March 29, 2009

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - The St. Bonaventure softball team ended an eight-game losing streak by sweeping both games of its Atlantic 10 doubleheader against Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon at the URI Softball Complex.

The Bonnies picked up a 4-2 win in the first game of the doubleheader, and followed that up with a 5-2 triumph later in the day.

With the pair of wins, the Brown and White improve to 4-16 overall and 2-4 in the A-10. Rhode Island, meanwhile, improves to 8-16 on the season and 2-0 in the Atlantic 10.

Junior Sherri Thompson got the start in the first game of the doubleheader and went the distance allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out five.

Rhode Island would light up the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third inning when freshman Courtney Prendergastt stepped up with a runner on base and hit a rare inside-the-park home run to give URI a 2-0 lead.

The Brown and White would get a run back in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by freshman Anderson Conte that scored senior Amanda Kotz to make the score 2-1.

St. Bonaventure would take the lead for good in the next frame when it put up a three-spot on Rhode Island starter Alison Hartzell. Ashley Kotz would single home sophomore Amber Webb-Fife to make the score 2-2. Sophomore Kara Morenus would give the Bonnies the lead when she hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Kathryn Pazda to make the score 3-2. Amanda Kotz would put URI away with an RBI double to left center that allowed her sister Ashley to expand the Brown and White's lead up to 4-2.

Thompson would get the start in game two of the afternoon as well, and did not disappoint. She again went the distance for St. Bonaventure, allowing just two earned runs on four hits while striking out three to earn the win.

Thompson would get the run support she would need from the Bonnies bats in the very first inning. The Brown and White put together a five-run first inning off URI starter Jayshree Naredran. The first three batters of the inning would reach base for St. Bonaventure to help set up the monster frame. Ashley Kotz would come up to the plate and delivered a fielder's choice to bring home freshman Kristin Sullivan to give the Bonnies a 1-0. After a walk by Morenus to reload the bases, Ashley Kotz would step up and drill a bases clearing double to right center that would make the score 4-0 St. Bonaventure. After a sacrifice bunt moved Kotz over to third, junior Stephanie Narde would lay down a sacrifice bunt of her own to score Kotz to up the Brown and White's lead up to 5-0.

Rhode Island would get two runs back in the bottom of the fourth by stringing together a couple of hits off Thompson, but the Ulysses, Pa., product would silence the URI bats the rest of the way.

Amanda Kotz had a huge day at the plate for the Bonnies, going 3-for-6 in the two games with two doubles and four RBI's.

St. Bonaventure will be back in action on Saturday, April 4, when it plays a doubleheader against Dayton in its 2008-09 home opener. The first game of the series is set to start at 12:00 p.m.