BOX SCORE (Game 1)
BOX SCORE (Game 2)
Dallas, PA (April 18, 2010) – Sophomore Katie Morrissey (Lanoka Harbor, NJ/Lacey Township) struck out an impressive 17 batters in game one to earn her seventh win of the season and the DeSales University softball team scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning and stranded the bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the seventh to earn a doubleheader sweep of Misericordia University by scores of 5-3 and 7-6 to remain in a first place tie with Manhattanville College in the Freedom Conference standings.
The Bulldogs are now 15-15 overall and 8-2 in the Freedom Conference. DSU will host the team they are tied with in the Freedom Conference standings, Manhattanville College, this Saturday at DeSales beginning at Noon with the #1 seed in the Freedom Conference playoffs at stake.
In the first game on Sunday, Morrissey was dominant allowing just three runs on four hits, three of which were solo home runs accounting for all of the Cougar runs. She struck out 17 batters, just two short of the single-game record of 19 set by DSU Hall of Famer Jamie Bicking twice during the 1985 season, and walked just two. Morrissey improves to 7-7 on the year and now has 100 K's on the season.
DSU scored once in the first on an RBI single from junior Kristin Schultz (Laurys Station, PA/Parkland), twice in the third inning on an RBI ground out from junior Jen Lococo (Easton, PA/Freedom) and another RBI hit from Schultz, and once each in the fifth and sixth innings on an RBI double from sophomore Christine Petrilla (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) and on a passed ball allowing senior Kristen Cybularz (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) to scamper home.
Senior Kerri Andrews (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) scored twice, Petrilla had two doubles, and Schultz had two hits and two RBIs in the game one win to lead the offensive attack.
In the second game, DeSales trailed 5-1 entering the fifth inning but scored three times in both the fifth and seventh innings to take a 7-5 lead and held on in the bottom of the seventh stranding the bases loaded with no one out to earn the win and the doubleheader sweep.
In the fifth, Schultz came up big with a two-run single after Andrews had scored on a single from Lococo and subsequent error on the play by the MU centerfielder. In the seventh, Lococo doubled to lead-off the inning and Schultz and sophomore Shelly McCarthy (Allentown, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) loaded the bases after being hit by pitches.
Cybularz knocked home Lococo with a sacrifice fly, senior Kyra Monarek (Allentown, PA/Parkland) singled home Schultz, and junior Sharon Yudt (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) came up with what was eventually the game-winning RBI with a single plating McCarthy.
MU's Maria Kidron led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run and two singles and a walk later the Cougars had the bases loaded with no one out. Petrilla had the answer in the circle, striking out Kat Lucenti for the first out, getting Gina Urbon to hit a ground ball to junior Kate Steiner (Walnutport, PA/Northampton) at shortstop where Steiner fired home for the second out, and striking out Amanda Polaha with the third and final out to end the game.
Petrilla was once again terrific out of the bullpen in relief of Lococo, pitching 4.2 innings allowing six hit and just one run to earn her third win of the season. Lococo had three hits and scored twice, Andrews added two more hits and also scored twice, and Schultz had two more RBIs to lead the game two attack at the plate.
DSU returns to action on Thursday when they travel to William Paterson University for a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 3:00 pm.
