March 10, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Saint Louis came up with five runs in the eighth inning to stake its way to an 11-8 game-one victory over Samford in Birmingham, Ala. on Tuesday. In the second game, the Billikens (5-13) out-hit the Bulldogs 12-8 but could not overcome early errors that led to a five-run deficit and resulted in a 7-5 loss.

Samford (6-12) raced out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Bulldogs' leadoff batter singled and went all the way to third on a Billiken error. The next batter hit a sacrifice fly to right field to plate the first run. Kristy Lawrence followed with a single to right field, and one out later scored on Katie England's double to right center. England scored on Amanda Jordan's singled up the middle to make it 3-0. The next Samford hitter singled to put runners on first and second for Rachael Reeves, who drove in a pair of runs with a double to left field.

SLU came roaring back with five runs of its own in the top of the second. Katie Johns added a single before Kristin Nicoletti, who drove in a run on a fielder's choice. Nicki Jost added a two-run single up the middle to cut the margin to 5-3.

Both teams' bats were silent until the bottom of the fifth when Samford went up by one. A leadoff single and a passed ball gave the Bulldogs a runner in scoring position. England reached on an error and moved all the way to second to give her team two runners in scoring position. With one out, Whitney Terry laid down a bunt for a single and the Bulldogs pulled off the squeeze to take the lead. The Bills got that run back in the next half inning after Nicoletti reached on a two-out single and Rachel Heet plated her with a double to right field.

With the international tiebreaker in effect in the eighth inning, Dockins started the frame on second base. Caitlin Trevillyan followed with a bunt single and Jones reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. Nicoletti's fielder's choice helped Saint Louis go up 7-6. An RBI single from Heet and Jost's bases-clearing double put the Billikens on top 11-6.

Samford did not go quietly as SLU reliever Kelcie Matesa walked the first batter she faced before striking out the next. Matesa induced an infield pop fly for the second out. But the Bulldogs went on to load the bases when all runners were safe on a fielder's choice. Again it was England doing the damage as she drove in a pair of runs with a single to right field, which cut the deficit to three. However, Matesa was able to strike out the ensuing batter to earn the first win of her collegiate career.

Matesa (1-4) struck out a season-high eight batters while scattering six hits and three walks for three runs (one earned) in the final seven innings. Starter Stacy Gillette gave up five runs, none of which were earned, on seven hits in the first inning. Offensively, Jost broke the school record for RBIs in a game with five, while Heet drove in three runs and tied the Billiken standard for hits in a game with a team-high four.

In the nightcap, both teams posted two runs in the first inning. SLU's runs came on RBI hits from Erin Cejka and Flanagan. Errors plagued the Billikens in the bottom of the first. With one out, Aaren Fisher reached on an error. After stealing second base, Fisher came all the way around to score on a second SLU miscue. Then Samford's second run came on Lawrence's RBI single.

SLU went down in order in the second but the Bulldogs broke the game open with two outs in the bottom of the frame. They took advantage of four hits, a Billiken error and a passed ball to push three runs across for the 5-2 edge. Samford continued to increase its lead with a pair of runs in the third to race out to make it a 7-2 margin.

The Billikens broke through for a run in the top of the fifth after Nicoletti reached on an error. She moved to second on a ground out and went on to third on Jost's infield single. Cejka's RBI single sliced the lead to 7-3. Saint Louis added two runs in the sixth with Brittney Schmidt hitting a single to start the frame. Nicoletti and Heet followed with a pair of one-out singles to fill the base paths. Jost brought in SLU's fourth run with an RBI single to the left side of the infield, and Cejka drove in a final run with an infield ground out to make it 7-5. But that was as close as the Bills would get as they were retired in order in the seventh.

Starter Erin Kelly (3-3) suffered the loss in the second game after allowing five runs (none earned) on six hits while fanning one in 1-2/3 innings. Flanagan posted a game-high three hits, while Cejka contributed a team-best two RBIs.