the strength of three consecutive two-out singles.
Both teams were again scoreless in the third, before Naomi Sacks led off the fourth inning for Stevens with a single to centerfield. Freshman Stephanie Senkevich then laced an RBI double to left that tied the game at one.
The Bombers re-took the lead right away in the bottom half of the inning, scoring a lone unearned run in the frame as they led 2-1 after four. Both Berardi and Allison Greaney (Iselin, N.J.) pitched shutout innings again in the fifth.
With Stevens just six outs away from a game one loss, the team staged a clutch comeback in the sixth inning, as Berardi worked a leadoff walk and advanced to third when Danielle DeFeo's sacrifice attempt was not handled cleanly by Ithaca. Naomi Sacks came through with an RBI single to tie things up again at 2-2. Her hit also knocked Greaney out of the circle. It would be the last run for either side until the twelfth inning.
From that point, the match became a contest of nerves. Ithaca placed runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth, but Berardi struck out all three Bomber outs in the inning, leaving the go-ahead run on base.
Ithaca again put the winning run on third in both the bottom of the seventh and the eighth, but a groundball to Sacks at shortstop and another in the next inning to DeFeo at second stranded the winning tallies 60 feet away.
Stevens made some noise in the ninth when Clair Strom led off with a single to right field, but the Ducks could not make anything of it.
In the tenth inning, perhaps the most heart-stopping play of the afternoon came when Stevens centerfielder Lauren Hurley gunned down the winning run at the plate with two outs in the frame to send the game to the eleventh.
After a Jennifer Biondi (Rockaway, N.J.) double in the eleventh, Ithaca again put a runner on third with two down, but Berardi induced a flyball to Noreen Jordan in right field to end the inning.
The Ducks were sitting pretty in the top of the twelfth inning, after Molly Herforth knocked a one-out single to left and Noreen Jordan ripped a clutch, two-out RBI double to centerfield to unknot the game and give Stevens a 3-2 lead.
Kerry Barger (Carmel, N.Y.) led off the home half of the inning with a double to center, but Berardi got the next batter to pop up their bunt attempt and struck out the following Bomber hitter to place the Ducks one out from victory. Alas a Stevens error allowed the run to come around and tie the game up once more at three and the teams headed to the thirteenth inning.
This time it was the Ducks who left the go-ahead run on third after Berardi led off the inning with a single and moved around the horn with two down, but she was left stranded there. Her exertions on the basepaths and in the circle all game may have finally caught up with the freshman in the bottom of the thirteenth, where Ithaca scored a run on an RBI single by Kait Dolan (Farmington, N.Y.) to win the epic game by a count of 4-3.
Berardi was stalwart in the circle for Stevens, throwing every pitch for the Ducks and striking out 10 while allowing just three earned runs in the first contest. She went 2-for-5 at the plate as well. Herforth also posted two hits for the Ducks in game one.
Game 2
The loser's bracket game versus RIT was close through the first three innings, as Stevens was held scoreless and the Tigers were only able to put up a single run in the top of the second inning with a two-out RBI single by Emily Courtney (Berlin, Conn.).
RIT was able to break open the game in the fourth inning, where they scored six times and added three more insurance runs in the fifth to ensure the use of the mercy rule after five.
The story of the game was Tiger pitcher Carlissa Cole (Alden, N.Y.), who held Stevens to just one hit while twirling the five-inning shutout.
Danielle DeFeo was the Duck who got the hit with a bunt single in the fourth inning. Molly Herforth took the loss for the Ducks.
With the two losses on Friday, Stevens is now eliminated from the Empire 8 Tournament. The Ducks will await their fate when ECAC Tournament pairings are announced on Monday.
