May 6, 2000

Box Score

St. Louis - It probably wasn't the way Coach Jim Molloy drew it up, but the end result was the same. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Molloy called for a suicide squeeze. Meredith Henry bunted the ball. But instead of the softball skidding down the line, the ball popped over a charging Louisville infield and landed between the pitching circle and second base. Bett Puttcamp sprinted home from third base as the Saint Louis University Billikens posted a 3-2 victory over Louisville in Conference USA play.

With one out, Puttcamp began the rally in the seventh with a bunt single. She moved to second when Beth Yagge reached safely on a fielder's choice. Bridget Fletcher loaded the bases with a single to left field to set up Henry's game-winning bunt single. The Bills grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first when Puttcamp scored from second on a UL error. SLU added another run in the fifth. Erin Jeffrey singled and moved to second on Puttcamp's single. Jeffrey scored on Yagge's RBI single to stake Saint Louis to a 2-0 margin. Louisville countered in the sixth with two runs. The Cardinals strung three hits and a SLU error to push across two runs and tie the game. Jennifer Messmer came on in relief in the seventh and picked up her first pitching victory of the season. The Billikens helped their cause defensively by turning three double plays in the game. Puttcamp was the offensive standout for SLU, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, including the game winner.

In game two, Louisville scored a run in the fourth and it was enough as the Cardinals earned a split with a 2-0 decision. Lisa McMillan had an RBI single to score Melissa Jacobo for the only run UL would need. The Cardinals added an insurance run in the seventh when Amy Pickering singled and came around to tally on an RBI groundout by Christina Soto. The Billikens were held in check by Mandy Rockwell who limited SLU to just three hits and retired the last 10 Billiken batters.

The Billikens finally snapped their 15-game losing streak and improve to 9-41 overall, 3-14 in Conference USA. Louisville moves to 34-24, 8-8 in C-USA. The Billikens host their final regular season game on Sunday when the teams play a single game at 1 p.m.