May 3, 2009
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -
The St. Bonaventure softball team swept both games of its Atlantic 10 doubleheader against Temple on Sunday afternoon at McGraw Jennings Field, to clinch the sixth and final spot in next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament.
The Bonnies picked up a 5-1 win in the first game of the doubleheader and followed that up with an incredible 4-3 victory in 12 innings to capture the all-important nightcap.
With the pair of wins, the Brown and White improve to 12-26 overall and 9-11 in the A-10. Temple drops to 15-25 overall and 6-8 in league play with its two loses today.
The win in the second game of the doubleheader not only sent St. Bonaventure to its fifth straight A-10 Tournament; it also set a milestone for head coach Mike Threehouse. Coach Threehouse picked up his 200th win in his 13th season with St. Bonaventure after his squad pulled out a crazy win in game two.
Junior Sherri Thompson helped the Bonnies do just that by taking the ball in the first game of the double dip. Thompson grinded out a gutsy complete victory by allowing just one earned run on eight hits, while striking out seven.
The Bonnies gave Thompson all the run support she would need in the top of the first. After sophomore Shelly Seeger singled to left center, freshman Ashley Nowak hit an RBI double to left center to put the Brown and White up 1-0. Senior Ashley Kotz followed with an RBI double of her own to left center, driving in Nowak, to make the score 2-0. Senior Kathryn Pazda would make it three-for-three when she smacked the Bonnies third straight double into right center field to score Kotz and make the score 3-0 St. Bonaventure.
Thompson would take care of the rest from that point forward. Temple would manage to push one run across in the fourth inning, but would fail to generate anymore scoring opportunities off Thompson the rest of the way.
The second game of the day would be an epic affair that lasted 12 innings and featured many blown chances by the Bonnies to push across the winning run. Thompson got the start once again in game two, but was not nearly as effective as she was in game one.
Thompson went four innings and allowed three runs, two of which were earned. Freshman Erin Nargi came in to relieve Thompson and delivered one of the best pitching performances in recent memory, going the final eight innings of the game without allowing Temple to score a single run.
St. Bonaventure would use a three-run fourth inning that featured an RBI single by Pazda and a pinch-hit 2 RBI single by sophomore Kara Morenus to make the score 3-1. Temple would answer right back in the top of the fifth with two runs of its own thanks to a solo home run by senior Courtney Norene and a wild pitch by Nargi to tie the game up at 3-3.
The Brown and White had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh, but Nowak popped out to the catcher with the bases loaded to end the threat and send the game into extra innings. The Bonnies would own extra innings creating multiple scoring opportunities, but failed to bring home the winning run. St. Bonaventure loaded the bases in the ninth, tenth and 11th innings, but failed to drive in a single run in all three circumstances.
St. Bonaventure finally broke through in the 12th inning against the Owls to wrap up its marathon game. Sophomore Shelly Seeger started the frame with a leadoff single and advanced to second after a sacrifice bunt. After a walk by freshman Brooke Frey, Nowak slapped a single into left center to bring home Seeger with the winning run.
Ashley Kotz and Pazda were two catalysts of the St. Bonaventure offense all day long. Seeger was 4-for-8 with two runs scored and three runs driven in, while Pazda was 4-for-9 with a runs scored and two RBI.
The Brown and White will now travel to Fordham University in Bronx, N.Y. to begin play in the 2009 Atlantic 10 Tournament. St. Bonaventure will play third-seeded Saint Louis in the first round of the double elimination tournament on Wednesday at 3:00 pm.
