April 24, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Freshman Abbie Richardson recorded her first collegiate home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it wasn't enough to put the Golden Grizzlies over the top as the Oakland University softball team (15-27, 7-8 Summit League) fell 3-1 to South Dakota State University (15-29, 7-8 Summit League) Saturday afternoon at the OU Softball Field.

The Jackrabbits struck first when Morgan McCabe drive in a run with a single to left center to give SDSU an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Jacks would then notch two assurance runs in the third when a double by McCabe and a single from Greta Stroh ran the score up to 3-1.

OU got on the board in the sixth inning, however, when Richardson came in as a pinch hitter and crushed her first home run of the season to right center field to narrow the gap to 3-1. The Black and Gold then loaded the bases when senior Ashley Sullivan, senior Haley Emerson and sophomore Leah DiCristofaro were all walked. But the Jacks brought in Pam Nicholson in relief and forced a pop out to end the Oakland threat. Neither team was able to get a run across in the seventh inning, leaving the game at its 3-1 final score.

Junior Alison Tansel (1-8) was charged with the loss after giving up nine hits and three runs, two of them earned, in three innings. Junior Marisa Everitt pitched four innings in relief, scattering two hits and fanning three batters. Kori Seidlitz (12-16) was the winning pitcher, as she scattered three hits and gave up one earned run, as well as walking four batters.

Oakland scored one run off three hits and committed one error, while SDSU scored three runs off 11 hits with no errors. The Golden Grizzlies will next play in a two-game series against Michigan State in a non-league matchup on Thursday, April 29. First pitched is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be followed on Gametracker at www.ougrizzlies.com.

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