March 8, 2009

Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The St. Bonaventure softball team lost two games on Saturday as it continues play down in Florida on its spring trip. The Bonnies lost to Loyola University of Chicago 8-0 in the opening game and dropped a 5-0 decision to Western Michigan in the first round of the Under Armour Invitational later on in the day.

With Saturday's two losses, the Bonnies spring record drops to 2-10 on the season as they continue play in the Sunshine State.

In the first game against Loyola-Chicago, junior Sherri Thompson received the start and struggled early on. In the top of the first inning, Ramblers leadoff hitter Ellen Kresl reached on an error to start things off. Next up was junior Stephanie Cihlar, who slapped a single the other way to make it runner on first and second with nobody out. From that point forward, it all began to unravel for the Bonnies ace as she threw a wild pitch and walked a batter to load up the bases. Junior Kristen Medrud would make Thompson pay by crushing a grand slam on the very next pitch to clear the bases and give Loyola-Chicago a 4-0 lead.

That would be all the offense Loyola-Chicago would need for the game as starter Kristen Crosson kept the Brown and White's bats silent all morning. Crosson put in six innings of work allowing no runs on just four hits while striking out eight. Three out of the four hits St. Bonaventure had in the game were singles. Junior Stephanie Narde was the only Bonnie to register a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a single and a double in the loss.

The second game of the afternoon against Western Michigan would be an even uglier affair for Brown and White. Freshman Erin Nargi took the mound for the Bonnies and was a victim of some poor defensive play behind her, as St. Bonaventure committed three errors on the day. Those three errors allowed the Broncos to score five unearned runs in the game, two of which coming in the top of the first inning, which was more than enough to pull out the victory.

Nargi ended up going the distance for St. Bonaventure allowed five runs, all unearned, on five hits while striking out five in the loss.

The Bonnies offense was once again held in check, collecting just two hits in the game, thanks to a complete game shutout thrown by Western Michigan's Meredith Whitney.

The Brown and White will be back in action on Sunday, March 8, as they play their final game of the Under Armour Invitational against University of Illinois-Chicago at 10:00 A.M.