March 12, 2009

Printer Friendly PDF

MISENHEIMER, N.C.—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College softball team exploded for four runs in the top of the 10th inning and held on for a 7-6 victory in Thursday’s finale to earn a split against Conference Carolinas rival Pfeiffer University after dropping the first game 8-5.

The Lady Knights have traded wins over the past two days with the two teams that were picked to finish on top of the league’s standings at the beginning of the year as SAPC holds a 12-13 overall record and the Falcons are 14-8 on the season. Both teams have 2-2 conference ledgers.

Sophomore Jasmine Dobbin (pictured) went 6-of-9 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, 2 stolen bases, one double, and one home run against Pfeiffer on Thursday. Dobbin is batting .407 on the season.

Offensively, sophomore Jasmine Dobbin (Pikeville, N.C.) led St. Andrews with six hits, a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored. Juniors Danyell Marquez (Riverside, Calif.) and Kailee Munden (LaVerne, Calif.) both ripped five hits for the Knights. Senior Megan Riggs (Hubert, N.C.) drove in three runs while Munden and junior Sarah Applegarth (Gainesville, N.C.) both knocked in two St. Andrews runs.

Marquez extended her current hit streak to 15 games. Applegarth (9-4) continues to dominate from the rubber, hurling her fifth straight complete-game victory in the nightcap.

St. Andrews returns home for a Conference Carolinas showdown with Lees-McRae College on Saturday at 2 p.m.

GAME ONE: Pfeiffer 8, St. Andrews 5
Box Score; Play-By-Play

The Falcons jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opener as their first six batters all reached base and scored. St. Andrews chipped away at the lead with runs in three different innings but Pfeiffer was able to hang onto to the 8-5 victory.

The Knights started their scoring in the second inning with back-to-back runs on a single by Marquez and a sacrifice fly by junior Brianna Shurtleff (Colton, Calif.). Applegarth cut the deficit in half, 6-3, with an RBI-single in the third.

Pfeiffer tacked on solo runs in the third and the fifth before the Knights attempted one last comeback attempt in the seventh. Freshman Kaitlin Harris (Acworth, Ga.) led off with a single and Dobbin followed with a two-run home run. Dobbin has three home runs on the year.

The Falcons ended the Knights rally when they brought in senior Amanda Beck (Thomasville, N.C.) to close out the game. Beck recorded the final three outs without giving up a run for the save in relief of sophomore starter Ashley Braswell (Asheboro, N.C.).

Freshman Ashley Disque (Prince Frederick, Md.) went the distance for St. Andrews but allowed eight runs (six earned) on 12 hits. Disque had three strikeouts.

Dobbin and Munden both went 3-for-4 from the batter’s box accounting for half of the Knights 12 hits.

GAME TWO: St. Andrews 7, Pfeiffer 6 (10 innings)
Box Score; Play-By-Play

Applegarth only allowed two earned runs over 10 innings of work and the Knights finally broke free from Pfeiffer with four runs in the third extra inning to earn the split with a 7-6 win in the second game.

St. Andrews exploded for four runs in the 10th inning that was highlighted by a two-run double by Riggs and RBI-singles by Munden and Harris. The Falcons tried to come back in the home half with three runs but with the potential tying run on second base Applegarth was able to get the final two outs on a pair of fly balls to the outfield for her ninth victory of the season. Applegarth allowed six runs (two earned) on 11 hits and four walks over 10 innings.

Pfeiffer took an early 1-0 lead in the first innings but Applegarth knotted the score with single in the third that scored Dobbin. Riggs gave SAPC its first lead with a sac fly in the fourth but the Falcons added a run in the fifth to send the game into extra innings. After a scoreless eighth inning, both teams were able to plate the runner placed on second base to start the ninth inning (using the international tiebreaker run) setting up the dramatic tenth.

The Knights drilled 15 hits in the nightcap including a trio of hits by both Dobbin and Marquez. Riggs had three RBI and Dobbin swiped two stolen bases.

Both teams left an incredible 15 runners on base in the approximately three hour marathon.