March 29, 2009

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis remained unbeaten in Atlantic 10 Conference softball action with a sweep of Dayton at The Billiken Sports Center on Sunday afternoon. Nicki Jost came through with the game-winning hit with one out in the bottom of the seventh to deliver the 5-4 victory in the opener. In game two, Rachel Heet captured SLU's career RBI record, while Stacy Gillette surrendered just two hits as the Bills out-hit Dayton 9-2 en route to the 8-0 win.

Saint Louis (11-17, 4-0 A-10) came out and put a run on the board in each of the first two innings in the series opener. Kristin Nicoletti singled through the right side to start the rally. She then stole second and went to third when the throw down to second rolled into right center field. Heet ripped an RBI single to right field, which handed SLU the 1-0 lead and helped Heet tie SLU's career RBI record.

In the second, Katie Johns doubled to left center to ignite the SLU offense. With one out, Rachel Faletto reached on a bunt single to put Bills on the corners. On Faletto's steal attempt, the Flyers committed an error that allowed Johns to score from third for the 2-0 edge.

Dayton (3-24, 1-5 A-10) put two runs on the board in the top of the third. Courtney Kutsulis singled to the left side and was sacrificed to second base. Then Molly Meyer hit a single into the pocket between short and third. On the double steal attempt, the Billikens tried to get Meyer going to second but she was safe while Kutsulis remained at the hot corner. Katie Jordan knotted the score at 2-2 with a two-run double down the right-field line.

The Flyers used a two-run homer from Kutsulis in the sixth to pull ahead 4-2. However, the Billikens would not go quietly as they also plated two runs in the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. Jost reached on a leadoff walk and stole second base. She scored on Keri O'Keefe's triple down the right-field line for the tie.

In the bottom of the seventh, pinch hitter Caitlin Trevillyan got the offense going with a bloop single over the head of the third baseman. After Trevillyan stole second, Dayton starter Eva Rappe issued a walk to Nicoletti. Trevillyan was cited for the first out when she was called out on runner's interference for running into the shortstop on Heet's fielder's choice up the middle. Then Jost came through with a double down the left-field line to deliver the win for the Billikens.

O'Keefe led the offense with two hits, while Kelcie Matesa (4-6) earned the complete-game victory. She allowed four runs on six hits while striking out six.

SLU jumped all over Flyer starting pitcher Sarah Wedel in the first inning of game two. Nicoletti doubled over the left fielder's head and went to third on a Heet single up the middle. Nicoletti gave the Bills a 1-0 edge when she scored on the double steal attempt despite Heet being picked off at first.

Saint Louis extended its lead to three runs in the bottom of the third. With one out, Jost reached on an error. Both runners were safe on a fielder's choice before Flanagan made it 2-0 with an RBI single to center field. The Bills loaded the bases after Johns was hit by a pitch, and O'Keefe added an RBI off a fielder's choice to plate SLU's third run of the game.

The hits just kept coming for the Billikens in the bottom of the fourth. Nicoletti drove a single through the left side, stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Heet's RBI triple down the right-field line gave her SLU's career RBI record (74). Then Jost was hit by a pitch. After Jost stole second, Cejka knocked a two-run double into the gap in left center to make it a 6-0 game. Relief pitcher Allie Falk induced a ground out for Dayton's first out of the inning. But once again Saint Louis loaded the bases after Johns was hit by a pitch for the third straight time and O'Keefe reached on a bunt single. Pinch runner Rachel O'Connell crossed on a wild pitch and Trevillyan's bunt single drove in Johns from third for the eight-run lead.

Dayton managed to load the bases with two outs in the top of the fifth on a single and two batters who were hit by pitches. But Gillette, SLU's starter in the circle, worked her way out of a jam with her fifth strikeout of the game to end the contest courtesy of the run rule.

Gillette (4-7) twirled a complete-game two hitter for the victory. She walked one and struck out five. Nicoletti, Heet and Flanagan each had two hits to pace the SLU offense while Cejka led the team with two RBIs. With three stolen bases on the day, Nicoletti increase her career total to 53, which ties her for second on the Bills' career stolen bases list.