April 9, 2006
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Saint Louis took advantage of strong starts from Ashley Levan and Lorena Floccari for a sweep of La Salle in an Atlantic 10 Conference softball doubleheader on Sunday at Good Shepherd Field in Philadelphia. Levan hurled a four-hit shutout for a 2-0 win in game one, and Floccari and reliever Erica May complemented an offensive outburst in a 9-0 win in five innings in game two.
Game one was delayed two hours because of wet field conditions before SLU (15-18, 6-4 A-10) scored two early runs to support a sparkling performance from Levan.
Jill Pursell and Christy Ernst led off the game with back-to-back singles, and Pursell advanced to third on an Ashlee Heady sacrifice bunt. AshLeigh Williams then drove in Pursell with a sacrifice fly to give the Bills an early 1-0 lead.
The Billikens got another run in the second after Jenna Renner reached on an error and later scored on a Jody Herbert RBI single.
Two runs were all SLU would need, as Levan proceeded to strike out 10 and scatter only four hits in the seven-inning shutout. With the win, Levan improves to 10-5 on the season.
Ernst paced the offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Pursell went 2-for-3 as SLU posted a 10-4 hit advantage over the La Salle (8-21, 1-9 A-10).
SLU got a similar performance in the circle in game two and the offense contributed with a five-run second inning to help SLU to the 9-0 win, which was called after five innings after the eight-run rule went into effect.
Floccari was credited with her fifth win after going three innings without allowing a hit before being relieved by May. May pitched the next two innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out two.
Kara Sell put the first run on the board with a leadoff home run in the top of the second. That home run, the sixth of the season, ties SLU's single-season home run mark, which was also tied earlier this season by Williams.
The Bills continued the second-inning rally after Allison Appenfeller, Jess Burns and Pursell all reached to load the bases. They were all cleared by an Ernst three-run triple to stretch the Billiken lead to 4-0. Heady made it 5-0 when she plated Ernst with a sacrifice fly.
SLU added another run in the top of the third when Appenfeller stroked a single to plate Sell, who earlier reached on a single. In the fourth, Williams made it 7-0 with an RBI single. Heady and Williams both hit RBI singles in the fifth inning, and May closed out the side in the bottom of the fifth to clinch the game for the Billikens.
Williams went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the second game. Combining her RBI in the first game, she now needs four more to break the single-season RBI mark, and three more to become SLU's career RBI leader. She also needs one more home run to become SLU's all-time single-season and career home run leader.
SLU takes a break from A-10 when they travel to Martin, Tenn., on Wed., Apr. 12, to face Tennessee-Martin. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m.
